Tuesday, March 31, 2015

DIY Felt board

The first time I took my son to a preschool group with a feltboard, I knew I had to have one.

Make your own feltboard!

I immediately ran into two problems:

They were hard to find.
They were super expensive.

I wanted a large felt board (24" x 36") that was as big as the white board we use in the play room.  After unsucessefully looking for one several times, I decided to make it myself.

I'd previously purchased a cork board for a project that failed, but it turned out to be perfect for this project.
Universal 43613 Bulletin Board, Natural Cork, 36 x 24, Satin-Finished Aluminum Frame

First, because it was the right size for the space I wanted.  I also chose the aluminum frame because I wanted it to be similiar to my white board, but that turned out to be really helpful tucking in the felt and I'd recommend avoiding wood for this reason (although I haven't tried it with a wood frame.)

Next, I purchashed felt.  I decided to go with black for two reasons.  First, my white board is white, so I liked the contrast.  But secondly, I was worried about the cork board showing through or little people deciding to color the white felt with the white board markers.... better to go with black!
Springs Creative Products Group 2-Yard Cut Felt Fabric, 36-Inch Wide, Solid Black

The final product was glue.  I didn't actually purchase glue.  We have a ridiculous amount of glue at home.  I think you could use pretty much any type of glue you wanted.  I used  Weldwood because it seemed serious.
Dap 00107 3-Ounce Weldwood Contact Cement

There are a few things I would do a little bit differently next time, but overall I am really happy with my results.

1. Cut the Felt.

This is the step I would do a little bit differently.  Cut the felt a little bit bigger than your inside border (maybe 1/4").

2.  Glue the felt to the board.
Felt board

I'm not sure how much glue you really need.  I went a little overboard, but I can say my felt is firmly adhered to the board!

3.  Clean up the edige.  I originally intended to use the razer blade to trim the edge.  What I found, however, was that I could use the back of the blade to push the fabric under the board (the cork board gives to allow the fabric to push under the edge) giving me a much cleaner and more professional edge.  I still needed to trim a little bit of extra fabric.
Felt board corner
The top edge was glued, on the side, I started trying to push it under the border.

4. Play!

Felt board with play pieces

I love the felt board because I can make elements for whatever we are interested in at the moment.  I was pretty proud of my birthday cake, and I'm sure it will reappear a few times each year.

For Saint Patrick's day I made a pot of gold and coins while we worked on counting. I made weather and sky elements.  I am sure I'll share more adventures with our felt

The possibilities really are endless.  I can't wait to use this with our preschool group next year!









2 comments:

  1. The possibilities really are endless! Some ideas: for Halloween, cut out a pumpkin shape and lots of different eyes/nose/mouths for the kids to 'carve' their pumpkin faces. Also, an obvious one: a Christmas tree with ornaments to decorate!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Perfect timing as I've just bought a lot of felt and couldn't work out how to display it! Thanks for sharing on #ToddlerFunFriday.

    ReplyDelete