Paint a cheerful Easter floorcloth for your dollhouse

       Floorcloths served several purposes: they protected floors, decorated a room, and also helped to insulate a space. Floorcloths might be covered with a carpet during cold weather, or might themselves have straw or newspaper put underneath them to help to keep the cold out.
       Historical floorcloths varied in size. They might cover a smaller space as an area rug does today, they might be of a size to reach wall to wall, or they might be of a size to be placed under a dining table to protect a costly carpet. These small protective floorcloths were called "covers" in the 18th century and "druggets" in the 19th.
       Young students here may like to craft a floorcloth for their dollhouse from canvas, paints and the set of Easter/Spring patterns included below. 

Left, floorcloth positioned in front of a dresser. Center, the floorcloth positioned in front of a rocker.
 Right, up-close photo of the finished, primitively painted, Easter floorcloth.

Supply List:

• a small scrap of canvas or muslin
• acrylic paints: in Easter colors
• tiny brushes
• template (below)
• needle and thread 
• Mod Podge or Acrylic Sealer
• permanent ink markers
• #2 lead pencil 

Left, basted edges of the canvas floorcloth. Center, use a pencil to trace the patterns on the
 finished side of the floorcloth. Right, paint bold, simple shapes of rabbits, hearts, eggs,
birds and flowers on top of the canvas wherever you wish!

Step-by-Step Directions:

1. Cut the small piece of canvas or muslin to the size you need for the floor of your dollhouse. Remember to leave a seam allowance of approximately 1/3 of an inch.
2. Turn 1/3" under and press with a hot iron. This will be the backside of your floorcloth. 
3. Thread a needle and straight stitch along the top of the floor cloth down all four sides of the canvas by hand or with a machine. This will leave a finished edge along the boarder of the floorcloth. 
4. Now you will need to prepare to paint. Using the template below, cut out the rabbits, tulips, Easter eggs, and birds to trace around on top of the canvas floorcloth. Design your Spring floor cloth to look however you wish.
5. With tiny brushes, paint the entire surface of the floorcloth. Use your favorite pastel or jewel-like colors. After the paint dries, add more surface details using a permanent ink marker.
6. Seal the surface with Mod Podge or clear acrylic varnish to protect your painting. 
7. Use the floorcloth to decorate your dollhouse for Easter!

The Easter patterns for students to print out on their home computers.