Rustic Smocked Drop Cloth Curtains
Rustic Smocked Drop Cloth Curtains
I am s~l~o~w~l~y redoing the guest rooms upstairs.
Redo on a cheap budget. Cheap is the way to go now days, right?
I admit…I don’t like curtains!! If guests were not so uncomfortable without curtains….
I’d be having fun doing another project!
But to make guest comfortable I’m making rustic smocked drop cloth curtains.
Rustic curtains, NO sewing and cheap!!
In comes fifty dollars worth of drop cloths to do three windows and a shower curtains to match.
Drop cloth are hemmed. Imagine that! Why do drop cloths needed to be hemmed. After all their purpose is to keep paint off the floors and furniture. Why hem??
I don’t want curtains to be hemmed. Remember Rustic!
So I cut off the hem.
Next a quick wash to let the edges fray.
I had a bit of ironing to do. 🙁
Ironing wasn’t as bad when I placed a couple of sheets on the kitchen counter and ironed away. Actually this was fun.
Guess I had my zen going on.
Next, laid out the smocking pattern.
Using a piece of charcoal pencil, I marked every 4 inches about 4 inches from the top edge. Then moved down 2 inches and over two inches and marked again every four inches. I repeated this pattern for five rows.
Using twine and one really big needle, I poked down and up about 3/4 inch wide on one side of the charcoal mark. Then another 3/4 stitch on the next side.
Above is the roles of sewn twine.
The marks make a diamond pattern! Lovely!
Now I cut the twine between my marks in the middle. This leaves about 2 inches to tie knots.
And I tied knots, and tied knots and…
well you get the picture.
Actually each panel had 77 knots to tie. I did 6 panels plus a shower curtain.
It sounds awful, but a panel only took about 20 minutes to tie.
All knotted up and ready to hang!
Now to get more projects done for this room.
So, for $50 and a couple of days work the guest room has curtains.
Would you, could you, do rustic smocked drop cloth curtains?
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Jeanette I absolutely LOVE the curtains!!!!
Now I need to see if my feeble brain can follow your smocking technique…ugh!!!!
Thank you for sharing.
Kathleen, thank you for visiting. Take your time on the smocking. It’s easy to do. Just take it step by step. Reach out to me if you have any questions. I’m here to help.
Wish I had known about this site earlier. So many lovely ideas!! Love the simple smocking explanation. Keep up the good work.
Melanie,
Thank you for stopping by! Hope to “see” you here again soon. ~Jeanette
The curtains look fantastic! I want to learn how to smock.
Thanks Sharon. The smocking was easy since I did it “rustic!” ~Jeanette
THANK YOU so much for sharing this how to smock!!! Love it! I am new to your site and am so glad you linked up to our Throwback Thursday to hang out! Going to spend some time now browsing around. Have a great week.
Love, Love, Love those drop cloth curtains..just found your blog and have moved back to Phoenx but love Payson and look forward to your blog!
I bought a dropcloth but it’s way too heavy to use for curtains which is what I had planned to do. Not sure what to do with it now. Love the smocking.
Rebecca, Drop cloths are by the pound for the thickness, which adds to the over weigh. I used 8 lb. drop cloth and after cutting off the hemmed edges it’s probably about 6 lbs. 🙂 Drop cloths also make great tablecloths for indoors or out. I used one to cover our German Shepherds dog bed. You could cut it up and make place mats. If you have young children you could have them paint on it and make a simple pup tent. I love drop cloths for their intended purpose too. Hope I’ve given you some ideas. Let me know what you decide to do with it.
Jeanette
I’m not a fan of curtains, (and with your beautiful view, who needs curtains?), but these are really great! I especially like the simple smocking that you did – what an easy method to add even more texture and interest to the canvas drop cloths. I think it would look good on placemats and a table runner too – or did you already do that and my forgetful brain has forgotten I saw it here?!
Andi, I know what you mean by not liking curtains. The guests were afraid the elk would be peeking so I thought I would give them some privacy. I haven’t done placemats or a table runner, but I’ve been thinking about a table runner totally rustically smocked for the holidays. I did do a grain sack inspired tablecloth just like the other drop cloth curtains in the other guest room. Haven’t got that post up yet! 😉
I love these curtains and the rustic smocking is so sweet!
Tania
Tania, thank you so much!