Healthy Fabrics

Decorative Vintage Crochet

Vintage crochet and tatting pieces are two of my favorite handicrafts to collect. I especially like the simple, undyed cotton and linen designs inspired by nature: snowflakes, pinecones, grapes clusters, flowers and buds. These timeless treasures are easy to repurpose as pillow case edgings, curtain trims, table linen appliques and wall art. Pair them with sustainable hemp and organic cotton fabrics in similiar natural colors for beautiful tonal effects.

Cheapo-Eco Home Decor

When my sister asked me to sew curtains and a chair slipcover for her apartment I went straight for her neglected fabric stash. I like the creative challenge of finding new uses for stuff we already have. The process is fun and rewarding. And, it’s the most inexpensive and eco-friendly way to decorate a space.

Our hodge-podge of fabric remnants and yardage inspired color, texture and pattern combinations galore. The fabric lengths ultimately dictated their end use.

I made a pair of curtain panels by extending the length of a large botanical floral print with a topper cut from a small yarn-dyed check. These two very different textiles married beautifully due to the coordinating color palette and contrast in pattern scale. I lined the curtains with available muslin and gave them a bit of polish by attaching ribbon trim over the join seam.

For the slipcover, I worked with remnants of two textured cottons in tonal shades of Khaki. I engineered the fabric placement to look like an intentional patchwork. A third textured remnant in red was used for the piping, an accent color that ties the slipcover to the curtains.

We spent less than $20 (thread, piping cord, ribbon and covered button forms) to complete both projects. By using fabric we hand on hand we minimized our consumption of new materials. Now that’s cheapo-eco home decor.

What cost saving items have you made from your fabric stash?

No-Sew Green Holiday Decor

I'm keeping it simple and stress-free this holiday season. I'm decorating with repurposed vintage fabrics, without sewing a stitch.

Here's a cheery vignette I put together in minutes using a few of my favorites. A stack of folded wooly plaids and charming cotton prints mounted in clip frames. These are from 1930 feedsacks. I threw in a bit of greenery and, voila! Fast, easy and free.

Happy Green Holidays!