Striped Burlap Curtains

What's better than burlap and stripes? Nothing. Except if you put them together :)

I don't know what made me do this project. Maybe boredom. Maybe a little bit of my decorating I NEED TO DO SOMETHING OR ELSE kicked in. I get both of those a lot. lol.
striped burlap curtains
The sad thing? I was perfectly happy with the burlap curtains in my front room. Especially after I added a little white fabric on the inside of them to offer a dash of contrast. They were perfect. But I couldn't leave well enough alone.
diy burlap curtains
So, I took down one of the panels (I still have the other, so it won't be too expensive to redo) and bought a contrasting white burlap. I then on a whim, decided to make stripes for my front room. Add a little interest to the somewhat blahness of it. 
sewing burlap
So, to start off. I cut six 'panels' from the brown burlap at 15.5 inches each. Six of the same size from the white burlap, and then two 18 inch pieces from the white burlap to use for the top pieces.The top pieces needed to be a little longer since they were going to be folded down in order to hang them. It was a lot of cutting. Especially since I wanted the cut to follow the stitch of the burlap. I made my self go cross eye a few times I was concentrating so hard on it. lol.

Once the sections were cut, it was rather easy from there. I just laid one white piece on top of a brown piece. Lined up the edges meticulously, and pinned them.
sewing burlap curtains
Then I sent the edge through my serger. I love this baby! It works wonders on burlap :) You can still do this project even if you don't have a serger, just send it through your sewing machine. Just be careful to keep the edges looking clean.

This, as you can see from above, creates a lot of little burlap 'dust'. You can imagine what this pile looked like after sewing 12 seams together :)

Next was to hem the edges. If you get the good burlap, at least I call it the good burlap, you won't have to hem the edges  because they are already really nice looking. The brown burlap was the good burlap. The white burlap was a different story. You can see how the edges were in one of the pictures above. So, I had to hem the edges. This was annoying, but easy and only took a few minutes.

After all the pieces were sewn together and the edges hemmed, I used the same technique to hang them as I did the burlap curtains that were in my front room.Click here for the tutorial.

diy burap curtains
and as you can see....these didn't end up in my front room...even though they were made to go there. I made the mistake of placing them in my living room instead....and fell in love.
burlap curtains
I don't have the heart to take them down. They just look like they belonged there. Of course, the problem now is that they are completely and utterly see through. I didn't care so much about that in the front room since I just used them as side panels and hardly ever closed them. But as for the living room. They are constantly closed. Especially at night. And of course, at night is when you can really really see through them.

So, my thoughts are to just hang my white curtains back up behind these ones, and the problem is solved! Or I could make a lining for these, but thats just more work when I can solve it in two seconds the other way :)

I was going for an all white theme in this room. Kinda. But now that's blown with these curtains :) lol oh well. I like how they play off the colors on the subway art, and pull in the color from the mantel and wood by the fireplace.

They also mimic the lines of the bookshelves. It just seems really cohesive. The hubs thought it looked nautical. Like were at the beach. I'm thinking I like it either way. If this is nautical, by all means, then I love nautical :)

Here's the before with the white curtains:
neutral living room
And the after:
neutral living room
It ties into the colors of the pillows really well also.

As for the cost? I got the burlap for about $2.50 a yard. Used a little under 4 yards for the white, and about 3 yards for the brown burlap. Since I already had the brown burlap on hand, this only cost me about $10! But if you need to buy all the burlap, it should only run you about $18 or so.

Maybe I'll take my chances and hang them up in the front room and see how they look in there. If not, I'm just going to have to bite the bullet and get another burlap curtain panel for that room :) cuz as much as one panel hanging looks awesome in there right now, it definitely cannot stay that way. lol
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26 comments

  1. I have been flirting with the idea of striped burlap curtains as well (as indicated by several swatches that just arrived from fabric.com). I love the look of yours! They are just right.

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  2. Gorgeous!!!! I love it!!! I would totally do this in my living room BUT I have stripes on the wall! haha! Stripes and burlap = perfection!

    Mallory @ Classy Clutter

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  3. they look -fantastic-! wish i had the patience to work with burlap like that. great job :)

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  4. I also love these - I've already pinned some wide pink and white stripes for my daughter's room. Now I want these! Thanks for the beautiful pictures! I'm visiting from Little Miss Penny Wenny. Great job!

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  5. I love happy accidents - these warm up your white room just a touch! Love them!
    xo,
    Shannon
    (www.akadesign.ca)

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  6. They are beautiful! I love your blog and your home is gorgeous!

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  7. So very pretty! I love using burlap and natural woven materials in sophisticated spaces! I would love for you to share this (and any other creations) at Pin It & Win It Wednesday @ www.cheapcraftymama.com!

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  8. This is sooo cute. I love it and would love if you shared it on my link party.

    http://www.kampenlane.com/2012/04/show-off-monday-3-and-craft.html

    ~Taylor

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  9. I have a thing for stripes as well. Love it, looks beautiful!
    Amy@homehappyhome

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  10. The first drapes were great but these are even better! Such a great idea.

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  11. Those are the best curtains! Awesome job!

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  12. I love the striped ones, they look like something out of Pottery Barn. I'd hate to see you have to take them down:( Bummer!

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  13. this is so lovely, i cant stand it! totes a MUST on the TO DO list! awesome.
    xoxo janean @howikeepsane.com

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  14. I love these!!! I want them!!
    I would love if you came by my party happening now to link it up!
    Stacey Of Embracing Change
    http://staceyembracingchange.blogspot.com/2012/04/creative-inspirations-linky-party-11.html

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  15. These look great! (Would love to see larger pics on your blog so they would show up more!)

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  16. Wow...I LOVE the curtains! I pinned them and will keep them in mind for my new home. Gorgeous!

    Heidi@HomemadeBeautiesByHeidi

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  17. Really love how the curtains turned out. Linen like look, but more rustic which i love! Also like the horizontal stripes. Nice work!

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  18. So cute! I'd love if you'd come link up at my Tutorial Tuesday over at Our Thrifty Ideas that just went up. http://www.ourthriftyideas.com/2012/04/tutorial-tuesday-5.html
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  19. Love the whole room, including the curtains! Pinning and tweeting!

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  20. Oh, you have just solved my kitchen curtain dilemma! I wanted to use burlap, but with beige walls, I thought it would be too bland. This is PERFECT! Thanks for sharing!

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  21. Can i ask what the paint color is in the room?! I'm going for a similar theme in my living room but i'm having a hard time finding the right beige to paint the walls. Once i find the right color, then maybe i'll try those adorable curtains!!

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  22. I need to work on my sewing machine skills as absolutely adore those curtains and they would be just the perfect finished product to my living room.

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  23. Could you paint a stripe on the burlap?!

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happy DIYing! Alicia