Funky mirror tutorial

The loo in my studio was less than pleasant when I took over ... it needed a LOT of cheering up so I spent a great deal of time deciding how to do it and settled on a scheme which just makes me giggle every time I look at it.  I mean that in a nice way.  A fun, modern rockabilly look is what I was aiming for so I painted the walls with a lovely bright cream shade, made a blind inspired by my favourite morning coffee mug, in red linen with a scalloped edge and black and white polkadot binding , and teamed it up with some cheery fake flowers on the window sill and a leopard skin covered mirror on the wall.

I covered a plain pine mirror with scraps in my stash and was really really pleased with the way it turned out.  I couldn't decide how best to stick the fake fur to the mirror frame, until inspiration struck in the form of WunderUnder/Bondaweb - the fusible paper backed fabric used for applique and other sewing related things.

 I took pictures of the process incase you want to have a go yourself!

You will need:

Velboa fabric - this is a short pile smooth fake fur fabric which doesn't fray
WunderUnder fusing fabric
An untreated wooden frame - mine cost £1.89 from Ikea
Staple gun
Iron
Scissors/cutting wheel
Ruler

First of all, divide and measure the area which you need to cover - include the sides and make sure you have about 1cm overlap to the back of the mirror.  I decided to split my mirror into 4 parts and marked them accordingly.

Cut your WunderUnder fusible fabric (backed with paper on one side) to the exact size of each top section not including the sides or the back of the frame.

Cut your fabric pieces to the size of each section, plus the thickness of the frame (1cm in this case) plus a 1cm overlap at the back.

I used velboa fake fur fabric which doesn't fray so I did not have to think about tidying up raw edges - only that the edges are cut with a very sharp straight line.

'Glue' your WunderUnder to your frame with a warm-hot  iron - just as if you were fusing it to fabric - test an inconspicuous area first or do a test on a scrap of wood.  When glued,  leave the frame to cool, and then peel the protective paper off.

Carefully place your fabric onto each section of your frame, making sure all the edges meet up and are smooth and then press with the iron for 3-4 seconds on each section until the fabric is all glued down.  Leave to cool.  (Make sure you test a bit of fabric with the iron before you press your frame, so that you don't burn or melt anything!).

Fold the surplus fabric over the edges and staple along the back of the frame leaving the corners until last.

Trim the corners to reduce bulk and then staple down.

For extra decoration, or for practical purposes (my nail was too high in the wall so I had to dangle the frame) staple a ribbon to the back in a loop formation and hang!  Embellish as you see fit,  et voila!

For more pics of the studio including before's and after's, click here:  Sew Curvy Studio