Shades dyeing project

The curtain in our master bathroom had water spots on it from its proximity to the bathtub. I tried to wash them out, but the spots remained. Since we needed the curtain both for privacy and to keep the sun out I decided to dye the fabric brown to cover up the water spots and hopefully give a bit more shade. I did get rid of the water spots, however it did not provide much more shade, but it does add some nice color to the bathroom.

To dye fabric shades you'll need fabric dye (you can find an assortment at your local fabric store and basic colors at most grocery stores. Be sure to know the type of fabric you are dying as man-made fabric will require special dyes.), plastic tub, flat-head screwdriver, a staple gun, a seam ripper, and needle & thread:

1. Remove the fabric shade from the wood frame by using the flat-head screwdriver (or whatever will work) to pry the staples from the wood frame.
2. Once the fabric is removed untie the strings that pull up the shade from the base of the fabric.
3. Now the fabric is detached from the frame. Locate the wood poles supporting the shape of the fabric and use the seam ripper to open one seam and remove the wood poles.
4. Now you will be left with just the fabric and possibly some "o" rings that were used to thread the strings through. (You can leave the "o" rings in as they will not be affected by the dye.) Follow the instruction on the dye packet and dye the fabric, washing it alone in the washing machine after to prevent bleeding.
5. Allow the fabric to dry. Replace the wood poles back in their slots and sew up the seams.
6. Line up the fabric with the wood frame and staple starting with each edge until the fabric is taught and securely fastened.
7. Finally re-thread the string through the "o" rings tying it at the bottom.

*Parts of this method can also be applied to other projects involving dying fabric or altering articles similar to shades. I also followed this method to add blackout fabric to my bamboo shades in the master bedroom to block out sunlight. 

Before:

After: