FELT BOARDS DIY | How to Make Your Own Felt Board Quick and Easy (Tutorial)

African Animals & Their Names, Plus... Arctic Animals Felt Sets Shown

First, decide what you are going to put your flannel material on.  Some choose to purchase
stretched artist canvases from their local craft supply store, and other people choose to tweak a sturdy board & easel.  For us we like the quick & easy way, plus it's the most versatile felt board option out there...
Let's get started!

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Which Style Do You Like?

I like the inexpensive Ikea board & easel felt board option so much so, because this felt board idea can be used as it's original chalk board and white board option, as well as a portable stand up felt board!  The height is perfect for preschoolers to stand next to and the tray gives them a place to put their felt story pieces.  Plus, it is light weight.  I LOVE IT!!

IKea White & Black Board with Easel

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There are other brands that make portable board and easels for kids: Melissa & Doug, Imagination Generation and Educational Insights 3-In-1 Portable Easel to name a few.   We went with the Ikea brand because we needed something light-weight to carry to our weekly preschool class along with a large enough board area to place felt. 

If the weight & board area is not an issue with your story time purpose, or if you think you may need a table top easel for it's storage factor instead then you'll find good name brands, like the ones mentioned above,  nice options.

Add Velcro Dots, Sheet of Felt & make a DIY Felt Board

Felt material comes in different grades and a plethora of pretty colors.  Even black is in when it comes to making your own felt board.  Since I like the color green, I went with a delicious apple color for our diy felt board example. 

Take a look at your local fabric store if you have the time, it is fun to do.  There you can actually touch and feel the quality of material before you decide and purchase.  When shopping online, you may want to read the reviews before you choose, since there are different grades to pick from, a good review will give you more details and insight of what other customers liked about the product.

In-Style Black Acrylic Felt - 72" X 2 yard

Hunter Green Acrylic Felt - 72" X 2 yard

Bright Orange Acrylic Felt - 72" X 2 yard

Neon Yellow Acrylic Felt - 72" X 2 yard

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You Have Your Board Picked Out, Now What?

Now that you have your board and easel option picked out, you can follow the steps below to get a similar result with your new felt board.  

Step 1:  Measure the Board

First, we simply measure the board frame area to get an idea of how much felt we will need to cut.  I do like to have an overlay of green felt, so I've trimmed my material longer than the board's length which measured 23 inches.  Another option would be to measure the board area only, and stay within the frame. 

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Step 2:  Velcro Dots

Here, I had my son placed 12 Velcro dots on the easel's frame, which makes this tutorial a super quick & easy way to make your own felt board... thus, "DIY QUICK & EASY FELT BOARD." 

To attach the felt to the board & easel, I use round self adhesive Velcro dots.  If you choose the option to place your felt material on the board area itself, having Velcro dots on the board may be unappealing.

Here's a felt teaching tip:  When the board is not in felt story mode, the Velcro can be used to stick on felt images as decor.  I've also used the Velcro to give felt images a place to rest before they play their part in the story line.  This would be when I put to service the felt story sets that come with a 24x17 scenic background as shown in this blog's intro picture.  But, when I use the green felt background, the sheet is large enough to cover the entire easel frame.

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Step 3: Cut Felt to Size

For step 3, you will trim your felt material to the size of your board & easel and... align it to the Velcro dots then press to stick.  It's as simple as that!

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Step 4: Embellishment

In the final step, I decided to embellish the frame of the easel with Carson Dellosa Stylin' Stripes bulletin board trim.  The colorful scalloped style design makes the green felt look inviting.  You can use any color or pattern you like best.  You may decided to take it a step further and sew a rainbow pom pom fringe, tassel, or ruffle to the back side of the felt.

After you finalize the fourth step, you're ready to gather your favorite felt story sets and pick the best place to put your newly embellished felt board.

Felt board teaching can and is used for many concepts, especially for those things that preschoolers love to learn about: colors, numbers, letters, etc.

so What About Storage?

When we are not in felt story mode, the Ikea chalkboard / whiteboard with easel is used for more play. 
As mentioned above, I went with the board and easel route because of the versatility of this option. 
The felt sheet can be folded and placed in a large zip lock bag, school room drawer, or a clear storage box, like a 14 x 11 x 3.25 Large Clear Sterilite Clip Box. 

Truly, felt boards can be made in many different ways.  Creating one can be fun. 
If you've made one, please share it with us!  ~

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