Inexpensive Fabric Wall Art

Decorating an apartment on the cheap is difficult, especially since I'm mostly over the posters-and-photos-without-frames look that I so heavily embraced in undergrad.  Looking for something more cohesive (and more affordable than wall stickers like Blik), inspiration struck while browsing fabrics at Stitches.  I found some Echino fabrics that were beautiful, but way too expensive to quilt or make clothes ($20/yard!).  With just fractions of a yard, some posterboard, and staples, you can put together some easy decorations for your walls.

The best part about this project is that it does no damage to the fabric, and very little to the foam core board.  If you get tired with these hangings, the fabric can be reused for other projects.

Materials:

• 1/4 - 1 yard of fabric (depending on the size of your desired board)
• 1 piece of foam core board
• stapler
• scissors
• X-acto blade or box cutter

Measure out your foam core board and cut with an X-acto blade to the size you want.  Cut your fabric to the size of the board, with a 1/2" to 1" margin.  Alternatively, if your fabric has a particular design or image you would like to frame, you can cut the fabric first and then the foam core board to fit.

 Iron the fabric.

 Place fabric print-side down, and center the board on top.  If your pattern has any lines, be sure to align such that the patterns are how you want them (parallel to the board, diagonal, etc.).

 Starting with one side, fold up the fabric and staple.  Most staplers will swing out (pictured below), which makes this task really easy.  Continue every few inches until the side is secured.

 Pull the fabric taught, and staple the opposite side.

 For the two remaining edges, be sure to fold in the fabric corners so they don't show on the other side.

 Ta-da!  Your wall hanging is complete!

There are many ways you could mount these boards.  For something invisible, you can sew a string across the back of the board, and hang with a nail like a traditional frame.  I opted to use push pins on the top and bottom edges of my boards.  If you decide to remove the fabric, the staples come out easily with the help of a flathead screwdriver or anything else small and flat to pry them out of the foam.

Here are some Echino boards I made for my bedroom.  I also had some leftover from a Birch Fabrics quilt I'm working on, and used it to decorate the other half of my room and the living room.