Make Your Own Retro Kitchen Curtains

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If you're having trouble locating curtains to compliment your retro kitchen theme, why not make them yourself? You can have a lot of fun designing them to match your own color scheme using low cost unbleached muslin. If you're not handy with a sewing machine, you can also apply these techniques to pre-made panels made from natural fibers like cotton.

Here are three easy techniques borrowed from a 1953 women's magazine.

#7 - Iron-on fabric tape - Draw your design on paper to get a feel for placement. Repeat design lightly on muslin. Stretch fabric tape on a wooden surface and cut tape into thin strips with a razor for the straight lines of the design. Cut curved pieces for puddles. With hot iron, press tape on muslin, following directions on package.

#8 - Sponge dye - Use a rectangular sponges. One sponge can be cut in half with a razor knife to give 2 separate printing surfaces. Use a separate piece of sponge for each color. Ends and sides of sponge are used for narrow strips in design. Place muslin flat on surface protected with cloth or papers. Place sponge flat in fabric dye, or fabric paint; let excess run off. Place sponge on muslin, pressing lightly. Lift a corner of sponge to see if you are exerting correct pressure.

#10 - Spatter enamel - Stretch material smoothly over newspaper. Hold a 2" brush with a small amount of fabric paint on it over muslin and tap it with a stick. When all colors have been spattered, print larger accents at random with corks of various sizes dipped in paint.