I finished the “ boredom buster” chalkboard mats for the kiddos. Some people use these to keep their kids occupied when eating out or Dr. offices. We do not eat out much with the kids but we can bring these when we do. They are easily cleaned off with wipes. I made 3 of them so I can give them to Quinn, Ella and Braeden when I am in the hospital and they come to visit. This was another simple project but I had never worked with chalkboard fabric or oilcloth so it took a bit to get use to. Hopefully with these tips you will be successful!
I was eager to make a few so I bought 3 yards of each the front and the back. After making 3 I have a ton left over so if you plan to make 1 or 2 don’t buy too much like I did… I cut the oilcloth and the chalkboard fabric 12”x17”, I wanted minimal waste. I put the correct sides together and sewed around the edges leaving an unsown part to pull thru. Then stitching again around the entire project to close the edge and finish the edge. You cannot iron this fabric… well I did not even want to try! So I pushed the edges from the inside with one hand to make sure I would get a straight edge… I did not want to use pins either, thinking that would make holes. I used some binding to hold on the chalk. I next punched a hole in the binding and added an eyelet for the ribbon which was the tie to close it. I think ribbon could do that job as well!
The only thing I may try next time is to use some deckle scissors and sew the edge wrong sides together (one time around only would be quicker as well). Pulling the project inside out was a bit challenging. This fabric is not very forgiving. I would love to see yours if you try it… E-mail it to me J
That is the coolest ever "boredom buster" idea! I didn't even know chalkboard fabric even existed. tfs!
Posted by: jill | June 21, 2008 at 05:44 AM