Thinking of creating your own set of outdoor curtain panels? Your first step is to track down your materials. While almost any fabric can be used to make curtains, not all fabrics are suitable for outdoor use.
Types of Outdoor Curtain Material
When shopping for outdoor material for curtains, there are several options on the market. Here’s a quick overview of the types of outdoor curtain fabric you’re most likely to encounter in your search.
Cotton Canvas
As a material for outdoor curtains, cotton canvas offers limited design choices. It can also be quite heavy and is prone to problems with mold and mildew. You can purchase waterproofing sprays to try to combat the problem; however, applying them can be a messy, uncertain, and a potentially toxic extra step.
Polyester Blends
One of the most common outdoor curtain materials available, polyester blends can offer lovely drape and a wide range of prints, but they can be prone to fading and discoloration.
Acrylic
Solution-dyed acrylic fabrics offer a more colorfast solution for outdoor curtains, but have a tendency to build up static charge more quickly than other fabrics. Moreover, these fabrics can be hazardous when around heat flames. If you plan on having outdoor heaters or fire pits anywhere near your curtains, this could be a bad combination for acrylic fabrics.
Olefin
Fabrics woven from solution-dyed olefin yarns make an excellent fabric for outdoor curtain projects. Olefin fabric is lightweight, soft, extremely durable, and doesn’t fade in the sunshine. It’s also available in a wider variety of designer patterns, giving you many options to get creative! Check out our Looking Glass Collection.
Features to Look For in Outdoor Curtain Fabrics
Before you buy outdoor fabric for curtains, make sure it’s up to the task at hand! Having a list of features to check while shopping will help you discover the right fabric for your DIY outdoor curtains.
Water Resistant
Your outdoor curtains should be able to dry quickly, even after a passing shower. Fabrics that absorb a lot of water — like cotton or canvas– may become too heavy after a rainstorm and are at a higher risk of developing mold and mildew problems.
UV and Fade Resistant
Direct sunlight can be tough on outdoor fabric. Harsh UV exposure on untreated fabrics can cause them to “bleach out” and fade, causing dullness and discoloration in a surprisingly short amount of time.
Eco-Friendly
Enjoying outdoor living means looking out for the environment you love so much. The manufacturing process for olefin fabrics creates very little waste material, and the fabric used is 100% recyclable. It can be melted down, re-extruded into new yarn, and rewoven up to 10 times!
GREENGUARD Certified
Products with GREENGUARD® certification have been manufactured to meet some of the world’s most stringent standards for low emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). It’s an important fabric feature to protect air quality anywhere you plan to enclose a space with curtains.
Using Outdoor Curtain Material
Making your own outdoor curtains is a quick and easy DIY project that anyone can tackle. Don’t believe us? Check out Phifer’s detailed how-to make outdoor curtains guide, where we’ll walk you through all the steps so that you can create curtains with confidence!
Shop Phifer’s Outdoor Fabrics for Curtains
Whatever your design aesthetic, there’s an outdoor fabric just waiting to transform your space. Use our
Outdoor Fabric Visualizer to see how your favorite fabric designs and colors might look in your space.
Check out our selection of outdoor fabrics that can be delivered right to your door!
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