Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Vintage Curtains From a Well-used Table Cloth.



My Mom was a picnic person.
Summer days were often spent 
somewhere near a picnic table,
whether it be away for the day,
or at home in our 4 foot deep swimming pool
where lazy summer days were spent making whirl pools
and playing Marco Polo
till our pruney fingers were blue with cold.

Wherever we were,
Mom always had picnic suppers ready.

And picnic tables to a super clean mom like mine
always needed table cloths.


As I have set for myself the goal of finishing the kitchen this month,
after almost 8 years of living here,
to finally have it painted and fixed up,
for the most part,
the next thing on my list last week was
curtains.

I loved the ideas I saw on Pinterest of using vintage towels,
hankies, and
linens


I spent some time looking around for vintage material,
and then I remembered...


the tablecloth:



My Mom gave me this tablecloth.
It is stained and patched where the umbrella went
on her picnic table.

It has seen many happy summer days.

I brought it out from the cupboard,
and measured
and remeasured
then cut it up so that I could get two curtains for the door window
and a valance for each of the two kitchen windows.


Digging through my container full of zippers,
rick-rack,
and bias tape I bought up in huge quantity at a yard sale long ago,...


I found the perfect lime green bias tape for my curtains.

A fearsome amount of measuring and ironing
ensued for an anti-ironing woman.



I stitched the underside with the bias tape tucked under the hem first,
then folded the fronts down,
and sewed across the top on the right side.





The curtain rod was rusty gold metal
and very unbecoming,
albeit quite vintage.

So I opted out of that look
by painting a coat of Annie Sloane Antibes Green paint
and then waxing with Fiddes and Son Rugger brown wax.




Despite the obvious stains on the curtains,
I'm loving it.




The kitchen door now offers a bit of privacy at night...

while letting in the sun when I come down in the morning.


The blooming Christmas cactus seems to mirror it's new pink-flowered companion.






Now, if I can just keep the little hands from adding any more stains to my pretty curtains...



I guess a few more small ones would be worth it
if they see the same kind of love that they did in their tablecloth life.


Do you carry any fond table-cloth memories?


24 comments:

  1. Very pretty - love them even more for all the stories they have to tell!!

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  2. They look good and even better with the memories attached.

    =)

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  3. Who doesn't love a good picnic? Your curtains are lovely and what a happy reminder you'll have everytime you look at them!

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  4. What a great project and super way to use old linens and give them a new and exciting life! I love what you did with the door and I have it on my to-do list to get some Annie Sloan paint this summer and see what I can redo as well!
    Have a great day!
    Tina xo

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  5. Love how your curtains turned out! So very charming.

    ~Holly
    www.vintagetableclothsclub.com

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  6. it looks so perfect. like it was meant to be there. nice job

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  7. The curtains are absolutely lovely. Makes me want to look through some bins of old linens and see if some of my "old" things could be reimagined. Thanks for sharing!

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  8. I love the curtains! What a neat idea--they seem extra special! I really am liking your green!

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  9. I love the curtains! What a neat idea--they seem extra special! I really am liking your green!

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  10. Love the curtains! I have many fond memories and now collect, display and use vintage tablecloths. Come see!

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  11. Oh, I think I'm in love!

    Soooooo pretty!!!!!

    sue
    xo

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  12. Oh how pretty! Pretty pretty. I love them and what a great way to repurpose something old and vintage. They look amazing. Thanks for sharing with the copy cat challenge!~

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  13. Expert job! I love this post! you are so inspiring. I had never seen anything like these photos showed. I love your kind of decor style too. very vintage and charming and happy
    I am your newest follower as of rith now !
    -KAT-

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  14. I have just made an apron for my sister from a vintage tablecloth, but what I loved most, is that I reviewed some of your craft tips, and discovered you had displayed that table cloth earlier, and it just seemed all the more special to see how creative you were making it into the most darling curtains. Now, I am hunting up another vintage table cloth, for my daughters new kitchen. She is buying a l920 Craftsman house, and will no doubt love filling it with vintage items!!!

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  15. oh my goodness - gorgeous! off i go to explore your blog some more - so glad I found ya!

    would love to have ya come swing by for a visit - linky party going on now. xo

    www.northerncottage.net

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  16. Your tablecloth curtains look so good. What a wonderful use of vintage tablecloths. I'm so glad I didn't get rid of mine when I redid my laundry room. I just stored them in my bargain picnic basket. Great job.

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  17. What a beautiful post about your curtains. They look lovely and your pictures with the curtains and the Christmas cactus is charming.

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  18. They look beautiful, and even nicer is that every time you look at them, you will think of your Mom and her marvelous picnics for you...
    Best,
    Gloria

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  19. Love the curtains you made - so cottagey! Also LOVE the green door! So pretty!

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  20. What a great story/idea! Thanks for sharing!!

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  21. Those look really pretty, the colors are perfect!

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