How to Make Fabric Wallpaper

Measure the width of the wall in inches. Divide by the width of the fabric. Round up to the nearest whole number. This is the number of panels you’ll need.

Measure the height of your ceiling in inches (or however tall you want the wallpaper). Divide by 12, then divide by 3 to calculate the yards per panel. Multiply by the number of panels.

This is the total yardage you’ll need, but depending on the size of the repeat of the pattern, you will probably want to add another yard or so.

How Much Starch?

We covered about 64 square feet with a medium weight drapery fabric and used a full 2 quart jug of liquid starch. Lighter weight fabric will absorb less.

Prewash the fabric to remove any finishes and prevent the dye from bleeding onto the wall.

Clean the wall to ensure best adhesion. Fabric wallpaper works best on smooth or very lightly textured walls. Take off any electrical covers.

Cut off the selvages. Use a rotary cutter for the straightest edges.

Cut the first piece of fabric several inches longer than the height of the wall. We suggest waiting to cut the rest of the pieces so you can match up the pattern later.

Tack or tape the fabric where you want it, leaving a little extra at the top. We’re going to put molding over the top, but if you have existing molding, you’ll be cutting off the extra at the end.

Pour the liquid starch into the paint tray and saturate the roller.

Starting at the top, roll the starch onto the wall. It really helps to have two people for this step.

Smooth down the fabric as you go to remove any air bubbles.

Next, roll starch on top of the fabric so that it’s saturated but not dripping.

Take your next piece, line up the pattern, and tape or pin again. The pieces should overlap a little.

Continue to apply like the first piece until the wall is covered.

When the fabric is dry, use a utility knife to carefully cut off the extra fabric where it meets any moldings or baseboards.

Touch up the edges with starch and a brush. Trim any loose strings at the edges and seams.

If there are any electrical outlets, mark around the edges, cut out the piece, and put the cover back on.

Add trim if needed.

And that’s it, you now have a striking feature wall that you can easily remove!

We spotted fabric wallpaper on an episode of HGTV’s Home Town! We don’t know how exactly it was applied since it was an “original” feature of the house which they kept, but it could definitely be done with starch. And the fabric was very familiar… You can find the toile fabric, Covington Bosporus Billard, on our site if you want to recreate this look!