I recently made a pair of laminated cotton curtains for my son’s preschool, and thought I’d share the process here. The classroom has a couple of sinks with open shelving underneath, previously covered by a pair of well-worn, paint-splattered, curtains. The teacher requested something that would stand up to the usual preschool messes of paint and play-doh:)
Our first thought was to use oilcloth, which would be easy to wipe off, but after a bit of searching online I came across the warnings about unhealthy levels of phthalates present in oilcloth. Oilcloth is essentially vinyl (or PVC) – phthalates are used to soften the PVC so that it is flexible. When shopping online for oilcloth or laminated cotton, you may see statements about whether the product is ‘CPSIA compliant’. CPSIA is a U.S. regulation primarily regulating chemicals (namely phthalates and lead) in children’s products. Needless to say, I decided against using oilcloth in a classroom full of 2-3 year-olds!
Luckily, there are other options…enter laminated cotton! Continue reading “Laminated Cotton Curtains”
fox threads 