DIY Patchwork Blackout Curtains

We're currently transitioning James' room from less of a baby's nursery into more of a toddler's room. I recently fell in love with these curtains from Crate and Barrel. I had a few reservations, though: they would cost me about $70 per panel, the panels all looked identical and we need four panels to cover the window in James' room. So, off I went to the one place I knew could help me solve this conundrum - Target. There, I found these charcoal blackout curtains that were $17 per panel. Here's a side by side comparison of the (1) CB and (2) Target curtains.

I just want to make sure you understand what's up so far. I paid less for four panels of the Target curtains than one panel from Crate and Barrel. So, already I was riding the high of some sweet savings when I decided to move that party to AliExpress to find more deals on iron-on patches. There, I ended up paying around $10 for somewhere around 40 patches.

The entire process of applying patches took me about an hour, and that's including La Croix breaks, dealing with a toddler who was collecting patches just to throw handfuls of them into the air, and a quick steam after the patches were applied to help get some wrinkles out. Overall, I would say it was well worth the roughly $180 in savings. They turned out beautifully!