I don't have the measurements for the chalk cloth and the interfacing handy. I'll edit that in later.

I cut strips of a relatively stiff interfacing (that I already had on hand) 2.5" wide. I added the 5" length as well, to keep the rectangle consistent.

My cutting was sloppy at best. Sewing them on was an aesthetic nightmare. Nothing neat there! I used a leather needle (heavyweight) because I didn't want to break a ton of needles in the vinyl (still broke too many)!

Center the facing strips and the piece of vinyl by folding them in half and marking with a pin to find the center. Do not stick the pins in anywhere that's not going to be covered in fabric eventually.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk1.jpg

I pinned the facing to the back of the cloth with a narrow overlap. The corners overlap and I trimmed them to make them more squared off.


Next I took a yard of 45” wide woven fabric and positioned it with the right side of the fabric and the right side of the chalk cloth facing together. A cut edge of the fabric is placed along one of the long ends of the chalk cloth.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk2.jpg

Set it so that there will be enough on the one side to pull over to the front and tuck a hem on it. The cut edge should be lined up so that you can sew a secure seam (no frayed bits) onto the vinyl.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk3.jpg

Straight stitch that seam from one edge of the vinyl to the other. Do not stitch the fabric to the facing..

Flip it over and you have one side sewn….
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk4.jpg

Spread it out flat and smooth out the top edge.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk5.jpg

Fold the fabric over the other long side. Trim off the extra leaving enough to turn a hem under. This scrap will be used for the tie.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk6.jpg

Turn the cut edge of the long end under and pin it.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk7.jpg

I didn’t take a picture of it. But the ‘big scrap’ on the one short side…. Trim that the same way as the skinny piece. I’m going to be using those scraps to make the chalk holder pouches (eventually). Turn and pin the ends under on the short sides. Soon it will look like this:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk8.jpg

Time to make the corners. I trimmed random pieces off of what would have been hidden anyway. This was to get rid of bulk so that it was smoother when finished. I used my skinny metal ruler here to poke the fabric into place until the folds lined up the way I wanted them to.

I folded all of my corners in towards the long section. I’m anal that way. :rolleyes:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk9.jpg

After all the corners were pinned I topstitched around the inside of the frame (where pinned) and the points at the corners.

The skinny scrap that was first cut off; sew lengthwise, right sides together to form a tube. Turn the tube right side out. Tuck the ends under and straight stitch across the ends.

Fold a short end of the chalkboard in half to find the center. Find the center of the fabric tie the same way. Pin the tie to the back of the frame at the very edge. Stitch that in place with a few good passes using a straight stitch.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk10.jpg

The end result is very forgiving of the minimal use of measurements and proper seam allowances. :D
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v464/twin2672/chalk11.jpg

Way cool! Where did you find chalk cloth?

I got the Chalk cloth at fabric.com (http://store.yahoo.com/phoenixtextiles/ccr-001.html)

Bump so I can find it!! LOL

so it doesn't get pruned. :D

:bounce: