Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Three Quick Burlap Projects

Remember when I talked about all the fun burlap project ideas I've found? Well, when I was decorating the second guest room, I did a few burlap projects of my own! 

Project #1: Burlap Curtain

This was seriously so easy. Burlap is already finished on the two sides, so you only have to deal with the top and bottom of the curtain. I just measured from the curtain rod to the floor to determine how long my curtain needed to be, then added 3" for the top (for a little rod pocket) and 4" for the bottom (for a nice thick hem). I laid the fabric out on the floor, measured it, and cut it to the right length. It doesn't have to be totally perfectly straight... the edges will end up on the back of your curtain.

After that, I folded over the extra 3" on the top and ironed that down, then folded over the 4" on the bottom and ironed that as well. Then I found some thread that matched the burlap and sewed a straight stitch across the edge of each fold using a 1" seam allowance (burlap has a tendency to fray a bit, so a big seam allowance is good). That created a nice hem for the bottom and a nice rod pocket for the top.



After hanging the curtain on the wall, I cut a small strip of burlap and tied it around at the windowsill to gather the curtain together. A small nail going through the back of the strip and into the wall holds it in place. 


I'm still deciding whether or not I want to do a second curtain for the other side of the window. Any thoughts? 

Project #2: Burlap Key Frame

This was also so, so easy. I removed the glass from an old frame, measured the cardboard backing, then cut a few layers of burlap fabric that were all slightly larger than the cardboard. I put the burlap layers into the frame, folded over the excess fabric, closed it up, and laid it down on my counter. 

Then I took two iron keys (purchased in a pack of 3 at HomeGoods, but I'm sure you can find them at places like Hobby Lobby), covered their backs in hot glue, and pressed them onto the burlap. After the glue was totally dry, I stood the frame back up and it was finished! I was worried that the weight of the keys would make them fall off (hot glue isn't that strong), but so far it's been about three weeks, and they're still holding just fine. 

Project #3: Burlap Chair Cushion

Chair cushion recovering is the easiest upholstery project ever. Anybody can do this. I started with this chair:

When I removed the staples on the bottom and pulled off the old navy fabric, there was a linen-type fabric underneath that was actually in pretty good shape (if it hadn't been, I would have pulled it off too and added a new linen fabric). So I just cut two pieces of burlap (burlap is kind of hole-y, so two layers is the best way to make sure the fabric underneath doesn't show through) and used a staple gun to affix them to the seat like I did with my black and white chair in the piano room. 

After a bunch of staples, it was done! Easy peasy. 


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So now I've finished my first three burlap projects, and I still have a lot of burlap left! I think I may try a table runner next! 

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