Last summer I found two vintage dresser scarfs at my favorite thrift store.
At the time I didn't really know what I would do with them, but I liked their sepia tones.
One was beautiful crochet, and the other was tea dyed Battenburg Lace.
When I washed and ironed them, I realized they fit perfectly together.
This gave me the idea of turning them into a pillow.
I hand stitched the two together, along the base of the crochet scallops.
Then I hand stitched them both to a length of softly woven fabric, along the base of the Battenburg Lace.
I then made a pillow using more of the same fabric for the backing.
I wanted to wash it if needed, so I made a separate pillow to the exact dimensions out of muslin which I stuffed. This was inserted into the dresser scarf pillow and the end was sewn shut with large stitches using heavy quilting thread that could be cut free for washing and then sewn back together.
I stuffed it rather loosely to make it soft and squishy.
I then paired it with a crochet tablecloth re-purposed into a throw that I already had on hand. I have several of these tablecloths that I have re-purposed over the years into curtains, bedspreads, and throws.
They look like they were made for each other!
This project cost me less than $10 and I have a boutique quality pillow that I made myself from vintage finds.
What about you - do you re-purpose vintage linens?
xoxo
that is really, really pretty. you're very clever and talented. a nice way to use both of those treasures.
ReplyDeleteHi Karen! How lovely! I am a dyed-in-the-wool minimalist (zen but warm?) who LOVES the look of your shabby chic / vintage. I always admire how you put things together in pretty tableaux. You would make a great set designer or property master in the theater.
ReplyDeleteDearest Karen,
ReplyDeleteYou do have a keen eye and very nimble fingers to work with thread and needle. Once you made up you mind about what to create from these excellent pieces, you really made a luxurious home decor pillow à la Bergdorf Goodman quality out of it; CHAPEAU! Or for the non-French readers out there; HATS OFF!
Love the mention of the tea dyed vintage lace. It was done quite often to make lace items look more vintage and it works very well. Just dunking the entire piece to be dyed complete into some hot brewed tea.
This is really magazine quality work.
Hugs to you dear friend,
Mariette
So pretty, Karen! Your entire sitting area is very pretty and feminine.
ReplyDeleteI adore vintage linens and have a huge Rubbermaid tub full of them. One thing I want to do is make a crazy quilt from some of the embroidered tablecloths and pillowcases - adding embroidery to it. And hankies - I love vintage hankies. I have made some darling angels using half a vintage hanky and some felt and embroidery. I am not always able to cut into the linens because they are so lovely. I also have a vintage tablecloth/bedspread that I use on the sofa in the winter - although paired with yellow pillows it looks just as fabulous in the spring. I am doing a lot of yellow this next spring - for some cheer after almost a year of back trouble and then back surgery - I need yellow.
ReplyDeleteI love what you did with your two runners - so clever and wonderful. Vintage linens thrill my soul.
You are so clever! The pillow is lovely. The pieces really do look like they are meant to go together.
ReplyDeleteThis is so pretty, Karen...and yes I am always on the hunt for linens to re-purpose...so fun!
ReplyDeleteIt's lovely Karen!!I adore vintage linens!
ReplyDeleteHugs
Karen this is beautiful, I have a weakness for vintage linens also. It may be from watching my Grandmother who was German make them and take so much time and patience, I never found that skill.
ReplyDeleteLove the pillow and I agree with Mariette the quality your photography and this article are magazine quality work.
Beautiful. Hug B
How creative and beautiful! I got as a wedding present a beautiful set of vintage linens, that my friend has made a beautiful light rosa print ... Just below the woven lace ... They are of a great quality,many I cherish them a lot! If I get across vintage linens, I surely will repurpose them :)
ReplyDeleteAn awesome repurpose!
ReplyDeleteYou would have paid and arm and a leg for that in a vintage store. :)
I have some quilts that are really just scraps but I can't bear to make them into pillows which was the original reason I bought them!
Beautiful work Karen.. Gorgeous Vintage linens, you are so creative! Hugs May x x x
ReplyDeleteThank you, my Dear friends for all of your lovely comments! I love hearing about your ideas for vintage linens, too! A lot of creative people out there! You are very sweet and inspiring, Hugs to you all! xxoo
ReplyDeleteHi Karen,
ReplyDeleteI just love your new vintage lace pillow! If only I could sew or crochet. You never know what your treasures will turn into.
Beautiful, Karen. Just beautiful - gives me some ideas for my home. Because I lost all of my handmade throws and table runners in Katrina, it was such a daunting task to recreate all of the things I had made over the course of decades. I just couldn't do it all again. Now you've given me ideas to add handcrafts back to my home without taking twenty years to crochet it all myself. <3
ReplyDeleteVery nice, indeed. It feels so good to extend the life of old things by repurposing them.
ReplyDeleteLovely soft and romantic atmosphere, just what I love !
ReplyDelete