DIY Block-Printed Fabric Curtains

I have an obsession with block-printed fabrics and textiles! I love how the patterns are modern, organic and geometric all at the same time. (Some of my favorite fabric pins HERE)

I've been wanting to try block printing myself for a long time though and Lucy's bedroom curtains presented a great opportunity! We started with this gorgeous brass rod and these favorite IKEA linen-look white curtain panels that just can't be beat at $35/pair. A pretty and simple combo, but I knew we could step it up a notch with a subtle blue stamped pattern. I thought about making my own stamp with a lino block to look something like this Madeline Weinrib print, but then I found a fern stamp at my local art supply store that I really loved.

Amazon also has about a hundred cool block print options if you want to try one for yourself! DYING over that Tiger stamp! I want to stamp Evie's plain white roman shades with black or hot pink tigers. :)

tree  //  tiger  //  flower  //  leaf combo pack  //  Aztec design  //  snowflake  //  butterfly

 

The stamps themselves are pretty easy to use, especially after a couple of practice rounds, so my best piece of advice about the project has to do with the set up. I've wanted to try this project for ages, but I didn't want to have to deal with marking each and every placement of every stamp. And it is SO important to have exact measurements in the pattern drop!

So I cleared off our desks in the studio one weekend (you can just do this on your hard-surface floor if you don't have a table big enough) and started marking out an 8″ grid pattern.

I started first by making the horizontal hatch marks with a little bit of tape and then the long lines and then the vertical marks and lines. It was SUPER fast and easy to do.

I wanted there to be about an inch of white relief at the top of the header before the pattern started, so I was sure to plan out my pattern marks before I started taping.

I picked a bright blue fabric paint and used this roller to apply the paint to the stamp in a thin, even coat before each application.



 It's really helpful to completely clean off the stamp every fifth or sixth application, just to keep the lines crisp. The charm of the block-printed look is that each stamping will look a little different but hopefully only a little different with practice! I stamped six panels for Lucy's bedroom and my last four were much better than my first two. We only ended up needing four panels for her room, so it all worked out! :) I just seamed two panels together for each side so there would be enough fabric for Lucy to close her curtains and still have some fullness.





I'm OBSESSED with the final look! The blue is such a subtle touch of color in a room that already has a lot going on with the blush walls and bright pink bed. Claire needs some new curtains in her bedroom and I can't wait to try another pattern and color! :)

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