Hand-Painted Abstract Curtain Panel DIY

With so many fun abstract patterns making the Internet rounds right now, I knew I needed to try my hand at it, too. I painted this curtain panel for my daughter's room, so I went with bright, cheerful colors in simple shapes. This window is rather narrow compared to the rest of her room, so I only needed one panel to cover it, but I'm considering making another set for my studio using pastels. It only took an afternoon and instantly lifted the excitement factor on this side of her room!

Working on a project where you need to fill so much blank space and do it evenly can feel a little daunting, but that's half the fun of an abstract style. It's not supposed to be precise. There's a little wiggle room for things being less than centered or slightly inconsistent. The big takeaway I got from this is to work in layers and not be afraid to add more color or more pattern if it's just not quite doing what you want it to.

Sometimes I'm halfway through a project and it's all feeling off. Then I just push through a little longer and suddenly it all comes together. This was one of those. If you're feeling really unsure, test out your pattern on a scrap of fabric first before committing to a curtain panel and make any adjustments necessary.

Supplies
- 100% cotton curtain panel (or use cotton yardage and hem the sides and top like I did)
- inexpensive shower curtain liner to protect your work surface from paint bleeding through
- fabric paint in your favorite colors: These were Tulip brand, but I also added in a few other colors as I went that were regular acrylic paints.
- paint brushes with varying widths and stiffnesses for more control over your brush strokes
- washi tape to keep your shower curtain attached cutely to your floor

Place your plastic curtain liner on the ground or table and tape the corners and edges down to keep it from moving while you paint. Then lay your curtain or cotton yardage on top of it. I chose to work with one color at a time and did a base pattern all over before adding the next color and layer. I tried working in one square foot section at a time, but then it wasn't quite looking as uniform as I wanted, so I went back to the method of one layer at a time all over.

If you want to layer two colors, be sure to let the bottom layer dry before painting over it. Then follow the directions for dry time before moving your panel as you don't want all of that hard work to get smeared! If you're sewing your own panel, hem your edges according to the length of your window. Then attach your panel to your rod.

Make two at the same time for a larger window and to keep your pattern consistent. You could easily do something similar with only a few colors as well. It's such a fun way to get a custom look and add tons of color and pattern to your space! -Rachel

Credits//Author and Photography: Rachel Denbow. Photos edited with A Beautiful Mess actions.