August 15, 2011

Oops! I did it again

OK, I really had no idea when I posted this project that it would turn out to be pretty much the *only* reason people visit my blog. I'm talking about my tablecloth turned floorcloth idea that has garnered quite a bit of attention...I'm not complaining mind you, far from it! I'm thrilled that people are visiting my blog and I get most of my traffic from Pinterest these days. I have gotten lots of questions about this project after the fact and tried to answer most of those questions in an edit to the post I linked to above. Some questions I didn't have answers to, so in an effort to answer those questions, I made another floorcloth! I did things a *bit* differently this time around, though.

Using a plain white, round tablecloth instead of an already printed one like I used before, I stenciled a design on the cloth.



I know one of the reasons the other floorcloth was so appealing was that there was minimal effort involved; Buy a cute printed cloth, roll on some polyurethane and be done with it. I like, however, knowing that this one will be unique because I painted the design myself. Food for thought for those of you thinking about doing this and making it 'your own.'

Once I finished stenciling, it was on to the polyurethane. As I said previously, it is VERY IMPORTANT that you use WATER BASED poly. Trust me.

It goes on milky, but will dry crystal clear. This time, I coated the front AND the back, two coats each. I plan on using this outdoors and wanted to make sure it had a good water-resistant surface. I recommend two coats on each side regardless of where you will use it. Once dry, it has a nice low luster sheen to it.


I have mine on my patio now in Arizona summer heat and so far, so good. Before I put it outside, I tested it in another spot. I had alot of readers asking if this would work over existing wall-to-wall carpeting. My answer: I don't know! BUT, I do now, because my good friend was the willing guinea pig in a three week long experiment that leads me to say YES! This can work on carpeting IF you follow some guidelines. First, an extremely plush carpet with a very long pile or really thick foam padding would probably not work. My friend has your ordinary, standard wall-to-wall that you see in pretty much every home that has carpeting. She has kids, she has pets, including a male Bichon that is a prolific pee-er! We tested the floorcloth in her TV room.

If any furniture will be placed on top of the floorcloth, prevent indents by folding up a piece of thick paper and placing under furniture legs and such. If it can be avoided, all the better.

Some puckering did occur after the three week test period, but I used a warm iron (not too hot!) and a pressing cloth and the puckering came right out.




It held up really well to frequent male visitors playing x-box games and walking all over it with their big shoes. These were grown men mind you, big, burly, grown men, friends of the family. It withstood three weeks of several times a week foot traffic by these guys. It's a pretty good test run!

I also did a water test. I poured some water on the cloth..........

 and let it sit for 15 minutes..............

20 minutes......................

45 minutes...................and it just sat there on the surface, waiting for me to mop it up.

After 45 Minutes
I have since made several other floorcloths using different fabrics and shapes and they all turned out very well! I will share those with you too, later. Another reader asked if these could be folded. The answer is no, I would not recommend folding, it would leave a crease that would most likely be permanent. For storage, I would recommend rolling and storing in a heavy cardboard tube.



So, there you have it! A bit more effort this time around, but another beautiful floorcloth as the end result. Don't you love the possibility? Thanks for visiting today, see you next time.

















28 comments:

Kathy@ Gone North said...

Very Nicely Done! Yes, yes... I am going to try this soon...
Thanks for the "how-to"

McCrazys said...

Love this! Making two in the next week to cover my floor during Preschool! Thanks!

Mitch and Serretta Barlow said...

You are incredible! I can't believe that you painted/stenciled that! Thank you for the tutorial!

Songthatdoesntend said...

AWESOME! It looks fabulous. I am thinking about doing one and taping it to an unattractive polyurethane rug. Would that work??

Stacy CUrran said...

You need to start selling these. Seriously, can I hire you to make me a 10' x 10' one for my dining room? It is fabulous!
Stacy

Steve Kimme-Hea said...

Laura, you are incredibly talented. Tell me again, why don't you have your own show?

Kristen said...

I love it! I've been wanting to make one for my living room since I saw the first one you posted. I should get on that...after I finish my Gilmore Girls marathon.

Thanks for the inspiration and the motivation!

Kristen
Turning a House into a Home

Pamela Bates said...

this technique would be totally awesome to make a 'statement' wall hanging too. love your stencil!

Isabel said...

I recently discover your blog, love the diy rug that you did....Can I make one out of a 100% cotton sheet from pottery barn, that I dont use anymore?

Laura/Hayestone/Design Share said...

Thanks All! @Isabel, I don't think a sheet would be a heavy enough fabric for this to hold up as a floorcloth, and I have a sneaking suspicion that the edges would start to curl up if you used a fabric as lightweight as a sheet. The heavier the fabric, the better! Hope that helps :-)
~Laura

Isabel said...

