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DIY fabric wallpaper,,,,,,need advice >

DIY fabric wallpaper,,,,,,need advice

DIY fabric wallpaper,,,,,,need advice

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Old 01-12-2013, 06:06 AM
  #11  
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thank you for explaining this. I was wondering how it would come off. Sounds like an interesting idea. Would love to see pictures of what others have done.
Originally Posted by coopah View Post
The starch is an old Navy wife trick for doing wallpaper on the cheap and not leaving marks when leaving housing. If I remember correctly, use the liquid starch (blue?) that comes in jugs from the grocery. Spread a thin layer on the way, then press your fabric into it. When you want to remove it, just wet the fabric, wash the walls, and presto! Back the way it was. Of course, we filled picture hanging holes with white toothpaste, too, so go figure! Oh, and the old wallpaper paste would bring bugs...wash the walls first with TSP to avoid that.
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Old 01-12-2013, 07:02 AM
  #12  
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I did that several years ago. I was decorating a bed room for a couple of grandchildren that were living with me at the time. All you do is wipe down the wall so there isn't any dust on it. Place your fabric in a container with liquid starch in it. Squeeze out the excess starch and apply the fabric to the wall. Smooth the fabric as you go so there isn't any air bubbles in it. As the starch dries it will stick to the wall just like wallpaper would. When you get ready to remove it just start at one corner and gently pull and it will come off with out messing up your wall. Them just take a damp cloth and wipe the old starch off the wall. The fabric I put on their wall was on there for 3 or 4 years and it didn't draw bugs or mess up the wall.
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Old 01-12-2013, 08:48 AM
  #13  
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My Dad was in the Army and every time we moved, got new quarters my Mom would bring out the fabric and do a little decorating in the kitchen with the starch. Everything at that time was painted white (downstairs) or mint green(upstairs). I remember her taking red&white checks cut in strips and placed on the front of the cabinets. It was so cute and when we moved, they were peeled off, cabinets scrubbed and all looked new again. She used the starch in the blue bottle and we dipped the pieces of fabric in then smoothed onto the wall or cabinets. She used a damp sponge to wipe them off on occasion to keep them fresh looking.
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Old 01-12-2013, 09:47 AM
  #14  
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Not only will the starch wash off the wall, but it will wash out of your fabric, in case you want to use it again. On the show I saw on TV in the 1990's they used the liquid starch as it came out of the bottle, and they covered the wainscot area of a wall. They said to use a drop cloth. I don't think I have seen it used as a border, and the problem with that is it might stretch unevenly as you handle it. In a defined area, such as the wainscot, which had a chair rail and baseboard, it could be trimmed along the edges using a straightedge and breakaway knife.

It looked flawless the way they did it, but I imagine there are some potential pitfalls. For example, I think you'd want to be very sure that the fabric has been washed and will not bleed. It would only be suitable for fabrics that are washable.
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Old 01-12-2013, 09:26 PM
  #15  
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I used flowered sheets on DD #2 room over 30 years ago. Her room had two slanted walls. I didn't use starch at all. I stapled it to the walls & that worked perfect. I used a plain ol paper stapler. She loved it cause it matched her bed sheets.
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Old 01-13-2013, 06:53 AM
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This is how it is to go on. With Starch in a paint pan.Use a paint roller.paint the walls,add your sheet ,use a window wiper(or a cloth) to get the it even , paint with starch one more time over sheet. Let dry and be hapy.The reason you use starch is that you can remove at anytime. I know this because my DD and I did this in her dorm room to give her some color. After that We changed it 3 times.Just pulled off and started again.
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Old 01-13-2013, 01:45 PM
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I have done this with one wall in a bedroom. you buy liquid startch and use a brush around the top of the wall and a roller just like painting and put the startch on the wall. The put your fabric (dry) on the wall and rub out bubbles with a damp sponge. after you have a section on go over it again with the startch roller. My fabric has been up for six years with no proble. It isn't messy either. When you want to take it down just spritz the fabrick with water.
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Old 01-14-2013, 10:05 AM
  #18  
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I used an ordinary paper stapler to attach fabric to one wall in my bedroom a long time ago. Now some of that fabric is in my quilts.
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