10 Ways to Use a Drop Cloth in Home Decor

Today I'm sharing with you 10 Ways to Use a Drop Cloth in Home Decor.  Maybe you've seen all, or some of these, before, but I thought I would provide you with some inspiration all in one place for some new project ideas.  Drop cloths are great because they're inexpensive, durable, huge, and versatile!  The possibilities are really endless of what you could do, but here are just some of the ways to incorporate them into your decor.

1. Drop Cloth Slipcovers

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Inspired by many others who have used drop cloth fabric for slipcovers, I made these covers for my dining room chairs last summer.  They have held up quite nicely in the wash, and I love them!

2. Drop Cloth Grain Sack Cushions

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These bar stool cushions make the perfect addition to a kitchen, especially if you're having trouble deciding on a fabric!

3. Drop Cloth Placemats

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Jenna, from SAS Interiors, made some simple, yet elegant, placemats for her Christmas table.

4. Drop Cloth Shower Curtain

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Traci, from Beneath My Heart, made a pretty shower curtain using a stencil and paint.  I love the clean, crisp look this adds to a bathroom.

5. Drop Cloth Thankful Tablecloth

Becca, from Blue Cricket Design, made this tablecloth for her Thanksgiving table using a drop cloth and a sharpie.  You could also make tablecloths for birthdays, Christmas, showers, and any other special occasion.

6. Drop Cloth Advent Calendar

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My advent calendar is one of my favorite holiday decor items.  In all honesty, I never finished writing out the verses and activities for us to do during Advent, but trust me, by December 1, 2012, that will be done!

7. Drop Cloth Stenciled Drapery Panels

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Carmel, from Our Fifth House, created some gorgeous drapes with stencils and paints.  Aren't they stunning?  You could also easily create a striped pattern using painter's tape.

8. Drop Cloth Ruffled Tree Skirt

Marian, aka Miss Mustard Seed, made a ruffled tree skirt out of a drop cloth and some linen.  Her tutorial can be found on HGTV.com.  {If you've been hanging around here for awhile, you'll remember that I made one sort of like this out of canvas for my Christmas tree last year.  You can read about it here}.

9. Drop Cloth Pictures

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Sharyl, from The Little Brown House, gives a fantastic tutorial on how to make art by printing directly onto drop cloth from your printer!  These prints are gorgeous and being able to print onto a drop cloth opens up a world of possibilities.

10. Drop Cloth Pillows

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Beth, from Home Stories A to Z, inspired by Ballard Designs, made some gorgeous pillows out of a drop cloth for her front porch.  She offers a great tutorial on how to do this.


I hope this post has inspired you to be creative!  When you're out shopping for plants, paint, or just basic household supplies at Lowes over the weekend, grab a drop cloth and make something for your home!

Cloth Napkin Tutorial {Great for Beginners}

My project list for 2012 is very long!  And, I figure most of it needs to be finished in the next 10 weeks, before I have even less time to myself.  Finding the energy and motivation to accomplish my tasks has been rather difficult lately, so I don't have huge expectations, but it is nice to get something finished.  These cloth napkins have been something I've wanted to do since I made the roman shades for my kitchen, and I finally got around to it.

Most home decorator fabric has very specific instructions on how to care for it; almost all of it requires dry cleaning, or spot cleaning.  So, before tackling this project, I put a small piece of leftover home decor fabric through the wash {using my normal cycles for items of this color} and found that it did shrink a bit, but it wasn't ruined at all.  Perfect!  Coupled with some remnant pieces of drop cloth from my dining room chair slipcovers, I had the right duo for a double-sided cloth napkin.

If you're new at sewing, this is a great project {an relatively inexpensive} to start with, as it only uses sewing straight lines, and turning corners.  And, if you're a pro, then whipping some of these up will take you no time at all!

Cloth Napkin Tutorial:
{I made (6) 12 1/2-inch napkins.  Standard size is 18-inches, I believe, but I was working with leftover fabric, so skimped a bit here, and it's fine, as they are just for everyday use.  If you want larger, standard size napkins, you'll need to purchase more fabric}

-1 yard of fabric for front of napkins
-1 yard of fabric for back of napkins
-coordinating thread
-pins
-iron

Cut out both fabrics into 13-inch square pieces.

I made a 'pattern' out of poster board so that my pieces would be uniform.

Place front fabric and back fabric right sides together, and pin all the way around, matching the edges.

Beginning in the middle of one side, stitch in a 1/4" seam, all the way around, leaving a small opening, enough to turn the napkin right side out.

Turn napkin right side out, and iron opening under, 1/4" to line up with remainder of sewn seams.

Iron flat.

Pin opening together, so the fabric doesn't shift while doing finishing the seams.  Top-stitch with a 1/8" seam all the way around the napkin.  {This will close up the opening}.

Iron again, if needed, and use.  Wash as you did when you pre-washed your fabric.

*Another great fabric option for cloth napkins is to purchase apparel linen. And, this would not need to be lined with another fabric.  It does shrink, so be sure to purchase more than you would actually need for napkins.  Calico fabrics would also be great, as long as they are lined. *


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