HomeDecorFilter: How can I dye some curtains to very closely match my new walls?

February 19, 2008 7:05 AM

HomeDecorFilter: How can I dye some curtains to very closely match my new walls?

I've recently began to paint my office a most excellent shade of apple green, not unlike the one seen here. My wife and I have been trying to find ideas for window treatments, and I think we want to do curtains—but white seems boring. Can I get Lowes to give me some of the pigment they used in the paint, and use it to dye some white tab top curtains? If that won't work, how the heck do I get curtains that will very closely match the walls, and is this even a good idea? The walls are apple green and all the trim is a nice, semi-gloss white. Realize this is more subjective than many questions that get asked here, but I need the hivemind's opinions!

posted by littlerobothead to home & garden (12 comments total)

Something to keep in mind - the fiber content of the curtains will vary how well, and how richly, they will hold the color. So you should be just as worried about what your curtains are made of as what you use to dye them.

That said, the RIT website appears to have instructions on how to create custom colors from their exisiting color options. I have used RIT products in the past and been pleased with the results - except for once - the shirt that I was working with was 100% cotton, but the thread it was sewn with had a high polyester content. So the shirt itself was a lovely blue, but the seams and decorative trimming was all still bright white. An interesting effect, but not what I was going for. (Might work for you, with your white trim though.)

There's a large movement among fiber artists to dye their yarns with kool-aid. I've never done it, but I do think that there's both a lime and a green apple flavor/color to choose from. Hope this helps, even though it's not a direct answer.
posted by librarianamy at 7:34 AM on February 19

I would look for some patterned fabric with a green that closely matches your walls and make curtains from that (making curtains is one of the easiest sewing projects out there), instead of going for a solid green matchy-matchy feel, which I think would be overwhelming.

Something like this might be fun, although I can't vouch for your tastes (not to say that your tastes are bad, just different than mine).

Go to an upholstery fabric store and look around with a paint chip in hand.
posted by that girl at 7:58 AM on February 19

Honestly? It's going to be just about impossible to replicate the color exactly. Dyeing fabric is not, as far as I can tell, an easy art, and they way you'll have to do it, it's not an exact art.

I think white would be OK, but if your office has colors in those proportions - I.E., already a lot of white, then white curtains would not be that special. On the other hand, if you mainly have white along the baseboard and on window and door molding, then an additional white accent -- in the form of curtains, framed by the apple green on all sides -- could look fabulous.

That said, if the entire room is just white and green, as in the image you linked, then a third color, used in very small quantities, could really bring the room to life. Maybe there's already another color in the room that you like - your desk accessories? Desk itself? Light fixture? Something in a painting or photo on the wall? You could choose curtains that echo that color, and then the whole room will really hang together.
posted by amtho at 8:26 AM on February 19

For future reference, it's much easier to get paint colors done to match fabric than fabric dyed to match paint.

Can I get Lowes to give me some of the pigment they used in the paint, and use it to dye some white tab top curtains?

By all means ask them, but I think paint pigment and fabric dye are most likely completely different chemicals. (Don't know for sure-- paging paulsc!) Also, tab top curtains will only take dye if they're made of cotton not polyester-- in general, synthetics don't absorb dye. So check the label before you start.

In any case, I think curtains of a contrasting colour, as long as it goes with the green of your walls, will look as good or better than curtains that are just the same apple-green.

So, !measure!your!windows!carefully!, including measuring the curtain rail if there is one, and do one of the following:

option 1: apply some of your paint to a piece of paper, take to fabric store, see what fabrics go with it (check them in daylight as well as indoor light). Get the store to cut you little sample swatches of any you like. Take them home, spread them out on the desk, live with them a few days. Then, if you sew, do them yourself following one of these sets of instructions. Otherwise, get a friend or a pro to do them.

option 2: Apply some of your paint to a piece of paper, take to IKEA, Crate&Barrel or similar. Buy tab-top curtains to fit your windows, either white or in a colour or pattern you like that matches (check in daylight as well as indoor light.)

option 2a (if you're feeling frisky): buy white tab-top curtains as above. Check that they're machine washable. Machine wash them when you get home and let them hang to dry. Go to craft store and get fabric paints and brushes (also stencils, stamps, etc if you like). Mix a shade that matches your walls, practice on a piece of paper first, then... PAINTING PARTYYYYYY.

Good luck!
posted by Pallas Athena at 8:34 AM on February 19

I realize you've already started painting, but you might have had better luck going the other way. I believe most major paint retailers will offer some level of colour matching these days, so you could have bought green curtains in a shade you liked and had them matched in the paint. Dying fabric has a lot more variables in it than creating paint, so it'd be a lot harder to do dye to match in the other direction.
posted by jacquilynne at 10:01 AM on February 19

I'll second jacquilyne. I think a LOT easier to get paint to match curtains.
posted by ObscureReferenceMan at 10:25 AM on February 19

@that girl: Those curtains are great! I might just buy them as is. And thanks to you all for your excellent suggestions. I want to give you all little check marks.
posted by littlerobothead at 10:40 AM on February 19

www.dharmatrading.com is one of the best resources for dye for various different types of fabric. fabric content is going to play in big here though--read the info on their site, and check into it.

that said, why would you want your curtains to match the walls exactly? especially with such a vibrant color, I think it'll make the room feel closed in and a little trippy. If you're dead-set on matching, get some fabric medium at the paint store, mix it with the wall color, and paint a matching border on your curtains.

What color are you painting your trim? If white, I'd go with a white textured (maybe woven in tonal stripes, or a tonal damask pattern) curtain, and add a border or trim of a bright poppy print that includes a similar green, but isn't ALL that green. I'm thinking something like Amy Butler-style print could be gorgeous.

Or, you could get a very large-scale print like this Marimekko fabric would be very striking.
posted by kumquatmay at 2:23 PM on February 19

I wouldn't recommend matching curtains and especially dyeing them. If the colour is off, you've toasted the material, time and mess and $$$$.

If your furniture is wooden....may I suggest the Giraffes Hiding Fabric Brown on Sand¿ Cool.
posted by alicesshoe at 3:31 PM on February 19

They're NOT CURTAINS, just fabric! You'll probably need four yards at least for curtains, depending on the size of your windows, which doesn't make it a cheap option. But! Things.
posted by that girl at 4:35 PM on February 19

@that girl: I noticed, long after I'd made a dork of myself, that those were not curtains and were in fact the RAW MATERIALS curtains are made of! Mea culpa, thanks for the pointer and I am now going to mail a seamstress friend and beg for my new curtains!
posted by littlerobothead at 7:47 PM on February 19

Yes, I too should have added that my suggestion was material only, but damn fine material. Making curtains seems less of a mess than dyeing.
Helps to be handy with a sewing machine for cheap and cheerful.

I'd love to see those giraffe's against that wall. Wheeeeee.
yes, your tastes may vary....as in all decoration....

hell, white curtains would look good too, given it's the trim colour.....
posted by alicesshoe at 5:59 PM on February 20