Projects with Drop Cloths

I'm going to let you in on a little secret.

The fabric of your average paint drop cloth can be used for many home décor projects: from slipcovers, to pillows, to table cloths, to cushions....even darling little fabric roses.  In addition, drop cloths are inexpensive.  I purchased one from Lowe's last week (4' x 15") for just under $20 and it's already provided plenty of fabric for two projects around here....and I still have tons left over.

I made these little "roses" to dress up a lamp shade in our master bedroom.

So easy to do.  I made these three different sized roses in about 15 minutes last week when I wasn't feeling well and had my feet up in our living room chair.  They go a long way in dressing up this lampshade.  Here's how you can do the same.

First, cut a 2" strip of drop cloth about 18" long (the length depends on how large you'd like your finished rose to be). 

Tie a knot in one end.  This will be the center of the rose.

Next, holding with one hand and twisting/wrapping with the other, slowly wind the strip, layer by layer, around the center knot, twisting the strip as you go to create depth and variation in the "petals."

Keep wrapping, adding a bit of hot glue between the layers as you wrap to keep it held together.

This is what the finished product will look like. Add a few drops more of hot glue to the end of your strip, and tuck it underneath the rose a little bit to hide.

For a finishing touch, I added a few beads  to the centers before hot gluing the roses to my shade.

Such an easy, painless project that makes quite a statement ~ for much less money than purchasing an embellished shade.

I also used a paint drop cloth to sew a runner for my dining room table.  My table is 95" long when it boasts both leaves, and it's also curved at the ends, which makes a difficult fit with traditional, store bought runners.

I started by measuring my table's length, then determined how wide I wanted the runner.  My measurements came to 95" x 21", so I added one inch to each measurement (for seams) and cut my runner out of the drop cloth. (You can see how much fabric is left over at the top of this picture.)

 Planning to hem all the edges, I saved myself some work by using the already-sewed hem on one side of the drop cloth for one side of my runner.  I then simply ironed the other side over about 1/2 inch and sewed it down along the length.

Next, I added ruffles to each end.  To do this, I measured the width of my hemmed runner, then doubled that measurement to account for ruffle fabric.  I guessed that I wanted my ruffles to be about 6 inches long, so I cut two strips of fabric 7"W  x 40"L and hemmed both ends.

 



Next, I pinned the "ruffle" strips  to the ends of my runner, right sides together, making box pleats as I went.  I did not measure these pleats, I just eyed them as I went.  I didn't mind if they looked a little "off" since I think that adds to the charm.  Or at least that's what I tell myself :)

After sewing and pressing, here is the finished ruffle.

This one may need a little more pressing.

One of the reasons I'm happy to finish this runner is that I've needed more white in my dining area to break up all the wood of the dining set and the floor.  I plan to paint my two end chairs eventually, but for now the runner is a wonderful option, and I love the texture and nubby look of the drop cloth fabric against my smooth table.

 

So there you go, a DIY drop cloth table runner, finished just in time for holiday entertaining in our home.

 

Crooked candles and all.

 

 

 Merry Christmas to you and yours~