DIY Chevron Curtains

I know. Chevron is very very popular. But I've been in love with it for a long time and looking for a way to work it into my house. We wanted to get a Chevron rug for Justin's office in the basement. IKEA and West Elm both have lovely options. But budget-wise, not so much. So with me and Justin getting more and more sick of our brown curtains in the living room, I saw opportunity... I mean, they are pretty curtains, but we wanted a roller blind, like we put in the dining room. The window in the living room is too big though, so instead of the cheap IKEA roller in the dining room, we'd have to order a custom blind, with the cheapest option being around $160 (eBay). I know, we could use 3 blinds, but with the size of the mounting brackets, there would be goofy gaps in between the roller blinds. Ew.

ANYWAYS, I googled "chevron curtains," and found mainly things that were crazy expensive and beautiful. Then, I found some blogs with DIY tutorials on sewing or painting chevron curtains. We had six white panels in our bedroom that we have been wanting to get rid of, so we bought super cheap (and NOT permanent) paper blinds from Wal-Mart. They are OK, and at least get some of that fabric out of the bedroom, but they are just cheap looking. The positive is that they literally just stick up to the window casing. That's a huge positive considering we have metal casings and it's INSANELY hard to drill into them to hang anything. Back to the curtains... I found this blog entry about doing a huge chevron print, and me and Justin were both in love. I pretty much just stole her tutorial to make my curtains. I used the super dark blue color from Justin's room in the basement for the stripes. I love these but they are a PAIN to make. And I have to make two more. Fortunately, we have two more of the same white panels. But I think I'll need a new tarp. Boo. Also, there are some splotchy parts of these curtains that you can see when the sun shines through them. I'm not sure how much I like that... I definitely had a few booboos with splattered paint, etc., but you can't see them unless you are close up. And let's remember, this was a free project. It only cost me the $15 we spent for the new paper blinds for the bedroom. And a lot of time. So happy with the result though. The room looks so much brighter. There was simply too much brown in there.
Here's the before. Yes, the living room is a MESS. I'm not ashamed. Well, a little ashamed. We have a toddler...
Here's my math. Ya'll, I'm an English major. Yipes.
Here's a during shot. Painters tape!
Another "during."

During the day, all done! See, I need two more panels. It'll wait. And if you click the photo and make it big, you can see the splotches. I'm not sure if they are bothering me or not.
At night, it's more forgiving. Phew.
Backed up, with more context. Sorry, I know this room is messy. I should have cleaned it up. Now you know how we usually live... Although, there isn't usually a tarp under the coffee table. Or a can of paint by the couch. So yeah. The room feels great! No more poo panels!