So here is the result of my first venture into quilting with vintage sheets! I am very pleased. These are simple 6 inch squares set on point. The quilt is 44 by 52. I quilted the width of my presser foot along each seam with a wavy line in a pale pink thread. The backing and binding are also cut from vintage sheets. The batting is some lovely cotton bamboo that I bought a few miles of when I saw it for a great deal at my favourite liquidation store. (Click any photo to enlarge if you wish)
Last post I got a few questions about these sheets. I thought I'd do a little Q and A in case anyone else is wondering ...
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1. What do you mean by vintage? These are between about 30 and 40 years old in my nearest guesstimation. Some actually had dates on the tags. Some I remember from childhood. Some you can just tell after looking at a lot of these sheets -- simply by the style of design and colours used.
2. Are they 100% cotton? No. They are a 50% cotton and 50% polyester split. I specifically bought ones that were a 50/50 combo. I am a fussy, er, I mean discerning fabric shopper and in most cases the 100% cotton sheets I saw looked too worn to me. These cotton/poly ones really don't show their age much, other than being slightly faded in colour in some cases. They are not obviously bally or fuzzy looking, nor do they seem worn (just soft). The 50/50 blend makes them very durable to stand the test of time. I know it is hard to tell in the photos, but the quilt looks very fresh and clean and new.
3. How can you tell what they are made of? Fortunately most have labels. But after handling a few you will be able to tell by the look and feel. The labels are usually near a corner of the sheet sewn into the seam. They should indicate 50% cotton and 50% polyester. They also may say things like "no iron muslin" "no iron percale" or "percale."
4. How are they to work with? Great. They are super easy to cut and I managed to cut up to ten layers at once a couple of times! They sew well. The only thing that was a bit funny was the ironing. Because they are "no iron" or I guess wrinkle-resistant is what we say now, it was tricky to press the seams open. My seams didn't lay, or stay, as flat as with cotton. And when I folded the binding and pressed it, the fold gradually came out as I stitched it to the back of the quilt.
And the best thing about these sheets -- the price!! The total cost for fabric in this quilt was less than $5.00 -- and that's including the backing and binding.
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Plus I should mention that the quilt is cozy. It passed my Sunday-afternoon-nap test and Tess slept with it last night.
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Plus I should mention that the quilt is cozy. It passed my Sunday-afternoon-nap test and Tess slept with it last night.
And since the Vintage Sheet Test Quilt is a horrible name for a quilt, the quilt shall be known from now on as Summer's Parfait which was suggested by Devona and suits it so well.
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And yes, my vintage sheet adventure continues with another work-in-progress which I have about halfway done.
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And for some linky fun, I'm hanging with other crafty sorts at {Sew} Modern Monday, Manic Monday , Made by You Monday and Fabric Tuesday. Thanks for stopping by!
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Posted by Riel Nason on The Q and the U
