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.
