Summer is fast upon us and we're heading outdoors for picnics, BBQ's, and family get-togethers. Do you dream of setting up a miniature setting like something you've seen at Pottery Barn or Pier 1? Or maybe you've been inspired by the new Aussie-themed outdoor set for the Kira Bailey doll? Well, we're super excited to bring you this tutorial from our amazing content creator, @forofsuch!
This is such a good project for so many doll scenes and set ups, and would look really great in an indoor setting as well. Jump on in and follow along to see how it's made! Maybe your dolls need a rug, too!
Bonus: Scroll down to the bottom and ENTER TO WIN A $50 Amazon Gift Card so you can get all the supplies needed to make this project!
Supplies Needed:
- Plastic trash bag to cover work surface
- Painters tape
- 16 inch by 22 inch piece of canvas or duck fabric - We used grey but any color would work
- Stiff-bristle stencil brush
- 1-2 inch stiff bristle paintbrush
- Stencil (We used 6 inch square stencils found on Amazon - but you could use a larger pattern. Many craft stores sell stencils with lovely designs
- Craft paint in your choice of colors - We used white, turquoise, and coral pink
- Paper plate, small bowl of water, and paper towels (for the paint and paintbrush)
- Blow dryer (optional)
- Purchased fringe trim (optional)
- Sewing machine (optional)
- Fusible interfacing, 12.5 x 19 inch piece (optional)
- Fabric glue (I recommend Liquid Stitch)
- Pencil
- Ruler or yard stick
- Iron and ironing board
Before you begin: Lay out your trash bag to protect your work surface, then lay your canvas fabric on top. Iron the fabric first so it will look its best. Use the painter’s tape to tape your fabric to the bag, so it doesn’t shift around while you paint.
Step 1: Using the wider brush (mine is about 1.5 inches wide), you are going to dry brush white paint very lightly over the whole piece of fabric. Dry brushing just means you don’t wet your brush with water first, and you don’t let the paint saturate the paint brush. Just dab a bit into the paint, then lightly drag your brush across the fabric. We are trying to give it the look of an oriental rug, with different color threads running throughout.
Step 2: Once you are happy with the way it looks, use your blow dryer on low for a few minutes to dry the paint quicker. If you don’t have a blow dryer, then you need to wait for the paint to be dry to the touch before going to the next step.
Step 3: Before we start stenciling, we are going to mask off a thin rectangle area of “negative” space that we don’t want to get our stencil design on. I decided to make my finished rug about 12.5 by 19 inches finished, so I settled on an interior rectangle size of 7 by 12 inches. Measure off a rectangle this size and then tape off with your painter’s tape.
Step 4: Now we get to stencil! For this, lay your stencil at the center of the 7 by 12 rectangle, use your stencil brush and turquoise paint, and paint by pouncing straight down onto your stencil. Using a straight up and down pouncing motion keeps the paint from seeping under the design and going where you don’t want it to go! Also remember, don’t wet your brush beforehand and don’t saturate your brush - we are still going for a dry brush technique here. I found that turning my design diagonally gave my rug that oriental rug look.
Once you’ve done the center design, move your stencil all the way around it, filling in the rest of the center 7 by 12 rectangle. Do not get any paint outside of the rectangle, past the painter’s tape.
At this point, I decided to use my second stencil which had a flower in the middle to add little pink flowers at the center of my “medallions”. Once my turquoise paint was dry to the touch, I laid my second stencil over the centers and just used the flower portion to add my pink paint. I also added light strokes of the pink paint in the same direction as my original white streaks, to mimic more different color threads running throughout. I really liked this look so I will add more to the rest of the rug once I’m finished stenciling.
Step 5: Give your paint a little time to dry or blow with the blow dryer again, then we can remove the tape! The part is fun because you can begin to see your rug design taking shape. Go slowly and peel carefully!
Step 6: Now we are going to mask off the other side of the negative space on the rug. I measured out a half inch from my previous tape line and made some pencil marks. Reusing my tape from before (or of course you can use new tape), I placed the tape just inside the pencil marks, over the negative space I left before, with the pencil marks just visible. I did this so my paint on that side will cover them up. This time the corners need to be neat, so I had to trim them exactly to fit. You want a neat, clean rectangle shape.
