The hall in my new apartment has two non-descript doors: a bathroom and a linen closet. I wanted to make a sign to put on the bathroom door so guests wouldn’t have to wonder. My original plan was to make a “WC” sign, but then I saw this post over on How About Orange, and couldn’t resist trying the technique.
I wanted the shapes to be classic, so I found a picture of a restroom sign online and printed it out in the size I wanted. Since it’s a big door, I made them slightly oversized. I also chose a couple of scrap pieces of fabric from my stash.
I sprayed the fabric with Stiffen Stuff, which I bought at Michaels with a 40% off coupon that I printed off their website.
The bottle says it will dry in about an hour, but I let that much time elapse and it was still soaked. The bottle gives 2 options for quicker drying: hair dryer and microwave. I nuked each piece for 30 seconds, and they were dry and stiff.
Next, I traced my patterns on to the stiffened fabric.
I was worried that after all of that work, they wouldn’t stick to my door. But about 30 seconds with a medium hot iron (always moving it), and they were stuck!
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How clever…love the fabric you chose. I have the same fabric as your shower curtain, made into pillows. Red is my favorite.
Comment by Roseanna February 9, 2011 @ 9:54 amCool. What made them stick to the door when ironed- just the Stiffen Stuff? I suppose that’s in the linked article, but I’m lazy.
My inner Matty Nay wonders where hermaphrodites and eunuchs are supposed to go in your new place
Comment by Liz February 9, 2011 @ 10:05 amYup, the stiffen stuff makes it stick. Although I’ve heard just regular starch will do the same thing, and would be cheaper!
Comment by metalandmud February 9, 2011 @ 2:18 pmSo is it removable? I think this is a super cool idea, and would love to do something like that in Jack’s room, but I get bored almost as quickly as he does, so I’d want to be able to switch it out. Your new place is really looking fab!
Comment by Gwen February 9, 2011 @ 9:52 pmYup, it’s removable! Thanks, Gwen!
Comment by metalandmud February 9, 2011 @ 10:09 pm[...] a tutorial about this project a few weeks [...]
Pingback by New Apartment Tour: Bathroom « March 21, 2011 @ 9:05 am[...] crafty best friend: Stiffen Stuff. You may recall that I’ve used this product before, both here and here. Now I’m going to see how this stuff works on a much larger [...]
Pingback by How To: Fabric Headboard « March 24, 2011 @ 9:04 am[...] I’m not going to do a full tutorial, because I’m using the same technique as the bathroom door signs and the peephole owl. But here are some pics of the [...]
Pingback by How to: Flock of Birds « April 1, 2011 @ 9:04 amI am so excited to try this out!
Comment by Jackie Paulson 1966 April 9, 2011 @ 1:15 amHere’s my question, does stiffenstuff help the fabric stick or does it just make it stiff so you can cut it? Would you be able to use it to iron-on fabric to other fabric instead of the walls?
Comment by mybakingempire April 10, 2011 @ 1:58 amIt both makes it stiff, and helps it stick to the wall. Unfortunately, it won’t help fabric stick to fabric. But I would guess there’s a product out there that could do that!
Comment by metalandmud April 10, 2011 @ 1:39 pm[...] good to take a creative break. I made a bathroom sign for the bathroom door! I found the idea from Metal and Mud and thought it was prefect! I always have people over and they usually ask which room is the [...]
Pingback by DIY Fabric Bathroom Sign | June 29, 2011 @ 1:42 pm[...] it in a million different projects, then move on to something else. You may have noticed that the Stiffen Stuff projects have petered out. As have the freezer paper stencil [...]
Pingback by My New Favorite Art Supply « July 1, 2011 @ 9:08 amhello..i am from Malaysia..i am searching for the stiffen stuff here but did not find it…where can i buy it…please share with me…my email address (aku_kacis007@yahoo.com)..glad to hear from you soon
Comment by aimi nadzirah September 7, 2011 @ 5:33 amOne option is to buy it online (http://www.bing.com/shopping/search?q=stiffen+stuff+spray&FORM=HURE). But you can also try using any brand of spray starch that you can find.
Comment by metalandmud September 7, 2011 @ 8:56 am