Every time I see a fabrics closeout bin I just have to stop and dig through it. I love checking out what is available, the various fabrics, colors and weights, and picturing what I think this fabric or that would look best as. I recently decided to redo an old chair that is in my bathroom, I had put a pretty terrycloth cover on the seat years ago and now it just had to go.
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
){kind=link}
I had decided that I wanted a smoother fabric, a nice and dense fabric with a thoroughly traditional look that would complement the new Victorian fixtures and faux tin ceiling we had installed there. I spotted the exact design I wanted, a softly striped heavy cotton weave made of all long-strand cotton. The colors were perfect, but when I pulled the bolt from the bin I could see that it had spots of oil or grease on it, probably some kid munching fries had helped mommy take a look, and since it was such a short piece, there wasn’t enough fabric to use that didn’t have those oily smudges.
I decided to pass on it for the time being and it’s a good thing, too. The same day I got a newsletter from a New York fabric shop where I have ordered fabrics before and they were having a special sale online. Their website is at www.nydesignerfabrics.com if you have time to browse and drool, take a look! I went in and had a look. A lot of fabrics you need to touch and feel to make the decision, but for what I needed, it just had to meet the weight and color requirements. I actually went a little overboard there and have enough matching fabric to make the valence out of the same material. It is a heavy weight striped cotton in soft pink, beige and deep red with nearly maroon edges to the beige stripes. It sounds less attractive than it looks, and it had just the right colors to complement the other shades of color in the room.
Stripes are great for home decor, in different pattern sizes they add a variety of colors to otherwise plain rooms and the heavier weight means these fabrics work fine for covering wastebaskets and storage boxes. Those of us who do crafting see ideas where others don’t and have a houseful of unique decorator touches to show off for our efforts. Tell us about some of your ideas? These are examples of the type of all cotton fabrics that I used for my chair’s seat cover, some pillows and a valance. What would you make with these fabrics?