Fabric Friday {White and Cream Eyelet} Reader's Q & A

I really love getting questions from readers.  I received this email from Casey.

"I live in the Ozarks and we just don't have a huge selection of cute fabrics like you seem to find!

 I'm wondering if you have a good eyelet fabric resource. I'm working on the nursery for baby #1, and want to make some curtains like these.  I think I can make them sooo much cheaper than $99 a panel, if I could only find a similar eyelet!! Any ideas?"

I agree with her on this one.  $99 a panel is a bit steep for a curtain panel that doesn't even touch the floor.  Casey has a few options to achieve a similar look.  

1.  She can use fashion fabrics since the curtains will not get much wear and tear.

2.  She can use traditional home decor fabric, but that can be more expensive depending on the manufacturer.

3.  She can use eyelet fabric as a trim rather than cover an entire panel. 
4.  She can use eyelet shower curtains or bed sheets, if she is doing a shorter panel like Urban Outfitters.  Using a seam ripper or razor blade, she can separate the eyelet fabric from the backing.

 Here are some eyelet fabrics I found.  Casey is interested white or ivory fabrics, but there is a nice selection of colored eyelets (all with different designs from striped to paisleys) out there.  Mood Fabrics, as well as Etsy, are great resources for eyelet fabrics.

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Eyelet fabrics can be costly because of factors like how intricate the design is.  Sometimes, it may be cheaper to buy the product instead of doing it yourself, but I think Casey has a good chance of making her own eyelet panels for a lot less.

Casey also asked me, "Do you think your ombre chevron curtain technique would work for a shower curtain?" 

My answer?  Heck yeah!  Most shower curtains are 100% cotton or polyester.  My ombre curtains are polyester, and I purchased them from Hancock Fabrics.  You should be able to paint on cotton, and many DIY bloggers are doing just that.  My only recommendation is to stay away from the seams, if possible.  The paint tends to leak under the tape around the stitches (I used the blue tape).  If you have to paint over the seams, press really hard and a few times right before application to achieve the smoothest line possible.  My paint did not bleed at every seam line, but it did happen a few times.  If you plan on washing your shower curtains, you will need to add a fabric paint medium to the latex paint.  Do a test strip first to see how latex paint and fabric medium hold up in the washer and dryer.  You can test this on any scrap fabric you have lying around. And of course, you could always use curtain panels for your shower curtain.  Who says you can't hang drapes in a bathroom??? 

Have fun!

*If you know of a great place to find eyelet fabric by the yard, please share that information with others by leaving it in the comment box.