So, last fall, someone on twitter pointed out these awesome kitchen conversion charts from Whimsy&Spice on Sweet Fine Day. They immediately made me think of my husband (our resident chef) and my daughter, whose favorite channel is the Food Network. She really wants to be a mad scientist, but for now, the closest she can get is doing kitchen experiments.
Anyway, I ordered the chart as a Christmas gift for the two of them, and when it arrived, I decided to put it in an Ikea frame before it went under the tree. Then, it seemed like an extra-fun idea to wrap the mat in fabric before putting it all back together. We were all pleased with the results.
So, here's how you can make your own fabric-wrapped mat for a picture frame:
• Lay your mat down on a piece of fabric and cut the fabric about an inch beyond each side of the mat.
• Iron fusible web to the back of your fabric. I used Pellon Wonder Under, regular weight.
• Lay your fabric evenly over the top of your mat, fusible side down. Heat your iron to silk setting, no steam. Once the fabric is placed exactly where you want it, iron it down to your mat. (Do not iron it to your ironing board, though... be sure to use parchment paper or the original backing from the fusible web to keep the fabric from sticking to your ironing board in the opening and around the edges of the mat).
• Flip the entire contraption over, and cut out the center of the fabric, about an inch from the inside edges of the mat. You can do this easily with a rotary cutter or x-acto knife on a cutting surface.
• Cut everywhere you see dotted lines in the illustration below.
• One by one, take each piece of overhanging fabric and wrap it snugly over the surface of mat. Iron it in place. Repeat for each overhanging piece.
When you flip your mat back over, it should be beautifully wrapped in your fabric. Enjoy!
