Homemade Backgrounds?

[PhotoJunkieJen]

So I know a lot of you have professional studios where you can have huge tarps/backgrounds at your disposal.
At this point in my picture taking, I don't have the space or money (or parental support) to invest in backgrounds. But sometimes my pictures need them. Is there anything I can use as a kind of rigged up background?
I've tried to use blankets and such, but espeically with black, you can pretty much see every piece of dust, etc.

[RexK_Cozumel]

If you move the subject further away from the background and use a fairly shallow DOF you will throw the background far enough OOF that you will not be able to see any dust etc on the blanket. This however means that you will need a larger blanket if you are doing full body or multiple person portraits.

Another option is to get a roll of seamless paper and instead of having a stand just leave the roll on the floor and tape the free end on a wall. Seamless paper is basically the giant rolls of paper that you see in art stores.

One time on location I wanted to get a head shot with a plain black background so I had my assistant hold up one of my flags (basically the opposite of a reflector) If I need a white background I just use a white reflector. Works fine in a pinch.

[m.c.adams]

I went to walmart and bought 6'x9' painters drop cloths and dyed them a variety of colors. They work real well.
Mark