Soon I will open a new area of the website dedicated to “everyday occasions” where I’ll showcase new, non-wedding items and we can talk about all the awesome creativity that happens outside of event planning. Until then, you may wonder how this tutorial fits in, but hear me out.If you are planning on doing any DIY projects for your wedding, you’re going to want a movable, washable, throw-away-able rug to have under you as you work. Making your own invitations will mean millions of little paper schnibbles stuck in your carpet. Painting your cake topper might mean a dropped paint brush or two. Mixing up 600 cookies worth of dough for your favors will probably get a little flour on your floor. Before you take on any of those projects, make a drop cloth rug like this one and you’ll save your permanent flooring. You’ll also get to experiment with spray glue and fusible webbing – two items you’ll need to be familiar with over the next few months, Miss Bride-to-Be…
I got this idea from the High-Heeled Foot in the Door blog (found through Pinterest). The process below is pretty much what she does, but I’ve removed a few steps and supplies. This project took me about an hour and a half, including taking pictures along the way.
Let’s start with our supplies:
- A piece of decorative fabric that is the size of the rug you want to make (add 3 inches to each side)
- Drop cloth material (found in the painting section of your hardware store)
- Spray glue
- Pinking shears
- Strips of fusible webbing (steam-a-stitch)
- Iron
Instructions:
1. Layout an old blanket or sheet (or an old drop cloth rug! 🙂 ) on the floor as a work surface.
2. Trim your decorative fabric with the pinking shears on all four sides to prevent fraying. Cut the drop cloth material to the size of your decorative fabric, minus one inch on all sides. (Any finished edges on the drop cloth do not need to be cut.)
3. Iron both pieces of fabric. Iron on the fabric side of the drop cloth, not the plastic side. (Please be careful not to melt the plastic.)
4. Layout your fabrics. First, lay the drop cloth with the fabric side on the floor. Lay the decorative fabric on top, being careful to align the fabrics per your measurements.
5. Fold over one half of the decorative fabric. Spray the wrong sides of both fabrics with spray glue. After a minute (follow instructions on your can), carefully smooth down the decorative fabric on the drop cloth, taking time to smooth out any wrinkles. The spray glue should give you the opportunity to work backwards if mistakes need to be fixed. Repeat on the other side.
6. Now’s a good time to grab a snack or take a bathroom break. You don’t need to leave this for long, but give the spray glue a little time to work its magic before you proceed.
7. Flip the rug over. Working one side at a time, measure out strips of fusible webbing, stopping about one inch from the ends. Stick the webbing as close to the edge of the drop cloth as you can. Next, fold over the decorative fabric on top of the webbing. Working slowly, apply a hot iron to the decorative fabric, melting the webbing underneath. You’ll probably need to hold the iron in place for 5-10 seconds, but play around with the timing. Add small strips of extra webbing to the corners if necessary to hold down extra fabric.
That’s it! Unplug the iron and admire your work. You’ll notice my fabric wasn’t exact and it still worked out fine. We’re not going for perfection…we’re just trying to protect the real floor.
This rug is relatively waterproof and durable to little hands and feet, so this is a great idea of a craft room or kids’ playroom as well. The fabric I used was purchased in the quilting cottons section of my craft store. All told, I think I spent about $12 for supplies and had a lot of leftover drop cloth fabric and fusible webbing.
Good luck!
