DIY Fabric Wall Panels

If I can do this, anyone can. Seriously! Making fabric panels for walls is not just easy, but also an inexpensive way to decorate your empty wall space. Fabric wall hangings are modern and beautiful, can be customized to your exact style and are great ways to decorate large/tall walls that would otherwise need huge budgets to fill. I also love how these upholstered wall panels can take any shape and size, allowing you to customize each series to be unique. In fact, after I made this set of 3 DIY fabric wall panels, I decided to use weather resistant fabric to create an outdoor wall panel for our backyard patio! I think it creates the perfect spring backdrop and they’re easy to change out for every season.

So let’s get to it and make some fabric wall panels DIY!

*Update: It’s been two years since I made these modern wall panels and they are holding up great! I even hung our Holiday JOY Ornament Craft on them this year and it was beautiful!

DIY Fabric Panels for Walls

This all started with this fairly large wall in the “formal” living room of our home…basically, the room that guests walk into as they enter our home. Since we don’t typically use this room, we didn’t want to pour a bunch of money into it. This is the room our older furniture wound up (for now). They fill the space nicely and the couch is actually quite comfortable. But I was stumped on what to do about the empty wall space above the couch? I originally envisioned some great piece of art but that wasn’t happening anytime soon. So I took to Plan B and made 3 extra-large fabric wall hangings instead.

What You’ll Need To Make Fabric Wall Hangings

• 1×2 Lumber, sometimes called Stretcher Bars: cut according to your design size. Ask the guys at the hardware store to help cut if needed! For the three canvas frames, I needed 5 bars (which were $0.98 each)
• Nails (2 per side)
• Hammer
• Stapler (yup, your standard household stapler will work just fine!)
• Fabric (weather resistant for outdoor wall decor use)

How to Make Fabric Panels for Walls

1. Design your fabric panel + assemble materials: Measure the space in which you want to hang your fabric panel. Cut the 1x2s to the dimensions required, making sure to allow for the 1/2 inch width of the stick. Most home improvement stores will make the cuts for you. These pieces should not be very expensive. Measure and cut fabric, taking into account 3 things: the orientation of the fabric design (does the design look best vertical, and you plan to hang it horizontally?), add 3-4 inches extra for wrapping and outdoor wall decor needs weather resistant fabric. I made several of these mistakes during my first DIY fabric panel attempt.

2. Make the frame: Using two nails on each side, line up the 1x2s according to your design. My panel was big, so I laid the pieces on the ground for stability. Hammer each nail into the sticks, keeping them as aligned as possible. I do the best I can, but I’m not going for perfect here – you can see where my sticks aren’t perfectly aligned and one nail started to curve. My goals were to make sure the structure was secure and as even as possible. Continue nailing until you’ve created a frame. Use your cute assistant as needed – just make sure they don’t get their fingers near the hammer!

3. Wrap the canvas: Lay down your fabric upside down. Place your newly constructed frame on top. Allow 2-3 inches of fabric around the entire frame. This ensures you won’t have gaps and cover the entire frame. Also, make sure the fabric design is straight and looks the way you want it shown when hung up. Start on a side that is longest, and in the middle of its length, wrap the center towards the corner, continue to staple the fabric to the sticks. Repeat process on the second side. And then again on the widths. Wrap the corners like you would a gift, trimming excess fabric as needed. Pull fabric taut as you go.

Don’t pull too tight, but ensure the fabric is flush to the stick. Then staple making sure the corners are tight and crisp.

A note on the cost of the project: the fabric was the most expensive part! Since my fabric panels were covering a large space, I wanted to love the fabric. Loving anything comes at a cost. And at $40/yard, I love this fabric and its large-scale pattern. I needed two yards (probably three, in hindsight) and had a 40% off coupon. I still spent more on fabric then I budgeted for.

See….learning how to hang fabric on walls is super easy! I even have leftover stretch bars that could be used with less expensive fabric. Maybe a holiday wall covering? Or even solid fabric for our kids’ to paint? One thing is certain, I won’t be purchasing expensive stretch canvas frames from specialty framing stores anymore! DIY canvas frames are so much easier.

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