I wanted to make something for our not yet fully renovated laundry. I bought some 30cm MDF letters reading “WASH & DRY” and we decided to cover it with fabric. I found some fabric at Spotlight with some NZ native birds (kererū, tūī and pīwakawaka) in the pattern, in colours that will go with our “new” laundry cabinets.
Things you will need:
A large MDF letter of your choice (If you live in NZ you can get the custom made from My backyard creations on Trade me for a very reasonable price)
White acrylic paint
Fabric to cover letters
Mod podge
Baking paper.
Instructions:
Take the baking paper and cover your work surface with it. This will stop your letter sticking to it with the paint (I didn’t do this and got newspaper stuck to the back of mine) and the mod podge (learned my lesson by this time).
Paint your letters with two coats of white acrylic paint. It is important to paint with a light colour, as dark colours can show through the fabric. Allow paint to dry.
Choose the fabric you want to cover your letters with. I embroidered some of the motifs from the patterned fabrics onto some of the plain fabric to pull them all together. I also sewed some buttons on some other fabric. Cut out out a piece of fabric at least an 5cm larger on all sides than your letter. Paint both the letter and the back of the fabric with mod podge.
Smooth the fabric onto the letter and make sure there are no bubbles in between (I missed some on the A).
Trim the fabric around the letter and make cuts every 3-5 cms around the edges. Also cut strips of fabric the width of the MDF letter. With mod podge stick these anywhere there is an inside corner, otherwise the white paint will show through the gaps.
With mod podge stick all the edges of fabric as smoothly as possible around the edge of the letters and to the back.
Turn the letter over. With a paint brush (gives a streaky effect) or with a sponge (gives a mottled effect) cover the surface of the fabric letter with mod podge. Allow mod podge to dry and leave to cure for 4 days.
What the kids can do:
Miss 6 helped to paint the letters white. She also helped me with putting the fabric on the first letter, but lost interest after that. So this one turned out to be more of a Mummy project than a family one.
Keeping Them Occupied 