DIY: Homemade Textile Wallpaper

On the Internet, our experts and specialist retailers offer a huge selection of decorative textiles. In order to turn fabrics into wallpaper in a DIY project, basically any material with a low gram weight is suitable. However, we advise against fabrics that are already fraying heavily in advance. These protruding threads will later mix with the paste and spread unattractively across the wall surface. When choosing fabrics for this DIY project, you are on the safe side if you stick to cotton or linen goods. In order to use fabrics as wallpaper in a DIY project, the textile does not necessarily have to come from fabric panels. You are also welcome to draw inspiration from other areas of the interior design world or even repurpose ready-made home textiles. A curtain not only looks decorative in a finely gathered manner in front of windows in the living room, but can also show off its best side on walls with our innovative design idea.

But it takes a little more than a light, decorative textile to make the idea of turning fabrics into wallpaper a reality:

• Liquid starch: Ensures that the fabric becomes wallpaper in the DIY project.
• Thumbtacks or masking tape or adhesive film: Use these to fix the textile to the wall.
• Tarpaulin: Your base for clean work.
• Tools: paint roller, paint bucket, carpet knife, step ladder, tape measure and scissors.

Fabric selection: You've been looking for your favourite fabric while strolling around and on the Internet and you've decided to use fabrics like wallpaper in your DIY project? Then the next step is to measure the wall area and calculate how many square meters of fabric you need in total. If you buy the fabric from a specialist sewing supplies store, you have to make sure that the fabrics are cut from the roll to a length that you determine. The width of the fabric is usually specified and is usually 140 cm. Add 100 cm to the length you need, because you never know! If you have also chosen a patterned fabric, you should pay attention to the repeat, as with paper wallpaper. A repeat is a pattern that repeats at regular intervals on textiles and wall wallpaper. If a fabric is treated as wallpaper in your DIY project, joining the fabric panels together while taking the repeat into account ensures a seamless transition that preserves the harmony of the pattern.

Assistant: So much for the technical stuff. Now it's time to get practical with the preparations. Your two hands won't be enough to turn fabrics into wallpaper in the DIY project. Get your partner or best friend to help you make sure the DIY fabric wallpaper turns out well.

Pre-wash: Before the textile becomes wallpaper in the DIY project, it should be pre-washed. You shouldn't worry about wrinkles forming, because these can simply be smoothed out later on the wall. However, the fringes that stick out on all sides after washing are best trimmed with sharp scissors. The wall in the room on which the fabric is to be displayed as DIY wallpaper must also be cleaned beforehand. Once the wall is dry again, you can finally start with the DIY transformation of fabric into wallpaper.

Now your assistant can prove useful by instructing him or her to hold the fabric in the place where the DIY fabric wallpaper should ultimately appear. Your partner now moves the fabric into the right position at your command, after which you attach it to the wall at the top edge using a drawing pin or masking tape. Of course, using drawing pins is not suitable for every wall. While they are ideal for plasterboard, it is better to use masking tape for brick walls. Note that adhesive film or masking tape will fray the fabric if you put it directly over the edge of the fabric. It is better to fold this edge over once during this process and only then attach the fabric to the wall. If the DIY fabric wallpaper is to cover the entire wall, the fabric must extend slightly beyond the height of the room, skirting boards and corners. This excess will be carefully cut off at the very end with the carpet knife.

Before you create the DIY fabric wallpaper, lay out the masking film because this is where the liquid starch comes into play. This means that the work will be a bit messier and that you have to work quickly. Liquid starch hardens quickly, so you only need to apply it to the areas that will be covered with the fabric straight away. If the paste dries faster than you would like, simply apply another portion of liquid starch. So lift the fabric and spread the paste on the wall, then smooth the fabric wallpaper from top to bottom with your hands. You won't be able to get the binding agent all the way to the top, but you can solve this problem by working on this upper section at the very end with paste and re-painting your hands. The DIY fabric wallpaper will not stick to all places, but the next step will make your project a rock-solid affair. You will now dip the paint roller in the liquid starch and run it over the DIY fabric wallpaper. Don't be too shy, because the textile must be saturated with starch in order to stick firmly to the wall.

Make sure once again with your fingers or a sharp tool that the DIY fabric wallpaper fills the corners and edges of the wall. Once the starch has completely dried, carefully cut off the protruding elements of the DIY fabric wallpaper with a carpet knife and the wall idea is finished. The DIY fabric wallpaper can be easily removed from the wall by soaking a cloth or paint roller in water and thoroughly wetting the wall surface. The textile wallpaper will come off without resistance and without leaving unsightly residue.

We have more DIY inspiration for you here: 10 Ideas to Decorate Your Walls That You've Never Thought About