Fabric Framed Signs

I keep seeing these cute little signs on Pinterest or in vintage market booths that are made of fabric instead of wood. This week I decided that I would give making them a try. They are so easy that I thought I’d write a tutorial for you and share my new-found knowledge.

Materials Needed:

• Fabric
• Frame
• Stencil
• Paint
• Scissors
• Hot Glue Gun
• Iron
• Paper Towel
• Tape

I had these frames left over from another craft project (no shortage of other craft projects around here) and I figured they would be perfect for this project too. If you don’t have old, glassless picture frames laying about (which means you’re better at purging than I am) you can pick them up at Goodwill or any other thrift store for next nothing. Size isn’t important, you can do this craft with any size frame. From my last project with these frames, I painted them white and distressed them. They were originally that old, icky gold so don’t worry if you can’t find the color you want at the thrift store, these frames spray paint nicely.

The first thing I did was cut the fabric big enough to cover the back of the frame. Don’t worry about getting this exact. You will trim it down at the end to fit.

With the fabric cut, I laid a stencil out in the center(ish) of the fabric. Don’t freak out if you are a little off here. You are going to center the frame over the stencil when completed. I tape my stencils down just to prevent them from sliding around; a piece of tape in each corner is typically enough. I used Dixie Belle Hurricane Gray for the paint in this stencil. I love the look of the gray and pink and this fabric has a silver thread throughout that gives it a shimmer, so the gray paint was an ‘Oh-So-Cute’ addition.

I stenciled my words (but you can use any stencil – doesn’t have to be words). Remember when you stencil that you need to have a nearly dry brush to apply. Better to do two light coats that one heavy coat. With fabric you aren’t going to be able to sand off the excess so start light and add more until you get the look you want. I dip my brush into the paint and then dab most of the paint off on a paper towel to get my brush dry enough. Because the paint is going on so lightly it is nearly dry when you finish. Give it just a minute or two to completely dry before moving onto the next step.

These signs are going in my booth when complete so I wanted to heat set the paint onto the fabric just incase the get hung in humid spot (like a bathroom). You can't toss these signs into the wash if they get dirty but it might be nice to lightly wipe them with a damp cloth later. If you know that your signs are not going to be in a humid environment don’t worry yourself with the heat set.

This fabric would require a super low-heat setting on the iron, so I laid a towel over the fabric and ironed on top of the fabric rather then putting the iron directly on the fabric. You should set your iron to the heat setting that your fabric requires.

Once the paint was heat set, I flipped the frame upside down and centered the stencil in the frame. With a hot glue gun, I started on one side and tacked the fabric in place. Pull the fabric taunt (but not puckered) to the opposite side and run a bead of glue along the bottom of the back of the frame. Press the fabric into your glue and let dry. Be aware that if your fabric is thin, the glue may seep through when you press the fabric into it. Make sure your fingers are not in the path of the hot glue (OUCH). Repeat this step for the two remaining sides and allow the glue to dry before you move onto the next step.

Using your scissors, trim the excess fabric along the edge of the glue line so none of the fabric along the edge is visible from the front of the sign.

Shazam! You have an adorable little farmhouse sign that cost you nearly nothing to make. I love these little signs. I think I’m going to pick up a few little fabric roses (or maybe I’ll make some in a future tutorial) to add to the corner of the frame to add a little extra pretty to my project. The sky is truly the limit with these signs. You can so ANYTHING. They would be adorable in guest bedrooms, kids’ rooms, entryways and even weddings. So easy, so affordable. You could put out dozens of these a day if you wanted to make a side hustle out of them. They truly take minutes to make and are so customizable that you could make them all year long and never make the same one twice.

Hope you enjoyed this tutorial. Happy fabric-sign making!