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RECENTLY, on a rainy day at the cottage, I got a creative urge and decided to pull out my recent thrift store find to see what could be done with it.
I had found a great deal on a pair of bedroom rod-pocket curtains and matching bed skirt that were brand new and cost less than $5. The fabric was a lovely tone-on-tone brown plaid I thought would be fitting for our spare bedroom at the cottage. The decor style of the spare room was leaning toward the masculine, somewhat reminiscent of my husband's childhood cottage bedroom. I had collected vintage books like The Young Mechanic by Popular Mechanics and one of The Sugar Creek Gang books from the 1950s that supported this theme. I knew the plaid bedding would fit right into the mix. The bedding set I found probably had pillow cases, sheets and a matching comforter at its origin but I knew I could make do with the few pieces that I found.
Upon pulling out the curtains on that rainy day, I realized they were too long for the look I wanted, so I shortened them to window length. As I expected, the shortened curtains looked perfect in the room. I don't have a sewing machine at the cottage so I used a no-sew method to hem the draperies. The straight lines in the fabric pattern helped keep me on track. I then put the bed skirt on the bed and it was just what the vintage metal bed needed to finish it off. At that point, I was quite pleased with myself for finding such a great deal and that it was working out so well.
I had a fair amount of fabric left from shortening the floor-length curtains, so I then decided to make two pillow cases out of the remnants. I had just enough width to be able to make two standard pillowcases and was able to use the already finished edges to my advantage. Minimal sewing works for me! I used needle and thread to hand sew the pillow cases together. The light cotton fabric was soft enough to be used on a pillow and looked great with the dark brown blanket that was already on the bed. Another small decorating triumph.
After shortening the length of the pillowcases to fit a standard pillow, I still had a few pieces of fabric left and sat in the room for a bit thinking about how to utilize them. There is a swing-out reading lamp beside the bed with a plain off-white shade that was calling out for a decorative touch. I hoisted out my mini-glue gun and within minutes the lampshade was transformed. Again, the lines in the pattern helped me keep the lampshade cover straight as I glued it onto the shade. With the other remnant from the second pillowcase, I made a simple dresser scarf.
I am quite amazed at how far that fabric went! For a few bucks I was practically able to make a complete bed set! During this season of garage sales and flea markets, keep your eyes open for bargains to be had. They are out there; sometimes you just have to be patient until they find you.
HINT: The next time you purchase patterned bedding, consider buying one or two additional flat sheets you can use to create simple pillowcases, toss cushions or even rod-pocket curtains. It's a great way to create a matching linen set for a lot less money; (especially on open stock sales).
Connie Oliver - Room For Change
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