Like paper mache, fabric mache uses strips of discarded fabric and paste to make new creations. Fabric mache offers many uses and different ways of achieving a final product. Knowing how to do fabric mache gives you the ability to delve into a new craft hobby for making personal items, decorative pieces and meaningful, homemade gifts for any occasion.
Things You'll Need
Scissors
Discarded fabric
2 qt. bowl
1 cup white glue
1/2 cup hot water
Disposable stirring wand
Craft mold
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Step 1
Cut some discarded fabric into small, thin strips. Strips of any fabric measuring 1 inch wide by no longer than 12 inches is adequate, depending on the item you are making.
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Step 2
Add the white school glue and hot water to the 2 qt. bowl and mix vigorously until it's blended. It should be a little thin and foamy.
Step 3
Add the fabric strips to the mixture, and stir them around to assure that they are saturated with the paste.
Step 4
Pull one strip of the glue-soaked fabric from the bowl and drip off the excess paste. Drape the strip of fabric vertically over your mold. Be sure to do this over a surface protected with newspaper or a disposable tablecloth. Repeat this step until the entire surface of the mold is covered with the fabric strips.
Step 5
Pull one strip of soaked fabric from the bowl and drape it across the mold horizontally. This reinforces the first layer of fabric mache. Let the formation dry, which may take 24 to 48 hours, depending on how dry the environment is.
Step 6
Strip the excess hardened fabric from around the mold, and slide it out from beneath the dried, formed fabric mache. The end result should be an identical fabric mache form of the mold.
Tip
Decorate and embellish your creation with paints, baubles, markers and virtually any other craft medium. Instead of decorating your fabric mache, layer over it with strips of fabric that haven't been soaked in paste. This sort of upholsters it with a hodge-podge of textures without the need for paints, markers or fabric inks.