How to make a desk pad

I made the desk pad yesterday- (not that I haven't got another million jobs I should have been doing,) but it was very satisfying all the same!

Please excuse all the junk in the background. I have boxes of stuff sitting all over the place waiting to go out to various places. We've been doing some clearing out.

anyhoo...

I happened to have a piece of hardboard just the right size although I have made these before out of stiff cardboard, so if you want to make one, then cardboard would be fine.

I had a scrap of fabric left over from a past project. Just a little bigger than the board size. Do you remember my peg bag ?

It is a Laura Ashley fabric scrap I was given by my sister in-law who is a wonderful interior designer. How I love her scraps!

I cut it allowing around an inch and a half overlap all the way around.

I watered down some pva glue - just a little bit, then spread it evenly over the front of my board and smoothed down my freshly ironed fabric over it.
Then I flipped the board over and stuck down the edges with the help of some masking tape to hold the fabric in place while the glue dried. I have made one of these before using iron on bondaweb. It was much less messy and far speedier, so if you are wanting an instant fix, then go ahead and use bondaweb.

Once the glue was dry, I used some scraps of vintage leather to make some nice neat corners on the my desk pad. The size I used for the leather strips was 1 1/2" by 4". I made a paper template first to get the right size. I used my hot glue gun for a strong stick and only glued the leather onto the back of the board, leaving the triangles open on the front for tucking in paper or little notes.

The scraps of vintage leather came from a chair that was fairly broken up but I didn't want to waste the leather. I had bought two of these chairs - yes two, for £1 a few years ago at my local auction. Here is the other chair which was fine but didn't have a seat cushion. I had a bit of foam so I cut it to size and made a cover for it. It's my favourite chair.

To neaten up the back of the desk pad I used a bit of lurid green felt I had leftover from a puppet project. But you could use whatever you like. If you use bondaweb, then you could use ordinary fabric because the bondaweb will prevent any frayed edges. If you are using glue, then be patient and let it dry properly before turning your pad over otherwise it will stick to your desk -not that this has ever happened to me ;-)

These deskpads are very handy for protecting a desktop or table, and perfect for when you are using your sewing machine and don't want to mark your furniture. They look pretty smart too.

I wonder if you'll make one...