Macgyver {32} CD Curtain Header

You DIY DJs remastered your damaged discs into lamps, shelves, and a dry-erase calendar. But one entry—by Jean Orlebeke of Oakland, California—soared to the top of the charts: She strung the shiny plastic slivers into a curtain worthy of MacGyver’s greatest hits.

CD CURTAIN
INGREDIENTS
  • Curtain or dowel rod and hanging hardware
  • Thin craft wire
  • Spacers (small beads, hardware, etc.)
  • Fishing line
  • Adhesive CD labels (optional)
  • CDs
TOOLS
  • Printer (optional)
  • Scissors
MAKE IT

1. I used 105 discs to make a panel that’s about six feet (15 discs) tall and three feet (seven discs) wide.
2. My CDs were the pre-labeled type, so they looked nice and uniform. If yours are a bit more motley, smarten them up with adhesive blanks from the office supply store.
3. The curtain is woven together with fishing line, with small spacers between the CDs. I used silver beads as spacers, but any small hardware with a hole in it will do.
4. String the vertical columns first. For each one, cut two lengths of fishing line, tie them together at one end, and crisscross the loose ends through the center of each CD, adding a spacer after each disc (see diagram). Tie the loose ends together through the center of the last CD.
5. Weave the horizontal rows the same way. I only did every fifth row so the discs in the unwoven rows can twist, but you can weave through every other row if you want the discs in your curtain to be a little more stationary.
6. Use the craft wire to attach each disc in the top row to a dowel or curtain rod that’s strong enough to hold the panel’s weight.
7. Hang your shiny new curtain, turn on the tunes, and sit back to reflect.

{ TIP } Tie extra spacers to the ends of the pieces of fishing line to make them easier to grasp—and to see—as you’re threading them through each disc.