Thrifty Thursday: On the Hunt for Vintage Linens

Old linens, flyin' on the laundry line!

Last year, I picked up this book at a garage sale. I've always loved old linens, and already had a collection of vintage linens going, but this book showed a wonderful variety of uses for linens too damaged to keep and use as they were originally intended. It shows many projects that can be done using the salvageable parts of beautiful old fabric and handwork. So, that began for me, an even more intense search at garage sales or thrift stores for the beautiful and rare fabrics of households past. Where before, I might have only collected embroidered pieces in perfect condition, now just about anything works! And, the creativity of fellow bloggers who make beautiful aprons and pillows is an inspiration to someone like me who has sewing skills but often isn't the most creative THINKER. (My mom has that gift, but it did not get passed to me!)

Look at this idea....perfect use for an imperfect Christmas tablecloth or Christmas hankies...a way to enjoy the graphics and colors without seeing all the stains!

And for kitchen linens...remade and mixed together into useful and beautiful items for the kitchen and dining area!

And who wouldn't love that cherry and aqua/red pillow for their front porch swing?

I had some luck last Saturday on a couple hour late afternoon hunt in a subdivision sale. I picked up all the items shown in this post that day, and this Dutch boy/girl kitchen towel was in perfect condition and will probably become a gift for someone. I LOVE IT! I paid one dollar!

This hankie was in perfect condition, and was a quarter. It's not necessarily my style, but on a white background, it would make a bright pillow cover.

I couldn't leave this...it's an old barbeque apron! I love the graphics and the colors, but don't like the rope-like"string" that you put around your neck and tie in the back. (The string is probably the reason this apron was just like new! It is a VERY uncomfortable design.) I will probably remake the ties and neck loop with fabric that coordinates to make it more user friendly. I haven't decided if I'm going to keep it or not, but it was so bright and happy and was only two dollars!

I put the worst of the stained items in a soak...

This tablecloth is a big square, cost was fifty cents (!!!) and each of the four corners have this teapot and embroidery, and the killer is that each teapot is a pocket that will hold a teabag! TOO CUTE! In this photo, you can see the little pouch or pocket that is formed by the blue part of the teapot! There were two small stains in the center that I've removed using Suzanne's recipe, from her COLORADO LADY'S blog, listed under tutorials, called "Cleaning Vintage Linens". Her tutorial/recipe can be found here. (She also hosts something called "Vintage Thingy Thursdays" which you may find fun if you're a vintage hound!)

This is a large round vintage Christmas tablecloth, with a fine woven yarn fringe edging. It was in excellent condition and needed practically NO stain removal, fifty cents. UNREAL. The lady who sold it said "I take it you like old things! You should have seen what I had here when the sale started!" UH OH! Better late than never, and well, I was pretty content with these finds.

The fabric on this one is thick and heavy and ironed up beautifully. I enjoy the QUALITY of old fabrics as well as their prints. The fabric made in the USA (back when) was EXCELLENT!

This is a wonderful large rectangular vintage print Christmas tablecloth, but was VERY BADLY STAINED, for fifty cents. I was guessing either gravy or Italian food/tomato stains from the color of the blotches. All you need for Suzanne's stain recipe is some time, patience, some Biz, Oxyclean, and boiled water and a plastic tub or plastic dishpan. I got almost every single bad stain out, and I highly recommend her tutorial, because these old items are now almost as good as new!

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So, while you're out on the hunt --thrifting or at a garage sale --and you see these rare old beauties, don't be afraid of them if they're stained. You can work on the stains, and if they don't come out, you can always remake it or find a new use for it like this book shows. Or like the many bloggers out there, for instance, Kathleen Grace from Kathy's Cottage, so creative

to make these into something new.

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I was so thrilled after that particular "hunt", I can't even begin to tell you how lucky I felt that after a couple days of selling, that these things were still left on the tables! And just looking at them makes me happy. I can't wait to use them, remake them. And of course, a big part of the fun is sharing what I find with you!