How to Customize Plain Curtains With Fabric Paint

Preparing to Paint

• Most fabric paints work on cotton or cotton-blend fabrics, but paints can vary. Read the label first to ensure the paint is compatible with your curtain fabric. Wash and dry the curtains before you begin, and iron to eliminate wrinkles. Place a plastic sheet or dropcloth on the floor and spread the curtain panel over it. Tape down the curtain edges with masking tape, or weight it with food cans, to keep it in place. Use small pieces of masking tape to mark guidelines for placing stencils or stamp motifs. Keep paper towels, damp cloths, disposable foam plates, and foam craft brushes or a brayer nearby. After you finish, let the paint dry and heat-set, if required, according to the product instructions.

Stunning Stenciling

• You can choose among the many stencil designs commercially available, or make your own by cutting a design in freezer paper, using a craft knife. Iron the freezer paper stencil to the curtain and fill it in with paint; then peel off the paper. You can apply the paint with a foam dauber, stippling brush, sea sponge or cosmetic sponge. Spread a thin layer of paint on a foam plate and dip the tool into it, and then apply to the stencil spaces on the fabric. Each tool gives a different effect, so practice on scrap fabric first. Clean the stencils after use and as needed to keep the design edges crisp.

Splendid Stamping

• For most fabrics, stamping simple, bold shapes gives you the best results. Use commercial stamps, or make your own by cutting a shape out of a craft foam sheet and adhering it to a wooden block with waterproof glue. To use the stamp, spread a thin layer of fabric paint on a foam plate, using a brayer or foam craft brush. Press the stamp into the paint layer, and then press it firmly and evenly on the fabric. Then lift it straight up. You can also apply the paint directly to the stamp with the tip of a foam brush. Clean the stamp between uses as needed to keep the image sharp. If you use more than one paint color, make a separate stamp for each, or clean the stamp well and let it dry before changing colors.

Freeform Painting

• Anything goes when you view your curtain panel as a blank canvas. Use fabric markers or paint bottles with narrow tips to write or draw your vision in paint. Copy a poem or quotation in big, loopy handwriting across the entire curtain panel. Enlarge your child's artwork with a projector and trace it on the curtain panel with markers, and then fill it in with paint. You can also make abstract designs by randomly pouncing two or three paint colors with a sea sponge all over the curtain. Combine free-form methods with stamps or stencils. For example, stamp a colorful border of flower shapes, and then paint freehand vines and leaves connecting the motifs.