Thursday 14 November 2013

How to Make a Fabric Covered Notice Board


Loyal readers of my blog may remember that a couple of posts ago here, I left you with a bit of a teaser about a simple project that I had made.






Now that I'm back online I'd like share that project with you, and show you how I covered a notice board (or pin board) with fabric, so that I would have somewhere to pin inspirations, business cards and anything else I wanted to have to hand in my (newly tidied) sewing room.

I'd been looking around for a padded fabric-covered noticeboard for a while without any success. A year or two ago they were everywhere. The odd one I did find was either too small or too expensive, so I decided to have a go at making my own.

First I sourced a large pin board (cork covered board) from an office supplies company via Amazon - they seemed to offer the best price. I paid about £8 for a large 2' x 3' wood-edged cork board.




Other materials and equipment needed:

Fabric - enough to cover the board with several inches spare all round
Polyester wadding
Heavy Duty staple gun (that fires direct into a surface)
Staples
Scissors
Wall fittings of choice
Backing fabric (optional)
Ribbon or trim (optional) 

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Tutorial - How to Cover a Pin Board


First, lay out your fabric and place board on top (see above). (Be sure when using geometric repeat patterns, stripes and checks that the fabric is lined up correctly, parallel to the board, otherwise you could end up with a wonky front!)

Cut around board allowing approximately 2" to 3" extra fabric (depending on depth of board) for folding over to staple at back of board. Better to allow too much than too little as you will trim away excess fabric later.

Iron fabric and set aside.

Cut out the wadding in the same way allowing plenty of extra to fold over to back of board.


Next, lay the fabric right side facing down (wrong side facing up), then place the wadding on top of the fabric, and the pin board (wrong side up) on top of the wadding (see above).


Starting in the middle of one long side, pull the fabric up taut around the side of the board to the back, and holding down firmly, staple into wooden batten surrounding cork board. Be careful not to pull too hard that you pull the fabric out from under board and away from other side.

Add a few more staples either side of the first centre staple, then repeat on opposite long side of the pin board, pulling taut so that the fabric lays flat on the right side.

Once you have a few staples in place on both sides, you can then continue evenly down each side until the corner is reached.


Staple up near the corner then make a neat mitre fold as below.


Staple corner (see below) and continue along top (or bottom) of board and repeat cornering.


 When you have finished stapling all four sides and four corners, check that the front is looking neat and taut.



Trim away excess wadding and fabric, roughly in line with edge of wooden batten.



Continue trimming all the way round until back of board is finished.



The back should look something like this (see below) when you have finished trimming




And, fingers crossed, it will look neat and taut from the front, with any pattern lined up neatly in a straight line parallel to the top and sides!




Voila!

Now, should you wish to do a "proper job" on your board, you can now cover the back so that no raw edges or back board shows. 

At this stage I just wanted to get my board up and into action, so I didn't bother, but if you did want to, then you would measure a piece of fabric the same size as the board, then turning under a hem all the way round you could glue it into place over the staples, or indeed just staple it into place.

Also, if you wanted to add the ubiquitous ribbons, useful for poking cards etc under, and for making it look more decorative, you could add criss-cross ribbons, stapling them behind the board.

You would add the ribbon before the backing if you were going to do both.

I wanted a simple board without further decoration so I put mine up as it is.


I fixed two hooks to the back of the board, one either side, pushing back the wadding and fabric to do so.


I then added picture wire (string would do) and hung my board onto a hook. 

You, of course, can fix it however you want, and whatever suits your walls best.



So there it is - a fabric-covered pin board in it's simplest form. 

But you could use any type of fabric and make it as pretty as you want with ribbons or braid.




I hope this may help anyone who fancies having a go at making their own fabric-covered notice board - it's very quick to make, probably less than an hour!


I have a few more new projects to share next time, and maybe another "How to".........here's a little sneaky peek ........



Hope you all have a good weekend - Friday tomorrow!

28 comments:

  1. That's lovely Gilly. Such a good idea. What beautiful fabric. Where's it from?

    Ali xx

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    1. Hi Ali, the fabric is a Laura Ashley furnishing fabric from a few years ago - I bought a large remnant maybe 7 or 8 years ago, and am rather fond of it!

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  2. That's really pretty! I love fabric bulletin boards - they're super cute and useful. Thanks for sharing!

