Any beginning photographer knows that good equipment is necessary, but expensive.  Setting up a studio can be a pricey proposition, and there is often little cash to spare.  Fortunately, you can create your own muslin backdrop with a little ingenuity and very little talent.

Muslin backdrops have been used in the industry for years, with good reason.  Muslin accepts paint well, photographs well, is sturdy and inexpensive.  Muslin is used throughout the entertainment industry as a backdrop, lighting bounce, and canvas for scenery.  Photographic backdrops are also typically painted on muslin.

To create your own backdrop, purchase about 6 yards of wide muslin, preferably 100” or wider.  You’ll need to have an iron and ironing board, scissors, a straight edge and pencil handy.  You’ll also need a sewing machine or fusible tape for hemming.  The fabric and fusible tape are easily found at your local fabric store.

Before you start, wash the muslin.  New fabric is treated with a sizing that can make painting it difficult, and unwashed muslin can shrink unevenly.  Washing removes the sizing.  Dry the muslin in the clothes dryer.

Using the straight edge, cut the edges of the fabric so that they are even and straight.  This may take some time, but it is easy if you lay the fabric on a large, flat surface.  After the edges are even, use the fusible tape or your sewing machine to hem the edges.  Create a clean line by folding the edges over carefully.  If you’d like to create a casing for a pole to go through, fold the top 6” of the muslin over again and sew or fuse it down, leaving the fold area free.  This will create a pocket for a backdrop pole.