Cheyanne Valencia - Make It with Burlap: Rustic Chic Home Decor and More

Burlap is a versatile, eco-friendly, and economical fabric that you can use to make many fun and beautiful crafts.

Create looks ranging from rustic to elegant with this natural fabric. There are so many possibilities for home dcoryou can make memo boards, table runners, throw pillows, napkin rings, and more. Let your imagination go wild by pairing all types of burlap with pearls, lace, beads, paint, wood, ribbon, feathers, and fabric to create one-of-a-kind items for your home and your life. Burlap has also become immensely popular for wedding and party decorating. Give burlap items as gifts, decorate with them for holidays, and even wear them as jewelry! Glue, paint, sew, gather, fray, dye, and layer your burlap to create a whole host of interesting effects. Whatever you can dream, you can do with burlap.

Lets get crafting with burlap!

With the recent popularity of this versatile fabric, you can now purchase burlap off of the bolt in a variety of colors and prints. Precut sheets of 12 yd. (12m) are available in many craft stores. The width is generally 45"48" (115122cm), but some are as wide as 60" (150cm). Burlap also comes in an array of precut ribbon widths with finished edges, frayed edges, or wired edges. You can even buy laminated burlap in 12" x 47" (30 x 120cm) rolls or by the yard in widths up to 60" (150cm).

There are generally two kinds of burlap weave. You can choose an open weave or close weave depending on what will work best with your project, or mix and match the weaves for added dimension. An open weave creates a rustic look. Light and billowy, it works well for projects like drapery, bows, and tablecloths. A close weave has a more refined look and can be used for projects like stenciling, pillows, tote bags, table runners, and placemats. An open weave is softer, loosely woven, and drapes well. It also allows light to shine through it. A close weave is coarser and tightly woven. It works well for light filtering.

Burlap color choices range from natural, brown, black, white, and oyster to red, blue, green, yellow, orange, and purple, and they also come printed with patterns like polka dots and chevrons. There is a rainbow of colors available; more will probably show up in stores by the time you read this book. If you cant find the exact color youre looking for, use fabric dye on white burlap to create just the right shade for a unique project. Follow the manufacturers directions for dyeing and hang the burlap up to dry. If you plan on putting dyed burlap in the clothes dryer, expect it to fray quite a bit. Try sewing a zigzag stitch around the outer edges before dyeing the fabric.

Tip!

The projects in this book do not require the burlap to be pre-washed. If you are planning to wash your burlap, do your research carefully first. Washing burlap in a top-load washing machine can damage the machine due to fraying fibers.

Burlap is easy to work with, but there are plenty of little tips and tricks that will make your life easier and make your projects come together in a jiffy. Take a look through the advice and techniques in this section before getting started to become a deft hand at manipulating burlap.

To cut burlap cleanly, evenly, and painlessly, remove one strand of jute to form a guideline and clear the way for the cut.

MEASURE TO THE CUT. Measure from the edge of the burlap to the point where you want to cut, and pull on one strand of the jute. You can use the tip of a heavy needle to get the strand started. This is most easily done along the fold in a large piece of burlap. It can also be done anywhere along the raw edge.

REMOVE THE STRAND. Pull the strand of jute, gathering the burlap, until youve completely removed the strand.

SEE THE GUIDELINE. Removing the strand of jute will leave a subtle, but clear, guideline to cut along. The guideline is even clearer when the burlap is not folded.

MAKE THE CUT. Cut through one layer at a time along the guideline.

Burlap rosettes are easy, fun, and used in so many different projects.

PREPARE THE STRIP. Cut burlap strips according to the project instructions; for example, the Grapevine Wreath project on page 20 uses strips that are 2" x 12" (5 x 30cm) and 2" x 24" (5 x 61cm). Begin to roll the end of one strip, using a small amount of hot glue to secure it in place. This will form the center of the rosette.

START THE ROSETTE. Hold the center of the rosette on one end and twist the strip away from you. Turn the rosette about a quarter turn to wrap the twisted strip around the center of the rosette. Hot glue into place between the layers where the glue will not be visible.

CONTINUE FOLDING. Continue to twist the strip and turn the rosette, gluing as you go.

FINISH THE ROSETTE. Secure the end of the strip on the back of the rosette, out of sight. You can trim away the rolled burlap stem on the back to make the rosette lay flat.

Tip!

In this book, ribbon and fabric rosettes are made following these same instructions. However, the ribbon and fabric strips are first folded in half lengthwise before starting to roll the end. The folded edge should be used as the top edge of the rosette.