How to Cover a Corkboard With Fabric

Give a boring corkboard a modern makeover by covering it in a decorative fabric suited to the room's decor. The fabric also makes the creation seem more like a piece of wall art than a standard office supply. Add batting between the cork and fabric for a more plush, cushy feel when you pin things to the board. If the corkboard has a frame, make sure the fabric-covered cork still fits within the frame before securing everything in place.

Any corkboard sturdy enough to hang on a wall is sturdy enough to cover in fabric as well. If you're making your own, adhere a sheet of cork to a backing board -- for instance, the thick cardboard-like backing from a picture frame for a framed bulletin board, or a sheet of stiff shipping foam or foam-core board. Use a craft adhesive designed to stick to both the cork and the backing-board material.

Along with the corkboard, you'll need decorative fabric at least an inch larger in each dimension than the corkboard -- even larger if the corkboard is more than 1/4-inch thick. Choose a fabric that's relatively durable, such as cotton or canvas, rather than sheer or satiny fabrics that may look damaged after a pin sticks through them even once. Sheer fabrics also show what's beneath. You will need batting the same size as the fabric, and scissors to cut everything, as well as packing tape, hot glue, craft glue or a staple gun secure it all together.

Iron the fabric on a low-heat setting if it looks wrinkled. Afterward, set it face down on a clean, smooth surface and place the batting atop it, smoothing out both materials to remove ripples. Center the corkboard face down on the batting. Grab the batting and fabric on one side of the board and pull them taut, wrapping them around the edge of the board as if you're wrapping a gift. Tape the materials in place with packing tape if you do not want to use other adhesives. If the back side of the corkboard is thick and soft enough to staple through, staple the materials in place with one staple every few inches. Repeat the process on each edge of the cork board. Trim any excess fabric and batting to neaten up the back. You could also use hot glue as an adhesive, although you'll have to adhere the batting first, then the fabric. If the corkboard originally came in a frame, place it back in the frame with the fabric-covered side facing front.

Customize your bulletin board even more with bits of decorative trim, rickrack or ribbon. Arrange the strips diagonally and parallel across the front of the board, taping them temporarily in place with painter's tape. Cross the lines with parallel strips of ribbon or trim aligned opposite the first, weaving the new lines through the first. Flip the board face down and tape or hot-glue the ribbon ends in place. The ribbon strips allow you to tuck in photos, notes and postcards without using pins.