The other week, I mentioned that I'd bought a cotton duvet cover and pillow cases from the charity shop for £4. It was this one:
I don't normally use anything white, as it is a magnet for dirt and stains, but this set was 100% cotton and had a very pretty embroidered panel across it. Unfortunately, this embroidered strip had several holes where it attached to the rest of the cover, but I decided that this was a very easy repair for me, so I bought it and repaired it when I got home. I think the cotton thread was inferior quality, which is why this was in such a state, so I more or less re-stitched the whole panel on both edges. Hopefully, it should now wear better.
I am undecided as to whether to dye this cover and the pillow cases, the jury is still out, but I put it on a 60 degree wash and once it had dried, put it on the spare room bed with an old cotton blanket on top. It looks quite nice for the moment. Here's a picture of it on the bed:
During the same charity shop trip, I also bought this super cute cotton child's duvet cover. It is no good to me for using as a duvet cover, nor for clothes making, as it is too small and the print is just a little bit too childish, but I did think of another use for it, so I bought it for £2.
My prospective use for it was to make one of these wardrobe hanging bags. Above is a picture the one that I bought on holiday at a car boot sale in Cornwall for £3. I loved the animal print on the fabric and figured that I could replicate this quite easily once back home and use up some of my fabric stash. It wasn't my intention to buy any fabric to make one, but £2 isn't a big outlay and I need a few of these to protect some woollen sweaters and the odd dress/jacket I have from moths in the wardrobe.
I was lucky enough to find some long zips in a charity shop in St Ives. They had just stocked the shop with lots of crafting supplies for a yearly craft festival, which was happening in the town the following week, so I bought 5 for £4.50 and these will be the perfect size for this project. They are not as fancy as the original one, but they'll do fine.
After washing the child's duvet cover, I set about making a sweater cover, It was the perfect length for this. All I needed to do for this project was to cut off the top and bottom seams, turn it around so that the side seams were to the front and back. It was a little wide for the purpose I needed, so I did have to make it a bit narrower and then shape the fabric at the top for the hanger, re-stitch it top and bottom and insert a zip. Pretty simple really.
Here's a picture of the finished bag:
I'm very happy with it and it cost £3 to make (i.e. the cost of the fabric and the zip). Before making it, I looked up some similar handmade ones on Etsy and they cost £22 or more. (Albeit made a bit more expertly) Another online company, which sells very upmarket versions, charges up to £160 for these. I'd have to be a millionaire to pay that kind of price. Happily, I don't need to. I'll let you know when I make any more, it's on the to do list.
There have been a couple more household linens that I've thrifted lately. The first was this beautiful embroidered cotton pillowcase, that I got from a charity shop in Penzance for £1. I do love a vintage pillowcase, as the quality of the cotton always seems much higher than pillowcases you buy these days. So pretty and with no stains or damage.
The final household purchase I made was at the charity shop the other week and was this felted wool blanket that I paid £2 for. I think it must have been put in the washing machine and had shrunk, so I decided that it might be good to use as a rug this winter. Here's a picture:
I have bought some anti slip corners for it, to prevent any accidents, but it seemed a shame to leave behind a lovely natural fibre item that still had life left in it. If it doesn't work out as a rug, I can always fashion it into a couple of cushion covers for the sofa.
I don't often thrift household linens or fabrics these days, as I already have quite a collection of vintage bed linens and fabrics, but I have to say that I'm very pleased with these few that I did buy and I'm glad to put them back into everyday use.
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