Week 6 – Fabric Noticeboard

The weeks are flying by and it’s already week 6 of our Great 15 Christmas Makes.  This weeks make is very easy, very versatile and a very very nice gift!  It only takes a small amount of fabric and scraps of ribbon so it’s really easy on the pocket too!

You will need :

A piece of fabric (20cm bigger all round than the board) *
A piece of interlining (feels a bit like a blanket – same size as the fabric) *
A piece of chipboard (I used 40cm square – cut by the local DIY store)
Pieces of ribbon or lace
Upholstery tacks or drawing pins
Staple Gun
Hammer

*Interlining  and gorgeous fabrics  are available to purchase from Rustic Angels.

1. The piece of fabric you require is dependent on the size of noticeboard that you are going to make. My board was 40cm square. You can also make a rectangular board. If you have some idea of the gap the noticeboard is going to fill you can adapt your shape accordingly. If you are making a gift then a 40cm square noticeboard is a good size.  Allow 20cm extra allowance all the way round your board for turnings.  The interlining gives a nice cushion to your noticeboard so don’t be tempted to skimp on this.

2. Place your board face down in the centre of your interlining and pull slightly to keep the interlining taught as you staple around the inside edge.  Staple along one edge and then do the opposite edge and then the 2 side edges.  This will keep your fabric taught and square.  When doing the corner fold the fabric over and staple to keep it as smooth as possible.

3. Once you have secured all the interlining you can then start to staple on the fabric.   Place face down and again do opposite edges first pulling the fabric taught as you go.

4. You can then do the opposite ends until your whole board is covered.

5. Again, when you get to the corners fold and pleat and staple over as shown - remember this is the back of the board so don’t worry too much about what it looks like – it will never be seen.

6. Turn your board over.  The fabric should be taught, flat and wrinkle free!  You can then start to measure and staple your ribbons into place.

7. Gather up all your ribbons and lace.  It is better to use ribbon that is narrow – wider ribbon will look quite cumbersome.  I have used 3 different ribbons and lace on mine – by all means us the same throughout or it looks nice if you pick out a couple of the colours in your fabric and buy co-ordinating ribbons to match.

8. There is no set rule as to where to put your ribbon.  I set mine 10cm in from the edges.  Just make sure it is measured correctly to stay at 10cm all the way round.  If you want to you can put your ribbon on the diagonal – again just make sure you measure correctly.

9. Staple your ribbon on to the back of your noticeboard, securing in place with a few staples for extra strength.

10. On the front of the noticeboard,  you are now going to hammer a tack or drawing pin into the point that the ribbons cross.  That’s all there is to it!  The following suggestions can enhance and customise your noticeboard:-

I prefer to use upholstery tacks – they are a little bit more decorative than drawing pins and are readily available at your local DIY store.  I sometimes screw cup hooks into my noticeboards especially if it is for a little girls room – it’s the perfect place to have necklaces/hairbands.  It also makes the noticeboard just a little bit more useful than just a place to keep cards, photos and invites, etc.

My daughter, who is 15, made this lovely noticeboard for her room from a sample of red Toile de Jouie.

She added lace and sewed on wooden buttons (rather than hammer in tacks) and the added a few hooks to hang her jewellery from.

She even hemmed a piece of fabric with some decorative stitching and stapled it across the bottom of the noticeboard to act as a pocket for bit and pieces.

And added a little “make do and mend label” secured with pretty buttons for an extra finishing touch.

Here is a picture of my finished noticeboard alongside all the other makes we have made so far. Don’t they all look lovely!
This functional noticeboard is in my soft furnishings office.  I sewed different strips of fabric together first to give a stripey effect and placed the ribbon over the joins.  It has got hooks and tacks all over it to hold all sorts of bits and bobs.So get your creative heads on again and make some fabric noticeboard gifts for your loved ones this Christmas.