Beaded curtains are gorgeous but not cheap when you purchase them. If you make one yourself you can look forward to endless hours of beading only to find yourself with just two or three strands completed. There are some unusual supplies, though, which you can use to make your beaded curtain, and by using these, you’ll have a fabulous look for pennies – and very little time.
Coffee stirrers are inexpensive, come in various colors, and can be purchased online for very reasonable prices. They come in boxes of great quantity and usually cost less than a penny each. The stirrers make it easy to create unique beaded curtain designs without hours of labor. Tie a large knot in the end of a strand of fishing twine and string a wooden bead, or another type of bead, onto the twine. Now slide a coffee stirrer onto the twine before adding another bead.
The coffee stirrers can be cut into smaller sections, if desired, or strung as-is for a bamboo shaft-type appearance. The stirrers can be painted with new spray-on paints that stick well to plastic. This gives you the option of painting the coffee stirrers any number of colors, including metallics. When finished, the curtain is hung like any other beaded curtain, but this one is lightweight and very unique-looking.
Regular drinking straws – even paper ones – can be used instead of coffee stirrers. You’ll have to use a large bead with a small hole to prevent the straws from sliding down, but they, too, can be painted and cut or left at length.
Whether you’re using the stirrers or straws, you can then go back, after stringing them, and add mini jewels to the straws with hot glue. It only takes a few extra minutes to glue the jewels onto the straws, and when you do, the beaded curtain will sparkle. Or, add contact paper to the straws (before you string them) for a painted-bead look.
Another unusual item that makes an attractive beaded curtain is foil. Cut the foil to the length you would like the “beads” to be. The foil should be wide enough to fold in half, in half again, then folded in half over the twine (with the twine in between), and folded once again to secure the foil on the twine. The amount of times you fold the foil will decide how bulky the foil “bead” looks. Simply folding it over the twine, then folding once again, will hold the foil bead to the string. Follow the pattern of one foil piece, one bead, or create your own pattern, like one foil piece, three beads, or another design.
You can also make your own lightweight beads out of Fun Foam – perfect for a child’s room. Roll the cut foam pieces into various-shaped beads, and string the entire twine with just foam beads, or combine them with other beads.
You can combine the look of the foil beads with the coffee stirrers to make a very cheap, yet beautiful, beaded curtain. Simply string one stirrer, then wad a piece of foil up over the twine, capturing it in the squished foil. Shape the foil until it looks roundish, then add the next stirrer. This design is so inexpensive you can afford to make one for everyone you know!
These fun curtains make great gifts, are so simple to make, and will take little time and money. My personal favorite is the black stirrers with wooden beads design; get busy and try one! You’ll love it.
