Fun with Phoomph for Fabric by Coats

“Phoomph™ adds oomph!” Phoomph™ is a new product from our friends at Coats & Clark. It’s a double-sided, 1mm fabric bonding sheet with permanent adhesive on both sides. Simply peel away the protective covering and place your fabric over the Phoomph™, smoothing it with your hands. Yep! There’s no heat or ironing needed at all to create the permanent bond. You can then cut the fabric-covered Phoomph™ into what ever shape(s) you desire. Coats sent us both available textures and several colors to play with, and that’s exactly what we did: play! Read on to take a look at all the fun stuff we came up with.

Because there’s no heat needed with Phoomph™, it’s perfect for fabric substrates that are not iron-friendly; such as laminate, vinyl, faux leather, velvet and velveteen among others.

Phoomph™ for Fabric! is acid and lignin free and comes in two different 1mm thick textures: Soft when you want some flexibility and Stiff when rigid structure is needed. Both are 9″ x 12″ sheets with permanent adhesive on the front and back, and both come in eight colors: white, black, blue, red, pink, green, fuchsia, and orange. Why all the colors? Because an edge of the product will be visible along any cut line. With eight colors to choose from, you can pick the best one to match or contrast with your fabric.

It’s very easy to cut the fabric-covered Phoomph™ sheets with regular scissors, however, we found it also works great in a die-cutter. We used our Sizzix Big Shot die-cutter. Make sure you select dies that are made to cut fabric not just paper.

Because of the strong adhesive, Phoomph™ is not designed for use with a sewing machine. Although the machine’s needle would likely penetrate without much problem, the adhesive would gum up the needle and its assembly. You can use a hand sewing needle to stitch a bauble or bead in place, but be prepared to throw it away; it will likely be too sticky for other uses when done. Attaching layers of Phoomph™ or embellishing it with other elements is really best done with a liquid adhesive.

You can find Phoomph™ for Fabric! at larger fabric and craft stores as well as online.

Below are some of our fun ideas for Phoomph™.

Bag Tags

Bag Tags help you recognize your bag. I used to tie a ribbon on mine, but then lots of people started doing that. This set is cut using a Sizzix Big Shot die-cutter, but you could easily cut cute shapes with scissors. Phoomph is easy to cut, but surprisingly strong. To give the tags a professional look, we added small grommets and a little chain. You can make a set of these in about 10 minutes or less.

Bag Tags for Kids

To create these tags, we used scissors and fussy cut around two specific images in this fun fabric scrap leftover from our Halloween Trick-or-Treat Tote. You could do the same with flowers, birds, or anything your kids like. Adding the metal eyelets is easy and fast. There are clear directions on the package.  We used a Dritz Eyelet kit in 5/32″.

Happy Flower Push Pins

To make our Happy Flower Push Pins, we used scraps of prepared Phoomph left over from using our Sizzix Big Shot die-cutter  to make the Bag Tags. We ran the little scraps through again using a single flower on one of the dies. The Phoomph adhesive secures the flower to the push pin. If you don’t have access to a die-cutting machine, you can also cut fun shapes with scissors. Simply trace around a pleasing shape on the Phoomph backing and cut. Push the pin through the center of your shape and you’re done. They make a pretty and useful teacher gift: stick them onto heavy cardboard or to a small cork square, then tuck a note under one of the push pins.

Knotted Hair Ties

Hair ties are so popular and are very easy to make. Hand cut or use a die-cutter to cut a 1¾” flower for the base and a 1⅛” top flower. Sew through the center attaching a small bead or button. Cut about 9″ per hair tie of fold-over elastic. We used Dritz Fold-Over Elastic in Pink and in Black. Knot the ends and sew your flower to the center. These flowers are made from scraps of cotton velveteen from Anna Maria Horner’s Field Study for FreeSpirit. See the original pillow project for more information on the fabric. These flowers are very sturdy and held up well to a lot of handling and testing and pony tails.

Quick Cuff

These cuffs are so fast and easy to make. We cut the print fabric and Phoomph at 1⅛” wide x wrist measurement + two inches. From medium weight muslin, tear a strip about 1⅜” to 1½” wide. Adhere the print fabric to the Phoomph and then the muslin. Overlap the ends about ¾”. Using a leather hole punch or awl, make two holes through the overlapped pieces. Thread a ribbon or cord through the aligned holes and loosely knot to secure the cuffs.

Key Fobs

Got a minute? Make a key fob. These are made just like the luggage tags above, using a smaller die-cut flower and key ring hardware.

Laminated Coasters

Laminated cotton adheres beautifully to Phoomph. What an easy way to make a set of pretty coasters. Just tie with a ribbon and it’s a quick gift.

Flower Belt

The belt is made in a similar fashion to the hair ties. Stack up several cut flower shapes and sew through with a button. Then attach to a length of wide ribbon. We used about 2 yards of ribbon; enough for a pretty bow at the back. Notice how the red Phoomph makes the edges of the flower really pop!