Guest designer Edward Turrentine shows Kitty Bartholomew, host of HGTV's Kitty Bartholomew: You're Home, how to create a unique setting for a party by making draperies, chair covers and a tablecloth out of plastic bubble wrap. Materials:
Bubble wrap (a roll 48" wide by 250' was used for all these projects)
Scissors
3" cellophane tape
String
Tape measure
Piece of glass the same size as the tabletop
Marking pen
Bubble-Wrap Drapery and Swag - Remove everyday curtains or draperies from the windows. Determine the length of each drapery panel by measuring from the top of the window to the floor and adding 1" to the length so the drapery will puddle on the floor.
- Cut two pieces of 48"-wide bubble wrap to drapery-panel length.
- Gather one end of each panel in big pleats, and wrap it with a piece of wide cellophane tape (figure A). This forms the drapery panel. Use string to tie each panel to the original drapery fixtures at the top of the window.
- To make a swag for the top of the window (figure B), cut two pieces of bubble wrap a bit wider than the width of the window. One rectangle will form the middle of the swag and the other piece will be cut to form two angled edge panels. Fold the second piece of bubble wrap in half, corner to corner, to form two triangles, and cut on the fold line. Tape one triangle on each side of the center swag panel to form angled sides. Gather the top corners of the long side of the swag and tie with string, then tie the swag to the brackets where the drapery panels are tied.
Bubble-Wrapped Chair Two pieces of bubble wrap are used to cover the back and seat of an ordinary dining chair. - To make a bubble-wrap covering for the back of the chair, measure a vertical line from the floor up the back of the chair, over and around to the front of the chair back, stopping at the back of the chair seat. This is the first dimension. Measure the widest part of the chair back for the second dimension.
- Cut a piece of bubble wrap to the measured dimensions, and arrange it over the back of the chair to the floor.
- The chair seat is covered with one piece of bubble wrap that is cut so that it falls in panels to the floor at the front and sides of the chair. The first dimension is measured from the floor on one side of the chair, up to and across the seat, and down the other side to the floor. The second dimension is from the back of the seat, across the seat to the front of the chair and down to the floor. Cut a piece of bubble wrap to those dimensions.
- Arrange this piece of bubble wrap on the chair. The wrap will form a wedge-shaped pleat at each front chair leg where the wrap falls to the floor. Cut two slits in the bubble wrap from the floor to the seat (figure C) so the fabric wedge will lie flat, and tape the front piece to the side pieces.
- Tape the back bubble wrap to the seat bubble wrap at the back of the seat and along the sides of the chair.
Tablecloth Cover a circular table with a floor-length bubble-wrap tablecloth. - Measure the diameter of the tabletop, and add twice the distance from the tabletop to the floor. For instance, for a table with a 60" diameter and a 30" drop to the floor, the measurement would be 60" plus 30" plus 30", or 120".
- Cut three 48"-wide bubble-wrap pieces of the length determined in step 1 (120", in this case), and tape them together to form a large rectangle. Cut the rectangle into a square whose sides are the measurement determined in step 1.
- Determine the radius of the tablecloth by dividing its diameter in half. In our example the radius of the tablecloth is 60". Fold the tablecloth into quarters. Using a measuring tape or a string tied to a pencil to serve as a compass, measure that distance on the folded bubble wrap to draw a quarter circle with a marking pen. Cut through all four layers of the bubble wrap along the marked line, and unfold the round tablecloth.
- Arrange the tablecloth on the table and cover with a piece of glass the diameter of the tabletop.
RESOURCES :
Edward Turrentine, Interior Designer
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