Step 7: Now we get to stencil again! I used a second stencil with a different design to make it more interesting. I placed my stencil centered on each side, then worked out toward the corners. There is no right or wrong way to do this, and little mistakes are no big deal. In a real rug the design tends to be imperfect as well.
After letting this dry or blow drying it, remove your tape again. Wow! It looks so cool!
Next, I dabbed a little more pink paint here and there where I thought it would look nice, then added the light brush strokes of pink as before, to mimic the different threads of color running throughout my rug.
Step 8: Now you need to mark the very outside edges of your rug. I measured out the 12.5 by 19 inch dimensions I had decided on, making sure everything was centered pretty well. I made very visible pencil lines.
You are going to use these lines to finish the edges of your rug. There are several ways to do this. You could just trim and turn under the edges and use fabric glue to create a hem. You could trim and turn under the edges and sew a hem. (If you do either of these you may want to make lighter pencil lines.) You could do a very dense zig zag stitch with your sewing machine to finish all the sides. You could also finish the edges with a purchased tassel trim.
I chose to finish my two long edges with a zig-zag stitch and the two shorter edges with a purchased tassel trim. For the zig-zag stitch, I used a 5.0 stitch width and a very short, 0.35 stitch length. I zig-zagged over the edge of the pencil line. Then I went back and stitched again so there would not be any little open spots. I wanted a thickly bound edge, like a real rug!
After I finished zig zagging the two long edges, then I trimmed the edges. I trimmed very closely, but was careful to not cut any of my stitches. I left a very very thin little bit of fabric outside of the stitching, so that I would be sure not to cut the stitching.
Step 9: To apply my tassel trim to the remaining two edges, I first measured the width of my trim. It was a little over 3/4 of an inch, so I made new pencil lines about 3/4 of an inch away from the original edge line, and trimmed on this line. Then I used my Liquid Stitch fabric glue to apply the tassel trim (a good tip is to paint on a little glue right where you plan on cutting the trim. Let it set just a bit, then cut in the middle of your glue spot. Now apply a little more glue to the open cut edges. Use your fingers to pat the open fibers into a nice shape. This will keep the edges from fraying). I was very generous with my glue, and I let it set a bit before calling this rug done!!!
I really really loved how this rug turned out, don't you? Now it's your turn!
We'd love to see your creations too, so if you make one, please tag us on Instagram @forofsuch @PixieFaire
You can also share pictures in the Pixie Faire Inspiration Gallery right here on the website, either use the #pixiefaire when posting on IG, or just click the little + box to upload your picture right here on the website!
Thanks everyone!
For Pixie Faire, @forofsuch
ENTER TO WIN A $50 Amazon Gift Card so you can get all the supplies needed to make this project!
To enter this week's contest, simply click the link below and then enter through the giveaway widget at the bottom of the blog post, there are many things you can do to earn multiple entry points!
Contest Details: You enter through the entry form that is embedded on this page and appears just below this paragraph, if you don't see it, be sure to visit the page from your desktop or an alternate browser such as Google Chrome. It may not appear on all mobile devices. The complete rules and entry details appear on the entry form. This is not a comment contest - in other words, leaving a comment on the bottom of this page is not an official entry method. The only required entry method is to leave a comment under this post and then confirm that you did it in the contest widget. One person will receive the PF Gift Card. You can enter once, or gain multiple entries by completing the other entry methods and increase your chances of winning. Please review all Terms and Conditions on the giveaway page before entering. While we wish we could run this contest everywhere, for legal reasons it is only open to eligible residents of the U.S. and Canada, not including Rhode Island. This contest is exclusively endorsed by Liberty Jane Clothing and Pixie Faire.
a Rafflecopter giveaway
We'd love to hear from you. Leave a comment and tell us - What would you take with you to relax in the outdoors?
Commenting below and confirming your entry in the widget above gives you one entry method, the other methods are listed in the widget above, be sure to enter in as many ways as you can to receive the maximum amount of entries to win the gift card!
(This post and giveaway are not endorsed or affiliated with American Girl®, no endorsement implied.)
100 Comments
Leave a comment
cheryl
June 05, 2022
I take a comfortable lawn chair, a good book and a cool drink.