How to... Make a D.I.Y Fabric Pin Board

One of my goals for the blog this year is to start featuring regular tutorials, so welcome to the very first in my "How to..." series... How to make a D.I.Y Fabric Pinboard! 

This is a great way to jazz up that boring cork pin board you may have in your study/studio/kitchen and is also a good way to use up any odd bits of fabric and wadding you may have. You could even use the fabric from an old dress or jumper, so it's a handy recycling project and you get something useful (and pretty) at the end!

1). You will need...

You will need a cork notice board, scissors, a staple gun and staples, wadding in your chosen thickness (I used 4oz) and a piece of fabric large enough to cover your board

 2). Cut wadding to size

Cut your wadding to size, allowing aprox. 3 inches extra all the way around your board. If you'd like a thicker padded board you could use a double thick layer of wadding

3). Staple your wadding to the board 

Staple your wadding to the board, taking care to only staple onto the wooden frame. Carefully pull the wadding taught to avoid a saggy finish

4). Cut your corners

You may need to trim some excess wadding away from your corners to avoid a bulky finish

5). Cut away excess wadding

Trim away any excess wadding

 6). Attach your fabric

Now your pin board starts to take shape! Cut your fabric to fit around your board and allow aprox. 3 inches extra all the way around your board. Staple into place over the top of the wadding, still taking care to only staple into the wooden frame

7). Neaten your corners

Trim the excess corners of your fabric in the same way as you did your wadding and fold into a neat shape. Staple a couple of time to keep secure

8). The final trim!

Trim away any excess fabric to neaten the back

9). Yay, it's finished!

Use your board to hold shopping lists and notes, or images and drawings, photos, magazine clippings, jewellery, or anything else you like! I'm using this one as part of my jewellery display and I've found map pins really useful for holding pieces in place.

Decorate your board with strips of ribbon, lace, mini bunting, the possibilities are endless! You could also attach ribbon or a hook to hang the board, or sit it on canvas display stands, as I will do with this board.

I'd love to see photos of your pin boards if you give it a go and I'd love to know what you're using them to display!