Natural Crafts

Your Beginner's Guide To Crafting With Burlap

There are many crafting projects that could be attempted with natural materials. Today, Spotlight takes a closer look at burlap and provides you with plenty of inspiration for a future project with this material.

What Can I Make With Burlap?

One of the natural materials you can work with is burlap. This natural material has applications in wedding decorations, vases, and even photo frames. You can even use burlap as gift wrap or ribbon. In other words, there is always some room for burlap in your personal crafting collection.

How Can I Get Burlap To Lay Flat?

When you work with burlap, it is not uncommon to encounter problems making the material lay flat. Burlap tends to curl once it comes into contact with water. So, how do you make burlap flat once it has been washed.

To ensure your burlap dries flat, simply put it between two towels. The towels will absorb the water, but also add some pressure on the burlap keeping it flat. This method also protects the fabric fibres, just as long as you keep the material away from direct sunlight.

How Can I Protect Burlap Against Sunlight?

Another common question in regard to working with burlap is how to protect the material against sunlight. As you may know, sunlight is the number one enemy of many fabrics, this includes burlap.

Of course, there are many crafting projects that include burlap and eventually come into contact with sunlight. So, how do you keep your fabric safe in those instances?

To protect burlap against sunlight, simply use a UV-weather resistant spray. Alternatively, you can use a matte sealant, which protects your burlap material as well.

Does Burlap Shrink In The Washing Machine?

Spotlight does not recommend washing burlap in the washing machine for a number of reasons. However, one of the main reasons is because it could damage your washing machine. The material does create quite a bit of lint, which could get stuck in your washing machine and eventually damage it.

To clean or wash a burlap fabric, it is recommended to use a gentle handwash. You should not leave the material in the cleaning mixture for longer than five minutes, as this could cause damage to the material and cause it to unravel. However, if you stick to these simple guidelines, you can keep burlap clean and pristine.

How Do I Store Burlap?

There are a couple of rules when it comes to storing burlap, so be sure to take these into consideration when you buy a quantity of burlap for later use.

When you want to store burlap, always keep it in a cool and dry place. Obviously, the material should be completely dry and kept away from direct sunlight when stored.

Before storing burlap, always make sure that the material is completely dry. If burlap is wet when stored, it can attract mould. Residue left on some burlap can also attract bugs and insects, so you want to make sure the material is clean and dry before storing it for a considerable time.

While most fabrics are folded when stored, Spotlight does not recommend this for burlap. Instead, burlap should be rolled, as folding could cause creases that are impossible to get rid of. If there is no other way to store your material, make sure you only fold along a line that is already present in the material.

How Do I Remove Odours From Burlap?

There is an easy way to remove odours from burlap. Grab the material and lay the item outside, preferably in a shady spot as sunlight can damage the material. Then, sprinkle some baking soda all over the material. Leave the material outside for a couple of hours to remove the odours completely.

Of course, some odours are more persistent than others. If you encounter stubborn odours on burlap, simply use a little bit of vinegar or lemon juice. These substances can counter stubborn odours and do not cause damage to the material.

Obtain Burlap From Spotlight's Natural Crafts Range

Spotlight's natural crafts range contains many burlap options for you take advantage of. The collection contains burlap with a natural look, but we also have some themed options that will look brilliantly for a variety of projects. Spotlight's range also includes different colours such as white, black, white, and creme.

Check out the range today and discover countless burlap fabrics and accessories for your crafting projects. As always, you can count on fantastically low prices and discounts.