How to make a floorcloth. Floorcloths are easy to make and you don't have to be an artist to create your own work of art.

What's a floorcloth?

How to make a floorcloth Floorcloths (aka canvas rugs) are fun and easy to make and you don't have to be an artist to create your own work of art. There are a variety of different art supplies that you can use from acrylic paints, paint markers, decorative stencils to rubber stamps. All you need to add is your imagination to create unique, one of a kind handpainted floorcloths, pet floorcloths and more.There's no limit to the different designs that you can create. So go ahead... decorate, design and create.

The supplies you need to make the middle Navajo floorcloth show above are:

10 oz. drop cloth or pre-primed artist canvas	Ruler and straight edge
Scissors	Gesso artist primer
Paint brush and foam roller	Liqui-fus liquid web (often used to hem pants)
Plastic lid or paper plate	Minwax Polycrylic protective finish
Plastic container to soak your brush in	Staple gun
Stencil brush (one for each color paint)	Pencil
Painter's tape or masking tape	Hand held hair dryer
Acrylic paint: Liquid Tex mars black, Delta tompte red, Delta white, Liquid Tex forest green.	Iron

Steps 1. Spread your drop cloth out and cut off any seams because these are not usable. Cut the drop cloth to your desired size. If your using a pre-primed artist canvas you can skip this step. 2. Take your straightedge and a pencil to square your drop cloth along the edges. 3. Staple your drop cloth to your board and pull the fabric taut. Spray water on your stretched drop cloth to remove any wrinkles. You can also use an iron to remove wrinkles. 4. While your drop cloth is stapled apply 2 coats of gesso to the front of your floorcloth. You'll prime the back later. 5. When your drop cloth is dry take your straightedge and a pencil and square up the edges. Drop cloths will shrink and warp around the edges to some degree when you prime them so cut off the areas that have warped. 6. Turn your floorcloth over so that the primed side is facing down. Now is the time to make your hem and mitered corners. Take your ruler and place the edge of it an inch from the edge of your floorcloth. Wrap the floorcloth over the ruler to crease your floorcloth. Continue creasing your floorcloth until you've done all four sides.


7. Crease around the edges of your floorcloth then fold your hem over so that your corners are square. Make a pencil mark where the edges of your hem come together.	8. Unfold your corner and and draw a diagonal line using the marks that you've made.	9. Cut along your diagonal line to remove your corner. Cut the remaining 3 corners of your floorcloth off.

10. Apply Liquid-fuse to your hem. Firmly press the corners of your floorcloth together to create a good mitered corner.	11. Cover hem with a towel, set with a hot iron for 20 seconds. Finish hemming all four sides of your floorcloth. Burnish along hem when done. To burnish - press along hem with a painters stick or ruler.	12. Gather your stenciling supplies together. You don't need much paint to stencil a decorative design. Start by pouring a half dollar size blot of each paint color on your paper plate.

13. Blot your stencil brush in your paint then back on to your paper towel to remove most of the paint.	14. Lay your stencil on your floorcloth and tape it down. Start stenciling by pouncing around the edges of your design.	15. If you have a large area to cover you can paint the inside of the design first.
16. After you finish with your Navago design, stencil your jalapeno design. Finish by painting the black border around the edge of your floorcloth. After your floorcloth is dry apply 5 layers of clear polycrylic to the front and back to seal your floorcloth. Once your floorcloth is sealed it will last for years. Yes, you can walk on your floorcloth when it's done.
Navajo floorcloth with jalapeno peppers Finished floorcloth size 27" x 24" Acrylic paint used: Liquidtex Mars black, Delta tompte red, Delta white, Liquidtex forest green.

Copyright 2005 The Wildwood Cottage LLC

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