5 Crafty Ideas for Dorm Room Decor

Dorm decorating is one of the most exciting things about the new school year, but that doesn’t mean it needs to break your bank. Each of these DIY projects can be done with just a few bucks and they’re sure to make your new space feeling like home.

1. Felt Plants

• Heathered Brown Felted Wool
• Heathered Jungle Green Felted Wool
• Smoke Acrylic Felt

These little faux plants can be made into frames, wreaths, fake terrariums – you name it! And all you need is a little bit of felt cut into a range of teardrop shapes.

Begin with 5 large ones, overlapped slightly to form a circle, and keep adding layers of 5 until you’re happy with the size and shape. Small dots of hot glue keep them together perfectly.

2. Wall Art

• 1 yard 8″ European Dark Teal Chainette Fringe
• 1 yard 16″ European Tiffany Blue Chainette Fringe
• 1/2 yard 4″ European Wine Chainette Fringe
• 1/2 yard 4″ European Gold Chainette Fringe
• 2 yards 1/8″ White Cotton Cording
• Wooden dowels

Everyone loves a little wall art. Break up the monotony of dorm room posters with some unique fringe hangings!

Wall art like this looks super adorable, and all it takes is 10 minutes. For the larger one above, I hot glued 2 layers of the tiffany blue fringe to the longer dowel. Single layers worked perfectly for the dark teal and wine red. A little painter’s tape zigzagged along the bottom made it super easy to trim the edge into a cuter shape!

The cotton cording was attached to all of the dowels with simple slip knots. I also added an extra knot toward the middle of the smaller hanging to give it a little more detail, like you can see below.

3. Bed Organizer

• 1 yard Mauve Ghastlie Gardenia Printed Cotton Woven
• 1/2 yard Metallic Gold Stretch Faux Leather/Vinyl

This handy DIY can replace a bedside table by sliding right under your mattress. All of it’s helpful pockets can hold onto anything you need – notebooks, tablets, phones – so there’s no need to take up space with a nightstand.

Two rectangles (12″x18″ and 15″x18″) just need to be trimmed across the top with bias tape. I made my own with metallic faux vinyl, like you see above and below. They’re then sewn to the bottom of a 45″x18″ rectangle, which is then trimmed on all four sides. The final step is deciding how many pockets you want! Since the two original rectangles make 2, I decided to divide them once to create a total of four. I made my division slightly off-center so I had 2 small pockets and 2 larger.

4. Raindrop Divider Fringe

• 1/4 yard Metallic Silver Crackled Vinyl
• 547 Metallic Indigo Jacquard Fabric Paint
• 10 yards 2mm Navy Rattail

Fringe has always been popular for doorways, or to divide rooms, and even as backdrops. To make your own raindrop fringe, cut some cording or rattail into five 2.5 yard lengths and cut forty 4″ raindrops from your silver vinyl. I chose to make half of the raindrops just slightly blue with Jacquard fabric paint. Usually this goes on incredibly opaque, so I dry brushed in on to keep it much more faint. To finish your fringe, use a hole punch at the top of each raindrop and tie 8 onto each length of cord!

5. Bow Pillows

• 1/2 yard Navy Polka Dotted Floral Stretch Cotton Sateen 
• 1/2 yard White/Navy Polka Dotted Floral Stretch Cotton Sateen
• 2 14″x18″ Pillow Forms

Bow pillows are incredibly cute, and also incredibly simple. All you need are some envelope pillowcases and a strip of fabric to belt around the center.

To create an envelope case, cut out two 14″x22″ rectangles for the back of your pillow and one 14″x18″ rectangle for the front.

Fold your 14″x22″ panels in half so they each measure 14″x11″. Sew one to the right side of your front panel, with the fold toward the center like you see above and below. Sew the second panel to the opposite end, so the folds overlap for a few inches in the middle. Flip your case right-side-out through the folds – this is where you’ll insert your pillow form.

The belt in the center can be created by sewing a 14″ strip of fabric together on the ends. I also gave mine a box pleat to make it a little more detailed, but this is (of course) totally optional!

So which projects will you be trying out this coming semester? Tell us in the comments!