Upcycling Vintage Textiles

Recently I bought two boxes of vintage textiles at auction.  Rather foolishly I only gave them a cursory look before leaving a bid.  Well, I won them but it was obvious someone had just put a load of damaged and stained vintage textiles together.  They looked appealing but on close scrutiny nothing was saleable!

I was really annoyed with myself but, having put several items in the dustbin, I then washed everything else and sorted it all into what I could salvage.  The result was lots of lace and embroidered textiles which I have now resolved to upcycle and make into various items (mostly cushions).

This monogram P was all I could salvage from one piece and, as soon as I made it into a cushion and added it to my website, it sold.

Some Maltese lace doilies and a lace butterfly have now been sewn onto hessian to make lavender cushions/sachets.  I love the contrast of agricultural sacking with pretty fine lace.

Lace was also sewn onto hessian to make bunting for a vintage wedding.

Another cushion was made from parts of embroidered sheets and tablecloths,

another from a damaged sheet bearing the monogram M C.

and lastly another pair of cushions I have made using a pure linen French sheet and a very pretty hand embroided edging.

There are lots more pieces to 'salvage' and I am looking forward to using them to create more upcycled items.