apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

If you can sew simple strait lines, then you can make your own, or you could even use no sew tape to hem your own curtains. You just need to find beautiful fabric. Go to Etsy and search for fabrics to get you started. Alexander Henry has amazing fabrics as does Amy Butler. These are just two that come to mind. Also, try Tonic Living online. They sell gorgeous fabrics and they make curtain panel for much less than the Anthropologie prices. I just purchased two Antrhopologie curtains and sent them back because they weren't the same as pictured. they also had a strange chemical smell. I sent them back and then ordered frabric from Hancocks of Paduca and Tonic Living. Good luck!

i made my curtains out of a target tablecloth that i cut in half. or you could also find fabric shower curtains depending on the size you needed and use them for panels. if you are dead set on the crewel, get some crewel pillows and take them apart, using the fabric for details on solid colored panels.

check Ebay frequently--they have a whole Anthropologie curtain section--also check the Anthropologie sales--things seem to be going on sale a lot quicker these days. Good luck!

would you consider having the panels made? as i'm sure you know, there's a wide variety of crewel fabric out there - some pricey but still less than quoted above.

here's one that is similar - no birds though. http://discountdesignerfabricatschindlers.com/CrewelLinenWoolEmbroideryFabricLWENEDSREDFabric.html

good luck!

I made my own curtains this year using beautiful fabric from www.reprodepot.com. I would definitely recommend them when looking for beautiful and unique fabrics.

here is my new york answer, check AT and Daily Candy for sample sales, there are some good ones this month. then take one of the bargain bus lines to nyc and buy them at discount. while in new york try the fabric stores at grand and allen streets for lower prices.

While they don't have crewel I'd take a look at Urban Outfitters' website.

these aren't crewelwork but the print is similar. you could get two tablecloths (or one large one?) and turn them into curtians:
http://www.crateandbarrel.com/family.aspx?c=440&f=32100

I have used sheets. A full, queen or king flat is good but my new favorite is a duvet cover. There is a lot of fabric in a duvet cover, some beautiful patterns too. I have found some nice ones in resale stores, some still in the package. You have to do some measuring, cutting and sewing but the result is excellent.

i loved those same curtains, but also couldn't pay that price. so i went with these instead - also from anthro, but WAY cheaper...

http://www.anthropologie.com/anthro/catalog/productdetail.jsp?_dyncharset=ISO-8859-1&_dynSessConf=4309672454501293236&id=77451&parentid=DECOR_WINDOWS&pushId=DECOR_WINDOWS&prepushId=DECOR_WINDOWS&popId=DECORATING&sortProperties=&navCount=8&navAction=poppush&fromCategoryPage=true&selectedProductSize=&selectedProductSize1=&color=mul&colorName=MULTI

Ikea had some semi-similar outdoor-inspired curtain panels when I was there recently:

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/70114786

http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/10112016

How about a couple of these cotton/linen shower curtains?

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p11355/index.cfm?pkey=xsrd0m1%7C20%7C%7C%7C0%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7C%7Cserafina&cm%5Fsrc=SCH

Or just be patient and hold out for what you really want--they'll go on sale eventually!

These curtains from Pottery Barn look similar...

http://www.potterybarn.com/products/p12236/index.cfm?pkey=call%2Dwindow%2Dcoverings

Plus they're on sale for $69.99 for the 54 x 108" size. If that's too long you can always buy some iron-on hemming tape to shorten them.

My tip would be to fall in love with some cheaper curtains. Seriously. I know this sounds lame, but we all need to learn within our means... :(

I agree with Gigi818, I too have been searching for curtains and found some that are both hip and affordable at urban outfitters.com..... their online furniture selction is pretty cool as well

Try searching for fabric remnants on eBay - The 4 full-length drapery panels I had custom-made for my den are from fabric that retails for around $200/yard.

http://www.fschumacher.com/search/ProductDetail.aspx?sku=173273

Over the period of several months, I eventually collected @ 14 yards of fabric from various sellers in England - One 7 Meter length, and Two 3 meter lengths - on eBay for an average of $30/yard including shipping.

They are on sale right now at Anthropologie in Beachwood, OH. Don't know what the price is now but I saw 1 pair for the tent sale this weekend.

Heh bepsf so this is why I can't find any more Chiang Mai! It's beautiful. Can you post a picture of the drapes?

If you want crewelwork curtains at an economical price, I suggest you break out the embroidery hoop and needle and copy the embroidery on the curtains yourself. NB that you need not to calculate in the value of your time, because even at minimum wage, doing it yourself would be more expensive, time-wise.

Sure Wally - I just have to find the perfect lampshade for a new lamp and get a few more small prints framed and I'll send photos of my den into AT.

BTW - There's an eBay seller from England who often posts custom pillow covers made from Chiang Mai Dragon as well as other fabrics from British mills - They're a bit on the spendy side depending on the exchange rate that day, but her workmanship is just lovely.

Thanks for all of the input! I knew AT readers would be able to help me out. I am very impressed with all of the resources posted here, and now I have a ton of ideas for something similar (those PB curtains might just do the trick) as well as resources for great fabric in the future. I think I will have to give up on crewelwork for now, though.

Try Designer Fabric Outlet: www.designerfabric.ca
It has similar crewel fabric for decent prices.... I don't know if they ship to the States.......

Try Urban Outfitters. I got my floral curtains there last year and everyone who comes over comments on how great they are. The sales are great.

http://www.urbanoutfitters.com

I got some similar fabric at a local deep discount chain (Building 19, for Boston area types) to use for staging my old house for sale, then didn't need it. I spent about $3 a yard, got about 15 yards, and now don't have a use for it. (My partner doesn't want me to use it for drapes in the library, which was my thought.) White background, crewel inspired print, shades of teal and spring green leaves, a couple of shades of pink floral forms, don't remember what else... maybe we should talk!

SherryBinH, shoot me an email at hjwisconsin[at]yahoo[dot]com, if you're willing to part with the fabric! I'd love to take a look at (photos of) it!

Anthropologie has shower curtains made of the same fabric you love. They are 72" square, and only $88 each. Can you sew? It wouldn't be hard to make the shower curtain into regular curtains. (I've done it before!)

I used two extra large duvet covers from IKEA for French door curtains.