Fabulous Floorcloths Part 2

Welcome back! If you missed part 1, you can see it here. Today, I will show the finished floorcloth in place and talk about how I made it. This is where we left off....

Again, when using graphic, simple patterns, floorcloths are pretty fast and easy to paint. I finished this one in about a day. The more intricate the design you choose and the more colors you use, the longer it will take.
For this example, I used heavy duty (12 0z.) pre-primed canvas, which will provide the easiest working surface and highest durability . I was lucky enough to find a whole bolt at a discount fabric wharehouse near me. If you don't have such luck, it can be ordered online.
http://www.danielsmith.com/Item--i-328-010-007
http://www.dickblick.com/products/fredrix-floor-cloth-canvas
These are just a couple places you can order from. There are even companies that will sell 'blanks' with the canvas measured, hemmed and ready to paint, *but* I have found the extra expense to be out of my range! On that note, I finish my edges by simply hot gluing the selvage and the ends.

Using an iron on cotton setting and a pressing cloth, fold the hem over and press in place. This gives the canvas a 'memory' of where it will fold and when you glue it down, you have a nice, crisp edge.

And as simple as that, you have a finished floorcloth!

Add a rug pad underneath to give it some cushion and you have a durable, easy to clean and inexpensive alternative to a traditional area rug. Best of all, these are lightweight and easy to roll up and store, so you can make several and switch them out as the mood strikes you! The cost of this one?  Less than $20 for the canvas, the paint I already had, and my time. Now isn't that worth it?!

Here is another example I made for a dance-a-thon party/fundraiser I recently decorated for a friend (more on that later) Hard to tell here, but this baby is 12 feet long!! It served as a portion of the dance floor,  held up beautifully and will see many more events.

The sponge paint applicator made quick work of the chunky chevron stripe pattern. and I finished this one in about 4 hours.

For those who would like step-by-step instructions and more design ideas, this is an excellent book for you.
http://www.dickblick.com/products/fantastic-floorcloths-you-can-paint-in-a-day/
or check your local library.

Be sure to check back for part 3 of Fabulous Floorcloths. I'll share a different technique for making floorcloths that might surprise you!
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Fabulous Floorcloths Part 1

Browsing around the blog world, I've noticed a lot of bloggers split post topics up into several 'mini' posts, so I thought I'd give it a try and see how it goes. This would have been a pretty long post and I think people get bored if they're too long, so you'll just have to check back in if the topic interests you, and I hope it does! Now, on to floorcloths!

I have several methods of  making floorcloths. The first one I'll talk about is the easiest. Using a heavy, pre-primed canvas, you can draw a design freehand, use a stencil or just do simple graphic stripes. Anything goes! I like to use the white of the canvas as my positive or negative space, but you could fill in the entire canvas with acrylic paint in as many colors as you want. It all depends on how much work you want to put into it. Here is an example of a floorcloth I recently started, using this method.

 A close up of the canvas shows the slight surface texture.

A quick trace of the design I want to paint. Here I am using a stencil I cut to create a chevron stripe.

Look closely and you can see the faint outlines of my chevron stripe pattern.

 

Using acrylic paint, start brushing away! For designs with wide sections and sharp angles, like this chevron stripe, a square, flat, nylon bristle brush works best. You might be asking yourself why I didn't tape off my stripes for a nice crisp edge....NO Taping, here!! Painters tape is notorious for leaking paint underneath, so freehand is the way to go.

With bold graphics and dark on light designs, this method goes pretty fast. Of course, the more intricate your design and the more colors you use, the more time you are spending making your floorcloth. I'm impatient, so I choose bold, graphic, simplistic designs that I can finish quickly.

I'll show you the finished product, give supply info and share a brief history about floorcloths in the next installment, so be sure to check back in! You can subscribe to my blog via e-mail, become a follower or both!
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