Collect Your Wits! bulletin board!
This bulletin board is great to have around and fairly easy to make. I made it in about 2 hours - and that is with taking all the pics for the blog. So it should go pretty fast for you too!
Here we go:
Materials needed:
- Use either a sheet of 20" x 30 foam core bulletin board (found at craft stores) OR three sheets of 20" x 30" foam core (taped together).- Main fabric - actual fabric should be 25" x 35" but if you have a large print as shown in our project, you might want to purchase an extra 1/4 yard so that you have enough fabric to center the print (our example, the medallion) in the 20"x30" piece of foam core.
- Trim fabric - 1/3 yard of 60" wide fabric.
- Other: coordinating thread, strapping tape.
Step One:
Place the core board on the print side of the main print fabric. Use the print to calculate and center align the board. When satisfied with its alignment, mark
2 1/2" around all four edges. Then cut out your main print on the mark line.
Step Two:
Cut two trim pieces at 26" x 10". With right sides together, fold in half lengthwise and press. You can see from the picture above how they
will eventually align to the board.
Step Three:
Notice the medallion is in the middle.
Re-align the main print fabric to the core board. Temporarily, fold the edges to the back and temporarily, tape (scotch tape will do) the edges
of the fabric to the back side.
Step Four:
Pockets! Cut two pocket pieces at 8"x 14"
AND two pocket trim pieces at 2 1/2" by 8".
With right sides together, align the trim piece to one short end of a pocket piece. Sew this edge with a 1/4" seam allowance. Notice the pocket piece has the center crease mark pressed. Bring the other 8" edge of the pocket piece, with right sides together, to the other edge of the pocket trim piece
and sew in place.
Step Five:
Press seam allowances toward the trim. Then perfectly align the two trim seams together. That folds the pocket in half. Press. The mark the edges of the pocket as shown above -- which is a slight 1/8" angle on the side edges --- full width at the top and graduated in 1/8" at the bottom as shown by the red arrows. Cut on the mark lines. This allows the pocket to have some convex at the top of the pocket (1/4" does not seem like very much but it is enough!).
Step Six:
Now sew the side seams with a 1/2" seam allowance. Make sure you leave an opening (red arrow) on one side for turning the pocket right side out.
Step Seven:
Turn right side out and press.
Step Eight:
Temporarily align the side trim on the side of the board (2 1/2" wide). Align the pockets with your desired location on the board. For my board, I aligned the pockets about 1" away from the trim ((the right edge (red arrow) perfectly parallel)). Pin in place. Now remove the trim and remove
the main fabric from the board to sew the pockets on.
Step Nine:
With coordinating thread, top stitch around the pocket. Start on the right edge, sew down, and then along the bottom and then to the left edge -- but, as you start up the left up, be sure to bring in the top of the pocket 1/4" (where the red arrow is). Hold it in place as you sew up the left side. This adjustment helps the pocket have some convex or fuller at the top edge, making it easier to use.
Step Ten:
Re-align the main fabric to the core board. Tape in place
with strapping tape on the back side.
Step Eleven:
Align the folded and pressed trim on side edges of the board. The space between the two red arrows should be 2 1/2" with equal amounts
of trim off the ends. Pin in place.
Step Twelve:
Bring the trim to the back side and tape in place with strapping tape.
You're Done!
Your Collect Your Wits bulletin board is now done. Yeah!!
