I can’t take credit for this fabu project, my grandmother came up with the idea and just needed a set of willing hands to put it together. She recently redid her guest bathroom and wanted a beaded curtain as the finishing touch.
She hunted around until she found a curtain with an open work design on the bottom. She ended up finding one in a resale shop. Why open work? Because she had the very clever idea of using earwire hooks to attach the dangles to the curtain so that she can easily remove them when she wants to wash the curtain. (I see now that the creative apples in my family did not fall far from the tree!)
Materials:
Art bead for the center (we used a hand-blown glass angel from an unknown artist that was picked up at a local craft fair many years ago)
acrylic beads in various sizes
light-weight metal accent beads
small charms
beading wire
crimp beads
earwire hooks
towel
measuring tape
wire cutters
crimping pliers
(Bead source: Hobby Lobby)
To string the beads I used Econoflex from Soft Flex in steel blue. Price was more of an issue for our project than high quality materials, since the items are not going to see any wear I felt this was a nice choice for adding color to our design. But if I was doing this for my house, I would have used one of Soft Flex’s Trios sets. (Photo from the Soft Flex website)
Measure out the size of your window, not the curtain. Lay out a towel, fold to the size of your window. Starting from the center, layout your design. It’s like decorating a Christmas tree, after you have the design laid out, move the beads around until you find a good balance of colors and sizes.
String a crimp bead and a charm unto the beading wire. String the wire back through the crimp bead and flatten* the crimp. String on one bead. Leave a space on the wire by holding it and string on a crimp, flatten, add a bead or two. Repeat this until the desired length. Add a crimp, string through an earwire hook, back through the crimp. Flatten the crimp and trim the wire.*Why flatten? The holes on the beads are larger and flattening the crimp holds them nicely in place.
After your design is strung hang the earwires evenly spaced on the curtain.
Eileen
July 21, 2009 at 1:17 pmwhat a GREAT idea…i love it…
peacockfairy
July 21, 2009 at 1:18 pmWhat a great idea! It looks so pretty!
Artisan Clay
July 21, 2009 at 2:34 pmThis is gorgeous! Thanks for the great idea!
TesoriTrovati
July 21, 2009 at 3:33 pmA really pretty idea Heather. And you are right….you come from a family of very talented people! Enjoy the day! Erin
Softflexgirl
July 21, 2009 at 3:44 pmYay Econoflex! 🙂
Jeannie
July 21, 2009 at 4:06 pmTaking a shower in style. I'd feel like royality. Turn out great. Creativity runs in the family.
Kristen Fagan
July 21, 2009 at 5:32 pmThis bead curtain project using ear wires is genius! Removable for washing … how smart. Beautiful color choice in Econoflex!
ParrotiseBeads
July 21, 2009 at 5:33 pmWhat a fun idea!!
beadphoria
July 21, 2009 at 7:39 pmWhat an awesome idea! Love the fact you can remove them so you can wash the curtains. So clever!
[email protected]
July 21, 2009 at 9:41 pmIt's fabulous, I just love this! And so easily customizable to any decor. I'll be linking.
Bobbi
July 22, 2009 at 1:30 amHi, what a awesome idea that your grand-mom had! It looks great! I really love it!
Hugs…
Bobbi
Gaea
July 22, 2009 at 3:05 pmBeautiful project!
Heather Powers
July 23, 2009 at 3:18 pmthe best part was making it together. she had fun arranging the beads just so while I strung them.
thanks for the compliments, I've passed them along to her.
seemownay
July 28, 2009 at 9:22 amI have just added your beautiful project to my luscious link love for this week!
dantel örnekleri
July 27, 2010 at 3:52 pmBeautiful project!
Beauty & Beads
May 22, 2012 at 7:34 pmAWESOME IDEA!!! Would love to do this in my kitchen, have lots of big windows with lots of sunlight.
Thanks for sharing.
Janet
Vicki Lynn
January 20, 2014 at 9:50 amwhere do you place the earwire. do you pierce a hole through the bottom of the curtain?