How to Make a Painted Floor Cloth

The kitchen floor sees a lot of wear and tear, and a painted floor cloth is an inexpensive way to cover your floor while adding to your kitchen decor. Floor cloths were originally made from old ship sails in the early 1700’s and were often used under tables as “crumb cloths.” Durable and easy to mop, floor cloths are a great asset to any kitchen!

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:

• Primed canvas floor cloth
• Flat exterior paint
• White polyester thread
• White fabric glue
• Graphite Paper
• Acrylic or latex paint
• Clear latex polyurethane
• Sewing pins
• Pencil
• Damp Sponge
• Paint brush with synthetic bristles
• Small paint brushes or stencils
• Yardstick
• Scissors
• Sewing machine with needle for heavy fabric

1. Begin by sealing the primed canvas by using the synthetic bristle brush to paint the entire canvas with the flat exterior paint. Let it dry fully, then flatten the edges of the canvas.
2. With pencil and yardstick, measure the shape of the floor cloth that works best for its designated floor space. Then draw a one half inch border around your measurements.
3. Using the scissors cut the floor cloth out along the border, trimming the corners, so when you fold your one half inch border under it will lay flat. Fold and pin the border under.
4. Making sure the heavy-duty needle is in your sewing machine, stitch the border under creating a clean edge around the floor cloth. Use the white glue to seal the edge of the under seam to prevent fraying.
5. Now you can get creative! Look at your kitchen and choose paint colors that compliment your decor to decorate your floor cloth. You can use stencils, or free hand paint with the artist brushes and acrylic paints to make your floor cloth beautiful!
6. Once your design is completely dry, take a damp sponge and wipe away any dust that may have drifted onto the surface of the floor cloth.
7. Finally, coat the floor cloth with the polyurethane using a clean synthetic bristle brush. Paint with long strokes moving from one side of the cloth to the other. Apply two or three coats of the sealer, letting each coat dry completely in between applications.

Tips & Warnings

• When painting your design begin painting in the middle of the floor cloth and paint in small sections letting each dry before you begin the next. While time consuming, this saves you from smudging the paint and you can always use a hair dryer to make it dry faster.