Friday morning I wasn't feeling so fantastic- there has been a cough/sneeze/blech bug going around the office, and I fell victim. That said, staying home sick doesn't mean I needed to be totally useless. We started the day with this in our entryway {yuck}
By 10 pm, visitors to our home {not that we are cool enough to have people over late yet} were {would have been} greeted with this!
Which was inspired by this!
Of course, BHG didn't give me any sort of direction on it, simply saying
"This no-sew tablecloth couldn't be easier to make. Cut scaredy-cat shapes from
black felt and simply attach them to a large piece of gold felt using fusible web."
That part in red? Yes, that is the part I don't agree with {at all}. I went the fusible web route because I haven't taken the plunge into sewing machine maven-hood, but it was NOT a wham-bam-thank you ma'am kinda project. At all.
Oh yes, it took planning. Which I finally realized about 1 hour into the project. Oops.
So this is what I started with. A whole bunch of mess. Sweetness. The following is a run-down{ish} of how I got from Point A blah to Point B Hallow-awesomeness.
What You Need:-Enough black (or whatever color) felt to completely cover both sides of your table, with enough extra on the ends to completely cover both sides.
-Accent color (orange in my case). Size varies with how much you want to do.
-Iron & ironing board.
-Traceable designs to draw on the accent fabric.
-Sharp scissors- felt will NOT cut well with dull scissors {not that I tried or anything}.
-Black & silver sharpies (for tracing designs and drawing guide lines).
-Fusible web (I got the by-the-yard
Wonder Under stuff they sell at Jo Ann and it worked very well)
What You Do:1. Measure the item to be covered. Make sure that you have enough fabric that it can go all the way to the ground on both sides and so you have enough that it will overlap on the sides. My table was 55" long and 16" wide by 27" high. I purchased 2 yards of black felt (72" felt) and had a 2 yard square piece.
2. Lay the piece of black felt over the table so that the front side of the felt just touches the ground and covers the table feet completely, as shown. Center the fabric so there is an even overhang on each side. You should have plenty of extra on each end- you need this to cover the sides, and excess can be cut off later.
3. Secure your fabric to one side with tape and on the other side, get started! I simply used scotch tape to fold the fabric as I wanted it and hold it in place. Using a silver sharpie, I made lines on the 'hidden' side of the fabric so they wouldn't show in the finished product. I started on the fold that would be the first secured down. When I got to the part where I was ironing the pieces together, I matched up these lines (approximately) and was able to put things together easily and without confusion.
4. Plug in your iron and set it according to the directions on the fusible web package. I ended up going to the wool setting for mine because the silk setting wasn't doing anything, but start with package directions, please thanks.
5. Carefully remove your fabric from the table and take to your now-hot iron. Remove the tape, but pay close attention to how everything goes together, or you may spend 10 minutes trying to figure it all out again {cough}, and pull out the fusible web!
6. Cut pieces of fusible web and put them on the fabric with the rough side down (again, read the directions). Iron this down, then move to the next area that needs to be secured down. Again, keep in mind how it all goes together, and if need be, before ironing something down, take it back to your piece of furniture and reapply- you only get one chance to iron stuff! TIP: Cut big pieces to use- it cuts down on time wasted in peeling off lots of little bits of paper, and it makes for a more secure bond.
7. Iron until the first side is done, then refit the fabric to your table, making sure it fits well, and repeat the process for the other side.
8. For my piece, my next step was to measure a piece to go across the bottom. In my case, it was 72" because I went from the middle of the left side, across the bottom, to the middle of the right side. I cut a 3" tall and 72" long strip of orange fabric, and then ironed fusible web to the back of the entire length of the strip. Then I ironed the strip to the bottom of the black felt.
9. Next, take a large section of your accent fabric and put fusible web onto the whole area. Yes, the entire section. This will make the cutting and adhering of your designs much easier, promise! {You'll note that I did this a bit backwards- you get to benefit from my mistake. I drew on the fabric, then put on the fusible web (on the other side) and had to be MUCH more careful about how I cut to avoid getting sharpie lines in my designs. Don't do this- you might hate yourself a tiny bit if you do.}
10. Once the web is applied to your fabric, trace your designs onto the paper side of the web with a sharpie. I recommend getting them as close together as possible- this will reduce waste of both your fabric and of the fusible web.
11. Surprise! Now you cut out the shapes you just drew *gasp*.
12. Final step, I promise! Once everything is all cut out, put the table-cloth back on your table and then use scotch tape to put everything on the table-cloth. This helps you to visualize how things will look on there more accurately. Tape the designs on fairly well, carefully take the cloth to your ironing board, and get to ironing until each tiny little felt monster has been secured.
13. Ok, the real last step. Put your lovely no-sew masterpiece on your table and enjoy!
*Phew* Of course, what took me several hours on my sick day could end up taking only a couple of hours for someone who {doesn't wander off every 10 minutes to look at other things} has an idea of how to actually complete the project. I hope this inspires you or helps you create an awesome no-sew project for your own home!
*If you find a way this tutorial could be more clear, please let me know. I'd love some input on this!*
Check other fantastic decor ideas out on the DIY Show-Off!
Anyone can make the simple complicated. Creativity is making the complicated simple. - Charles Mingus*all photos by me
And finding a few more gorgeous flowers along our street before summer {actually} ends here in Central Nowhere.
