Pergola Curtain Update

When we left off with our pergola curtains, I decided to dye them to remove some of the “bridal veil” factor. The mosquito netting in white was too wedding-y:

I ordered a box of RIT teal dye online that day. Before I ordered it, I probably should have read the instructions online. Then I would have seen the warning, “some fabrics will not accept dye, such as 100% polyester.” Such as our 100% polyester mosquito netting curtains. Oooops. I didn’t even bother trying to dye them anyway, I've seen what happens when you try to dye incompatible fabrics. My college roommate was a fashion major and dyed fabric all the time. It comes out blotchy and awful.

So then I thought we could try an set of old curtains outside that we aren’t using from the attic. They aren’t outdoor-friendly, so we would only put them up when we wanted them and take them down after. It’s not ideal, but it’s better than nothing.

The beige fabric is very natural, but the downside is that the beige fabric clashes with the yellow siding. It looks whiter in the pictures than it is in real life. The other downside is that off-white isn't bleachable. The curtains are already slightly stained (they are pretty old!), but still - the great outdoors is a rather dirty place. The fabric is also thick and I think it blocks too much light.

Of course, we could also go back to the mosquito netting too. Or save up for some real outdoor curtains (even though they are all ridiculously expensive - WHY?). For now I think we'll probably end up using both, depending on what we need that day. I also realized that if we used both sets and hung them on the curtain rod and side hooks, we could effectively block out mosquitoes at night and turn it into an outdoor room. Definitely something to try this summer!