A simple and inexpensive Beaded Curtain

Hello Bead-lovers!

Remember my earlier posts on coasters and key-chains with beads? Here I take you to the next level of beading, with a complete beaded curtain!

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I and my mother started this project to add a "transparent" barrier in the space between the dining area and the kitchen. I checked out pics on the web for some ideas, scouted the local craft shops for available material, and experimented with a simple design. Here is the outcome..

This is a view from the kitchen towards the dining area and living room. I started out with a long beam of wood about 9 ft in length and 1.5 inches wide, and got 5mm diameter holes drilled at a distance of 0.5inch each throughout the length of the beam. 

The next step was to create a design template for making the beaded columns.  Each column has a regular pattern combining the long pipe bead with a big round bead flanked by 2 small round beads, all in transparent color, threaded through with commonly available cotton twine.  The hanging end of each column ends with a small golden-colored metal bell. Try increasing/decreasing the number of the long pipe beads successively from the center to the outer end of the curtain, to achieve the cascading effect.

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Wondering about that large tiger staring right at you?  That's a huge carpet designed, executed and framed by my mother, which I will discuss in another post.

For the center of the curtain, we tried out a simple diamond-shaped pattern in pink-colored pipe beads.  Here is a closeup of the center of the curtain.

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This same technique can be used to achieve different effects, depending on the kinds of beads being used.  Most of the beaded curtains I found on the internet use round beads, while we used the long pipe beads.  Fortunately, in India, it did not cost us so much to make this curtain, and you would be surprised if I told you that this one made us spend under a thousand rupees! 

So go ahead, and try out a curtain yourself today, and add some glamour to your living space!