Photo: Nastyaofly (Shutterstock)
Wallpaper can be a messy hassle, difficult to remove, and if you live in an apartment, you might not even be allowed to. Fabric wallpaper is becoming a popular alternative, and it has some advantages. You can make your own, and it’s removable and reusable.
What you’ll need to install fabric wallpaper
You’ll need a drop cloth, some thumbtacks, fabric, a spray bottle, a blade or rotary cutting tool, and some liquid starch. To figure out how much fabric you’ll need, a tape measure will also come in handy.
You should stay away from materials that can get water stains, like silk and satin. Also, thicker fabrics aren’t a great choice, as they’ll have a more difficult time absorbing the starch, and they’ll be heavier and more difficult to hang. Stretchy fabrics might be a challenge as well, because they will shrink and pull less predictably than more sturdy fabrics. The design and print, however, is limited only by your imagination.
To measure, take the square footage of your wall by measuring horizontally and vertically and then multiplying the two. One way to determine how much fabric you’ll need is to find the width of the fabric you choose and then divide the width of your wall by that number. That’s how many panels of fabric it will take to cover the wall. Then, use the height of the wall to determine how long each panel should be, leaving yourself a little extra.
G/O Media may get a commission
17% off
Price Drop: 2 Million Dollar Puzzle
Win a million dollars
The 2 Million Dollar Puzzles are 500 piece jigsaws that reveal a QR code at the end of them. You can then scan these codes to reveal how much money you’ve won.
Prep your wall by cleaning away and dust and dirt, give yourself enough space to work, and put down your drop cloth. If you have switch plates or outlets on the wall, remove them to keep your surface flat. Put some full-strength starch into your spray bottle and then get your thumbtacks ready.
How to hang your fabric
To hang your fabric, use the thumbtacks across the top, beginning at one corner of the wall, and attach it, leaving yourself a little bit extra along the top. To make sure the panel is straight, line one edge up with the edge of the wall. Then, add panels until the wall is covered. If you have a hard time getting the panels straight (as some houses aren’t completely square), you can line the straightest edge up with the edge of one of your panels and work from that one, leaving some extra on one side to be trimmed off after you’re finished with the starch.
Starch your fabric
Now, take your starch and spray your fabric, beginning in one upper corner. Smooth the fabric against the wall as you go, chasing any wrinkles off to the side or bottom of the panel. Working down and across, repeat this process until the panel is stuck to the wall. You might need to realign your pattern as you go, overlapping seams or shifting the material as needed. After the initial coat of starch, go back over the fabric once more, making sure you don’t have any wrinkles left.
Trim your fabric
After that, allow your starch to dry, and then trim the edges with a blade or a fabric rotary tool. Make sure to cut straight along the corner of your wall or use a straight edge to achieve a solid straight line. You will also need to trim around the light switch and outlet covers, cutting close to the edge of the opening in the wall so that the covers can be replaced on top. Once your outlet covers are replaced, your fabric wallpaper is complete.
Reuse your fabric
To remove the material, simply peel it off and wash the starch off of the wall with a mild soap. To reuse the material, wash the excess starch out and the material will be ready to go.
