~grandma’s vintage dress repurposed~

hello friends,

Today I’m going to show you how you can repurpose beautiful vintage fabric into pretty and functional home decor and gift items!

Here’s a little ~sneak peek~ ‘cos I know you want to see the after first!!

{*please note, these photos were edited to reflect the true fabric colours, but as others of you are experiencing blogger is making all the photos darker....*}

Some time ago a friend asked me if I would sew her something from a vintage dress she had kept from her grandma. She wanted something that would be a keepsake, but more useful than a dress.

Being a lover of all things vintage I was excited to see the dress, and it did not disappoint.

{I remembered to snap a quick photo.}

They sure knew how to put a dress together back in the day, it was so well made with tucks and pleats and pretty covered buttons. I almost want to call it a frock, it just seems to suit it better than dress!

just look at the details…

Sewing dresses is fidd-il-y stuff, so hats off to the seamstresses who create such beautiful garments!

The fabric is so pretty too!

 Bold flowers and embossed stitching.

Well it was a little challenging to work with, with all the tucks and seams and pretty details there wasn’t a large piece of fabric available.

The largest piece I could salvage was a 12x16” panel for a pillow cover.

I used a smaller piece to make a lavender pillow~

~and popped an offcut into an embroidery hoop.

I couldn’t bear to part with even the scraps and since I love raggy bunting so much, I made her a little mini bunting with the scraps.

My friend loved it and there’s still a large piece of grandma’s dress left for another project one day!

I put off making that first cut for a long time, what if I wrecked the dress?? Yikes!! 

But working with vintage fabric you truly end up with something unique, all the more special when it has a special memory attached like this dress did.

Happy vintage sewing!

linking up to Amaze Me Monday
Nifty Thrifty Tuesday
Inspire Me Monday at Sand and Sisal
Share Your Stuff Tuesday

Tracey

xox

~raggy bunting love and how to~

Hello friends,

I have been busting to show you my raggy bunting, 

you might have seen a peek over on my fb page here or my instagram {raggygirlvintage}.

I have to warn you, it is highly addictive.

 And it will leave threads all over the sofa.

 And you!!

I have been in love with bunting forever, I showed you some mini white bunting here…

I also love to make it in ticking and vintage florals. 

Hanging bunting gives that yummy vintage, handmade feel.

I wanted to make a less formal raggy bunting, 

I’ve seen similar bunting inspiration floating around.

 Anthropologie even has a version too.

This bunting is hot right now at weddings and baby showers. 

It makes an awesome backdrop for photoshoots, across an arbour, or tied across the front of a table.

To start I pulled out my stash of aqua and white sheets. 

It’s super easy peeps.

 Just rip strips of varying lengths, mine were probably 1.5”-2” wide.

 Then tie them along a length of sturdy twine.

 Make sure you use tidy knots so the strips hang downwards.

I made mine 3 feet long plus extra twine for hanging, and it took me around 2 hours to make.

I have it draped over one of my doors here.

Can we say LURVE…..

I just couldn’t stop!!

Next up I knew I wanted ~all white, lacy, ethereal, romantic~

 So this time I ripped up white muslin and pulled out my stash of vintage lace.

My, did this ever use a ton of lace.

Lace is just soooo pretty.

This bunting has headed over to The Passionate Home ready for spring and summer weddings. 

It is so pretty but there is only so much bunting one can hang with 3 guys in the house!

Now I realise this may not be everyone’s taste, but it’s a fun and simple way to add a whimsical touch to your next special event, or to your home decor just because

Next up vintage linens…just gotta make that first rip, I find it really hard to rip up vintage linens, how silly is that!

A couple of my instagram gals have already been inspired to make their own version, why not give it a go??

Hugs,

Tracey