I've been making bags for nearly 5 years now and about 2 years ago my MIL gave me some fabrics she had stored away to make into bags. Sadly I made a bag and purse out of one of them but there was still loads left. I say sadly because I discovered that these were antique fabrics ranging from 50 to over 100 years old.
This first one belonged to her father, this is the one that is over 100 years old. I would have been mortified if I had cut it up to make a bag. This one measures about 2 meters x 2 meters and all of them are hand woven. This one has been woven in strips of 33 cm wide and then sewn together. This is also the finest of the three that I have, it's a little thicker than a quilting cotton.
This next one is the one that I used to make a bag and purse for my daughter. Luckily I still have loads of it left. This one is a thicker one than the first.
All these years they have been kept in a box and never used so they are in perfect condition but this particular one I washed a piece and found that because natural colours had been used to dye it the colours ran and cork, if that's what it's called, came off alot leaving the threads a little bare. The piece below hasn't been washed.
And this is the last one. Just one piece. This one and the one above are about 50 years old and this is the thicker of the three.
It's such a shame to have these beautiful fabrics that someone has taken so much time and effort to weave by hand to be folded up and hidden away. So my dilemma is what do I do with them? I don't want to cut them up or use them in any way that would cause them to deteriorate. Anyone got any ideas otherwise they are doomed to be put away for good.
~ Maria ~
The bottom one just screams "Table runner" to me...
ReplyDeleteI think it would make a table runner and a quilt, adding edges and little else. The fabrics are beautiful
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with the other comments, that the long one you could just bind the edges into a runner and the others bind and use as a sofa blanket so that it is out and can be seen. They are lovely fabrics.
ReplyDeleteTable runner for the bottom one is a great ideal and a beautiful throw laying across your bed or couch with some old fringe would be pretty. Although I'm bad to put old things in shadow boxes with notes on where they came from.
ReplyDeleteOkay the first fabric looks like it would cover a double bed, perhaps with the addition of a fringe. I know how much you like to hand sew!
ReplyDeleteThe second one could be used to recover chairs, or a headboard, with matching scatter cushions?
The last one could do a headboard with a plain back and one big cushion, or a nice box cushion for a bench seat and matching one for the back again using a plain fabric on the back, or a pair of wall hangings.