How to Kid-Proof your Fabric

I have been building my banquette, and deciding on a fabric for the seat cushion was a dilemma.  Problem is I have REAL messy eaters. Every dining chair I own has been reupholstered several times, and Scotch Guard is no match against Joe.  He is a non-stop messy eater:

I wanted something kid friendly and in the reddish orange family.  I headed down the vinyl and oilcloth road and nothing struck my fancy.  
Then I discovered I could laminate my own fabric using Therm O Web Iron-On Vinyl.   It comes in gloss and matte finishes.  I wanted the matte, but I am impatient and couldn't wait a week for delivery.  The gloss is stocked in most craft stores, and because I'm a need it now kind of gal I was at Joanne Fabrics that same day.  

So here is all you need to know about laminating your fabric.

1- The vinyl comes in 17" wide strips.  Bummed at first, but then I realized its totally all good because it would be a bit of a nightmare to maneuver if it was larger.  I broke out my ironing board, but that was useless.

2- You need a big ass surface to laminate.
I used my dining from table.  
First roll out a length to match your fabric and cut.


 3-Now peel off the backing in sections and stick the clear vinyl to your fabric.  This gets tricky if you are doing a large piece like I was.
 I used a magazine to smooth it as I went.
I had to cut a second strip to cover the whole piece.  I overlapped the vinyl about a 1/4" to make sure it would be covered. (The vinyl actually melted into itself and I can barely notice the seam).

Lay the paper backing back over the whole thing and iron away... 
(8 seconds on medium heat).

 Peel the paper off and you are done. 
Fancy vinyl people (if vinyl can even be fancy)...

 I then re-used 2 old shelves from my basement to make the bench seat out of. 
I am cheap resourceful.
I used mending plates to hold them together...
 I put the fabric face down, laid a piece of foam on top, and then the board...
 and stapled away...
Bench seat done!

And Joe can be as messy as he'd like. 

I am almost done with the banquette, need to add doors to front, will have pictures soon.
Hope you have a great weekend!

19 comments:

My Interior Life said...

Brilliant! I need to try this sometime soon. Love your fabric too!

Tiffany Leigh said...

Wow who knew?! The fabric you chose looks especially nice with those pillows! Love it thanks for sharing!

kayce hughes said...

Love it!

Price Style & Design said...

Well done! I'm impressed with your ingenuity!

Katie Waddell said...

That looks fantastic! I'll be entering banquette territory in the next year or so and have been searching for some cool oilcloth....now I don't have to! Thanks for the tutorial, can't wait to see it all done!!

LindsB said...

I think I need to do this for a few chairs around my house to husband proof them!

Danylle McLain said...

Thank you for sharing this! I've been looking for a way to preserve my dining room chair fabric from my messsy eaters. This will do the trick!

Erin said...

It looks great! Where are your pillows from? I just love the fabric!

Unknown said...

I've always wondered about that stuff! I just reupholstered some kitchen chairs that are already gross from my messy monsters! Thanks for showing us how it works!

Unknown said...

Am planning on doing this for the kitchen in our near-future lakehouse! :) Thanks! Would love it if you would stop by my new starter-blog & check out my home pics...
http://decoratingdamsel.blogspot.com

Anonymous said...

Its really an impressive idea. Vinyl is plastic like substance which prevents water and saves your expensive fabric. Its good looking and not too much expensive.

Houndstooth and Nail said...

That is so super cool! I didn't know that product existed. I need to check it out FOR MY ENTIRE HOUSE lol! It looks great, thanks for the ideas, you always have great ones! :)

Tobe | BIA said...

so. brilliant.

therelishedroost said...

you are awesome as usual.. always learning something new!!!

casey at loft and cottage said...

I never knew iron-on vinyl existed. This is awesome!

My Notting Hill said...

I also didn't even know this stuff existed! I'm on my second cup of coffee reading through your blog, love it.

Mylena said...

It looks great and certainly does the trick, but I wonder if there's any upside to this method versus using a fabric + clear vinyl layer upholstery sandwich?

My mom was a re-upholster queen and would always use the 2 step process, first upholster as normal then cover with clear vinyl and staple that on. That way her chosen fabric would stay intact and could be re-used for another project. In the same vein, if she tired of the fabric she'd carefully remove the vinyl,re-upholster with a new fabric and re-install the original vinyl.

Anonymous said...

I love what you've done, it's stylish and functional but I've been shying away from vinyl because of the warnings that it contains cancer causing agents (what doesn't now adays though?) do you know if this product contains DINP? See link below or google vinyl cancer or vinyl prop 65. California has a new proposition 65 where companies must disclose toxic chemicals to Calif residents.

http://www.gridleyherald.com/article/20131227/NEWS/131219685/2015/OBITUARIES

Anonymous said...

Do you think this would work for fabric used to make a doggie rain coat?

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