Crafting With Vintage Linens

Vintage linens have been a guilty pleasure of all our mothers; they have been diligently pilling them up for years on end. Whenever there was to be a decluttering exercise held in the home, vintage linens used to bug me the most. At the time it really annoyed me to neatly fold them and tucked them right back in the drawer. I mean why anyone would ever need them. But as you grow older, the beauty, the class and the finesse starts to win you over and you start to cherish these pieces. Vintage, antique and traditional linen pillowcases, tablecloths, napkins, hankies, sofa arm covers and table runners have just been sitting in our cupboards for decades and now it’s time to spruce them up with these amazing crafting ideas.

I’m sure each one of us has hand-me-downs of some very cute embroidered hankies which have our name or our initials engraved on it. We might also have cutwork tablecloths or sofa arm covers which are dying to be resurrected. There’s a lot more to the vintage linens then just the fine quality of fabric or their customary usage. Vintage linens can be leased a new life with crafting and reconditioning ideas and they can look great in our modern décor settings. Vintage linen has something very intriguing, exciting, enticing and enchanting about them.

Creative minds get a kick from the patterns, fabric, heritage, and timelessness of these classic pieces. They draw inspiration, ideas and incentive from them and work hard to come up with ideas that can actually make people upcycle them. The fact that these pieces have survived so many decades and have managed to beautifully retain their quality, smell and attractiveness is a testimony of how superior are these from today’s commercially manufactured linens. These pieces deserve to be preserved with care, love and innovation.

The patterns, colors, cuts and fabric are a reminder of an era that is gone, a time that has passed, memories that have faded away and values that are relinquished. You can never find these vintage linen pieces in the modern world’s markets. Places like thrift stores, yard sales and antique stores tucked in the deepest alleys only have gems like that anymore. From linen pillowcases to table cloths to tea towels to dollies and blankets all can be recycled, upcycled and repurposed in more stylish and inventive ways.   

Doing creative renovations of these vintage linens will dig up so many hidden yet cherished memories from your mind. You will repeatedly be saying words like, “My mum loved this piece…” or “This hankie my mom initiated for me on my first day of school…” Vintages linen pieces have been sitting in our homes for decades and have been since witnessing and absorbing so much, it’s time to extract those moments out of them and display them for the world to see. There are just endless possibilities to reuse vintage lines effectively, you can create something to wear, to decorate, to gift or you can cover the home with cottage style charm with many small scale projects around the house.

Crafting Ideas for Vintage Tea Towels

Wondering how to upcycle the classic vintage tea towels stacked at the back of your cupboard for years. These tea towels have a lot more to them then just meet the eye. Tea towels came in various sizes, patterns, designs, colors and shapes, each one having a beautiful feel to it. They might seem useless in respect to today’s time but there are many ways to reuse them cleverly around the home. Take any tea towel from the collection and get it framed, use that in the kitchen or anywhere in the home where the color coordinates. You can also convert them into hats, cushions or pillowcases can be made out from them and displayed on any plain solid color sofa or bed. You can patch them together to make a giant bedspread.

Crafting Ideas for Vintage Bedspreads

Speaking about bedspreads let’s talk about some innovative ideas to recycle the vintage bedspreads. They have lasted for decades so there is no doubt about their durability, bedspreads can be used in various projects. If you want to revamp your bathroom curtain then a vintage bedspread is a very good option. Its lightweight, strong, airy and at the same time opaque enough to conceal everything. You can also use these bedspreads in making colorful curtains for hallways, kitchen or even for child’s nursery. I also love turning my bedspreads into table runners.

Crafting Ideas for Vintage Hankies and Dollies  

From all the vintage collectables I have, hankies are my favorite. They are cute, fascinating, charming and provide a ton of opportunity to spin them off into something clever and innovative. If you have hankies that have the same pattern in different sizes or colors then you can show off them as wall hangings by simply turning them into a hoop art. Another great way to utilize some hankies is to make file covers out of them. They can be used for different subjects, topics, and projects and easy to identify from the crowd. These would be utterly unique and I bet people wouldn’t stop gushing over them.

I also adore the idea of making tissue boxes from hankies as the size is perfect for them. Another favorite of mine are dollies, these are really cool and have also made their way back into our lives now in a much shallower quality. If you are original then why use a cheap imitation, right? Dollies can be used in wrapping gifts, as dress covers or can be converted into an epic wall art.

Crafting Ideas for Vintage Pillowcases

Lastly I would like to share some ideas for the linen pillowcases as they have a lot more to them. You can turn them into aprons that are super absorbent, unique and very endearing at the same time. You can also turn the pillowcases into your little girl’s shirts or frocks. I also love to patch together these linen pillowcases into a giant, snuggly quilt cover for those movie and game nights.

Final Thoughts

With all the ideas above you can pretty much use any vintage linens and convert them into an awe-inspiring project. Vintage linens can easily inspire you to reuse them; all you have to do is to take them out of their slumber.