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  3. Lovely Gill..............thanks for sharing! :)
    Happy weekend to you too!
    V xxx

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  4. That looks fab - thanks for the tutorial too. I used to have one of these, but just wondering where it's got to! Must have a wee look for it.
    Happy weekend to you too, xx

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  5. You did a great job on the noticeboard! It looks very pretty. xx

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  6. Fabulous tutorial, thank you so much! I think I'll make some for the children, with some fun woodland fabrics... Chrissie x

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    1. That sounds a great idea for children's rooms Chrissie!

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  7. Great job! I have one of those cork bulletin boards too. I never thought of covering it..I thought I 'd have to buy a special board to cover. Thank you!

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    1. Have a go Sam - if you have the equipment to hand its quite a quick and easy job.

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  8. Love your message board . . . great tutorial, too.
    I love it when I don't have to guess about how something was put together :)

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    1. I know just what you mean Connie - often things look like they might be complicated, but once you know how it looks easy!

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  9. This is making me think,think and think as I've been looking for this type of notice board for ages. I did find one lady who made them to order on facebook but in the UK and postage would have made it too expensive. Your Tutorial makes it sound nice and easy to do so I'm thinking perhaps I could make one myself. I reckon I could pick up a cheap cork notice board at the Euro store easy (that is what we call the Pound-stretcher stores here) .
    Great post Gill

    keep well


    Amanda :-)

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    1. I'm sure you could make one Amanda, it turned out to be much more straightforward than I had imagined, which is why I wanted to share it.
      Glad this has helped.
      Gill xx

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  10. what a nice mood board love the fabric patron looks great

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  11. Change the monotone look of a simple board and have this result, it's fantastic Gilly!You put a nice, quite fabric, I like it! It also seems very easy following your instructions.You must have really fun in your craft room, you are so good to create lovely things!
    Sending you sweet thoughts and warm regards!
    Olympia

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  12. Such a great idea to cover a board yourself in your own choice of fabric, and a very clear tutorial too! A perfect addition to your lovely tidy sewing room! Wishing you a happy Sunday, Gill!
    Helen x

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  13. Pretty notice board (in my favourite colour), thanks for sharing :) xx

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  14. Hello Gill, great tutorial! I love your board and fabric choice, and was very touched to see a little something of mine on there. Thanks so much for your lovely comments. I haven't had a lot of time for posting it, but really miss it when I don't. Sounds like you are planning to get busy! I do hope you are well, and that Bella is settling in. Much love to you, my friend, Linda x

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  15. What a lovely idea and thank you so much for sharing! Can l just ask, what thickness/weight polyester wadding you used as l'd love to make one for my study? Had a quick look online and the choice seems to go from 2oz to 14oz! thinking 2oz would probably be fine? thanks again! :) x

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    1. Hi Lyn, thanks for your comment, I'm glad you are finding this useful. I used the remains of a polyester wadding quilt roll so I'm not sure what weight it was, but it was probably 4oz or 6oz as it was quite light weight but with a bit of depth to it. Any you can get hold of would probably do, but the 2oz might be a bit thin.

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    2. Thanks Gill! Your help is really appreciated and l think you're right about the 2oz, bought a little the other day to try out with, when l doubled it up, it looked much better! Time to find that staple gun now :)

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  16. Looks great Gill and looks like it's a decent size too. Love the green (of course)!
    Jane x

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  17. What a great and simple idea, Gill!
    Thank you for this very good tutorial!
    xox

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  18. Gill that is a really super idea and I think it would make a great gift for Christmas. I also love a Gingham so have been admiring the cushions you made on your previous post. I hope you don't mind me asking but I am wondering where you got those beautiful name labels in that lovely linen like material? I would love some to embellish my makes.

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    1. Hi Linda, I get my labels from www.wovenlabelsuk.com. Have sent you an email replying more fully.

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  19. Thank you for sharing your ideas. I have just started making decorative pin boards. Do you have any suggestions as to what materials could be used for the backing to make it look tidy?
    I have made one using felt on the back with a hot glue gun

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    1. Thanks for your comment Mums the word. If I were making one to give I would maybe back with fabric folded under at the edges then either glued in place like you have laready done, or, if like me you don't own a glue gun then I would either staple or whip stitch the backing into place attaching it to the turned over fabric on the back, and then add some braid or trim to cover the staples. Or maybe attach using decorative upholstery studs/pins.
      But your idea of felt hot glued sounds good. Hope this helps!

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Thanks for visiting and for taking the time to leave a comment - I love to read them!
Gill x