Laura thank so much for answering my question, do you think it will work on a a real rug 100% cotton, found at goodwill and I need it to be waterproof, you jnow with kids around, its a better option, thanks again!

Laura/Hayestone/Design Share said...

Hi Isabel....sorry I'm so delayed in getting back to you, but I do think it could work on a 'regular' rug as well. I have painted a flatweave cotton rug with latex paint before and other than feeling a little stiff at first, it worked fine. Polyurethane is a bit more flexible than paint, so it should work. Again, it might feel stiff at first, but should soften up after a while. I say go for it! And let me know what results you get....I totally get having to 'waterproof' things with kids (and pets) around! Good luck :-)
~Laura

Sally said...

I hope Isabel will do her rug and let us know! I have a rug that needs waterproofing.

Thanks so much for the great ideas.

Isabel said...

Sorry I've being so busy, I'm giving it a try tomorrom, so I'll let you know how it goes, I'm doing for my kids room and I'll be posting some pictures after to show you the rug.

Claudia said...

what a great idea Laura!
did u use 1 quart or a gallon for this rug n if I want to make a tablecloth that is 6 -8 seats, how much will I need?

Laura/Hayestone/Design Share said...

@Claudia
Sorry for the delay in answering! I sometimes don't see questions that are posted in the comments section for a while. Anyway, I purchased a gallon of polyurethane and can usually get two floorcloths coated with one gallon. I would go ahead and buy a gallon if I were you. You should be able to coat your tablecloth two times on each side and have some poly left over.
Hope that helps and good luck!
~Laura

Colleen said...

Hi-

Can you go into a bit more detail as to the paint type used to stencil since there are many choices out there.
Fabric paint, ordinary wall paint, etc.
Thanks-
Colleen

Laura/Hayestone/Design Share said...

Hi Colleen,

I usually use just whatever is on hand...I have used craft paints, house paints etc, but always latex paint, though, since it's water based and dries fast. I also add fabric medium to the paint so it stays flexible, although that doesn't really matter once you put the polyurethane on! But the fabric medium does help with preventing paint bleed under your stencils. I usually get my fabric medium at Michaels and follow label directions. Oh, also you want to use flat or eggshell, if using house paint, not a gloss. Hope that helps!
~Laura

Anonymous said...

This is amazing. I found this blog because I found a shower curtain I fell in love with but wanted to make it into a carpet. Thank you so much for the info!!! Quick question, I plan to use the floor cloth i.e. shower curtain in my entry hall. Can you tell me what the floor cloths feel like once they have poly on them? Are they soft at all to walk on? I am thinking I would put the thick stay put carpet stuff underneath it. Thanks!!

Marian said...

This was the perfect post for me. I just finished painting a drop cloth into a floor cloth and was wondering how many coats of poly to use. So thanks! And I am using mine over a short pile carpet and it works awesome.

Unknown said...

Do you think spray paint poly would work? I know that might be a bit of a stretch, but I have some left over from another project.

Laura/Hayestone/Design Share said...

Hi Sarah! I was on vacation and just now getting back to the blog/reading comments, so I hope I didn't leave you hanging for an answer! Anyway, no I don't think spray poly would work well....You want the poly to really saturate the cloth and almost become part of the fabric, rather than sit on the surface, which is what I suspect will happen if just sprayed on rather than rolled on. The rolling action really forces the poly deep into the fibers of the cloth and give you the durability and protective surface you need for a floor cloth. So, hope that answers your question! Thanks for visiting :-)
~Laura

Anonymous said...

Someone else might have mentioned this: but if you store it by rolling it and placing it in a cardboard storage, I'd roll it rightside out so the edges curl under instead of up when it's opened and used again.

jsb said...

can you tell me what waterproofing product you used? i'd like to use whatever product you found and tested already. thanks for the help.

Laura/Hayestone/Design Share said...

Hi jsb! Please see this post for more info, pics and products used http://www.hayestone.blogspot.com/2011/04/happy-monday-all-things-have-been.html

hope that helps!
~Laura

Christa said...

I can't find water poly. What makes that work better than oil poly?

Laura/Hayestone/Design Share said...

@Christa You should be able to find water based or 'water bourne' polyurethane at Home Depot or Lowes easily. Oil Poly is 'Amber' colored and will stain your fabric, will yellow over time and will be brittle and crack on the fabric, not to mention the 5 hour dry time between coats AND the heavy fumes!! Water based poly dries fast, is flexible on the fabric, is clear so won't tint/color your fabric, and does not have a strong odor. Trust me, Water based Poly is what you want if you want to do this project.

Design lover said...

Awesome and so very simple and easy GREAT JOB

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