Monday Makes: Take notice – how to make a fabric noticeboard

A friend recently showed me this picture of a cute fabric-covered noticeboard they bought from Avon. I loved it and straight away decided to make something similar (sorry, Avon!). The fabric-covered noticeboard seems to be a popular project, with many variations on the themeavailable online – but I decided to create my own, simplified version.

So here is my noticeboard… 

And here’s how I made it…

You will need:

• Canvas– stretched, 20″ x 16″ (50.8 x 40.6 cm)
• Fabric– 24.5″ x 20″ (62.2 x 50.8cm)
• Glue gun
• Coloured elastic 
• Ribbon– 3/8″ (1cm) wide in complementary colours
• Buttons– 5 small, 1 large
• Sewing needle- sharp, large-eyed
• Embroidery thread

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Lay the fabric right-side down on a flat surface and lay the canvas face-down in the centre of the fabric. Use the glue gun to stick down the fabric to the top and bottom edges of the canvas underside. 

2. Copy the steps pictured to fold down the fabric at the corners.

3. Once folded into place, glue fabric to side edges of the canvas underside. It should now look like this.

4. Turn the canvas over. Tie as many criss-crossing pieces of elastic as you want around the canvas, securing on the underside.

For the ribbons, cut as many lengths as you wish to include (24.5″/62.2cm for ribbon going side-to-side, 20″/50.8cm for top-to-bottom), pull these as taut as possible across the canvas and secure on the underside using the glue gun.

5. The right side should now look like this.

6. Sew your buttons on where the ribbons and elastics criss-cross, using the needle and embroidery thread. I found it easy enough to sew through the fabric and layer of canvas.

7. All that’s left is to hang your noticeboard and use it for all your essential notes and bits n’ bobs!

I didn’t bother attaching any kind of hanging device – the edges of this canvas are wide enough to use the top edge to hang it on a wall tack or nail.

However, if you want, it would be really easy to use the glue, a staple or a few stitches to attach a piece of string or elastic to use as a hanger.

Do let me know what you think about this latest Monday Makes, as your feedback (good and bad!) is so important to me. You can get in touch via Twitter, Facebook or the Get in Touch page above.