Floorcloths have been around forever, but they've never been easier to make. With this simple approach, your project is limited only by your imagination.









You will need:
- Heavy-gauge canvas
- Crafts knife
- Long metal ruler and metal square ruler
- Pencil
- Scissors
- Paint roller or paintbrush
- Interior acrylic paints, crafts paints or stencil paints
- Clear water-based polyurethane varnish


Here's how:
1. Measure and mark floorcloth canvas in a 150cm square; cut out using a crafts knife and straightedge.

2. Working on a protected surface, use roller to apply base coat of paint to floorcloth material; let dry. Repeat.

3. Measure 20cm in from each side and mark with a coloured pencil. Connect these marks to create a 110cm square centered on the floorcloth.

4. Measure and mark 10cm inside the first square, creating a narrow border. Within the narrow border, use a small square rule to mark 10cm squares. You may need to fudge spacing a bit to avoid having extra space or the same colour in adjacent squares at the end.

5. For the centre panel, use a pencil to mark off a blocked section 4 blocks wide x 4 blocks long. Apply random colours to these blocked sections with a paintbrush.

6. Once the canvas is completely dry, trim the edges to your desired pattern.

7. Apply two coats of clear water-based polyurethane varnish - allowing drying time between coats.

Design Tips:
- There are two ways to cut out floorcloth canvas. If your design is curvy, use scissors, taking care to cut smooth edges. If your design has straight edges, use a crafts knife pressed against a long metal ruler or metal square rule. If making many cuts, use a self-healing cutting mat.

- When applying a base coat to a large surface, it's easiest to use a paint roller and pan. Wrap the roller and pan in a plastic bag while waiting for the first coat to dry.

- You can use a regular pencil to make marks and trace patterns, but the marks may smudge. A coloured pencil won't. Use a colour similar to your project colour, but one dark enough to see.

- If you prefer images with a painterly effect, add your designs freehand. A high-quality 5cm tapered paintbrush or artist's brush gives you good control.

- If you want your designs to have a crisp look, carefully trace and fill in patterns, and tape off straight edges. After taping, keep paint from bleeding by coating the area with clear glaze. Let dry, then paint.

- To prevent your floorcloth from slipping after you've finished painting, brush the back of the floorcloth with rubber cement, and let dry.