DIY: Upcycle Your Craft Desk

In my last blog post you will have seen I was a very lucky girl this Christmas and got an overlocker as a present. This meant that my desk was no longer big enough for my ever growing sewing needs. So I decided to get a new desk. However, if there is one thing you should know about me it is that I'm a massive cheapskate! I love getting a good bargain!



The Desk
I started trawling through endless local for sale groups to find a cheap table or desk. I found a desk and decided to give it a new lease of life. This desk cost me £10 which is an absolute steal!

P.S. It did have all the drawers, just didn't have a picture OOPS.

I gave all the surfaces a good scrub with a damp cloth because there were a few dirty marks. I then hoovered the inside of all the drawers and wiped the insides of the drawers with the cloth.
I'm going to give it a fresh lick of paint in the summer time and also up-cycle my desk chair to match.

I wanted to cover the top of the desk with fabric to make it pretty and a bit more "me". But wanted something durable that I could also wipe clean. I decided to use some pretty PVC (I think PVC), fabric that I bought at an Abakhan Secret Sale for £1 for several metres!

Here is similar fabric from Abakhan

It was ridiculously cheap! Even after this project I still have loads more of this fabric left. Luckily the fabric was wide enough for my desk so I only had to cut one piece!

When you are cutting your fabric make sure you cut enough to cover the top of the desk and to go underneath the 'lip' of the desk. You are better off cutting too much fabric then trimming the excess after it is attached.

I attached the fabric to the desk by using an electric staple gun. (If you are a child ask an adult to do this!). Or if you are a weakling like me ask somebody else to help. Make sure you are pulling the fabric tight so there is no trapped air leaving annoying bubbles under the surface. Make sure when you are stapling that you staple underneath the work top or 'lip' so that the staples aren't visible. Once I had stapled all the way around, I trimmed any excess fabric making sure I trimmed close to the staples so the fabric wouldn't flap down. If your fabric will fray make sure you turn under the raw edge before stapling, luckily I chose fabric that wouldn't fray (WIN!)

When attaching the corners, I folded them away from the front of the desk and just tried to lie them as flat and tidy as possible.

I also decided to line the bottom of ever drawer using the same fabric. I measured the base of every draw and cut the fabric to this size. I used the staple to attach this to the bottom of every drawer.

Pretty and practical however, not going to be seen much when the drawers are full! Here is how the top of the desk looks, so it is easy for me to pull which ever machine I'm using to the centre without scratching the desk top because of the PVC fabric.