Thursday, January 22, 2009

Uses for Vintage Sheets

Several of you had asked about the Vintage Sheet Quilt.

I find my old sheets everywhere, second hand stores, Goodwill, yard sales, my grandmother's attic. They are out there, you just need to look very, very closely. I will typically go into our local Goodwill in Ashland and Wooster once a month, more or less. And I will buy any sheet that looks remotely like it will work for something (as you can tell by my "sheet stash"):




I picked this sheet up (double bed size) for $2 today at Goodwill:


For the quilt, I cut up 6 different sheets into 10 1/2" squares. I cut the whole sheet up. I have 71 squares left (I used 54 squares on the quilt - so I have enough cut already to do 1 more quilt). The sheets were all various sizes. I backed this quilt in a sheet, and used a lightweight poly-cotton batting. I bound it in cotton, using strips from different fat quarters. All the sheets in this quilt were either $1 or $2 from Goodwill.


As you can see, it would work perfectly on Jessie's bed right now as is. But, she is a child who is not a quiet sleeper (note her current flip flop quilt laying beside the bed. So I think I want it 1 row wider so there is hopefully more to cover her with.



I made 2 for the kids as Christmas presents, here and here. These are both backed in flannel, with cotton binding. They are lap size and already both have seen lots of use.


The sheets have an added bonus, they can be made into pj pants. Jessie suffers from horrible eczema - to the point where her legs are an oozing mess. She cannot sleep in flannel pjs, fleece pjs or anything heavy. The sheets are perfect to make lounge pants, they don't stick to her legs when she sweats and I think they are helping us through these cold winter months with her eczema.

The sheet that I picked up today, I'm going to use it to back a sheet quilt for Jessie's bed, and then hopefully it will be big enough to make matching pillowcases for her bed. I'm on the hunt now for a fitted and flat sheet in the same floral color scheme for her bedding too. Somehow, it seems to me that the sheets I buy now, she will rip and shred while she sleeps, but the older ones will stand up to her tossing and turning (all her sheets for her bed - and I have 3 sets for both her and Tyler - have rips, tears and holes in them).
And yes, Warren, old superhero sheets would make a fantastic quilt (at least in my opinion) - a great reminder of days gone by......hehehe
Kris

14 comments:

Niki said...

I am going to be on the look out for vintage sheets, that's for sure. I love the quilt you did for your mom! Do you hand quilt them or machine quilt them? What kind of quilting..."in the ditch" or pattern? I'm just learning how to quilt, so need all the info please :)
Have a great day
Niki

warren said...

I may have to give this a try too...I couldn't think of where to get vintage sheets aside from my beloved superhero sheets. Cool idea!

Scrappy quilter said...

Great idea. I love using them for the backing of quilts. If they are in good shape, they often last longer than new material does. I have one on a queen size quilt that has lasted 20 years plus. I never thought of using them for pj's though. What an awesome idea. C could be using them for her doll making clothes as well. She already uses old curtains. Thanks for the letter L.

Janice said...

I'm glad you left more detail about the sheet quilt. That sounds like a fun thing to do. This could be something that I would like to try. I'm really wanting to try and do a project using material. I can sew the basic strait stitch so I'm wondering what a good project would be to start out doing. I'll keep looking. Today I am going to think about my letter and hopefully post it later.

Patty said...

I like using vintage sheets for the back of a quilt when I do not want any seams; plus a vintage sheet is cheaper than buying several yards of fabric when making large quilts.

audreypawdrey said...

This really is a great way to find fabric inexpensively! I really need to pull out all of my sheet scraps and maybe look for some more!

audreypawdrey said...

This really is a great way to find fabric inexpensively! I really need to pull out all of my sheet scraps and maybe look for some more!

em's scrapbag said...

Thanks for sharing this wonderful idea. I'll be hunting on my next trip to the thrift shop.

Kristie said...

Looks great! I actually bought 2 sheets yesterday for $1 each! I use them alot for backings!
Kristie

Dawn said...

Oh, Kris....these are so full of love, warmth & vintage loveliness! Beautiful & thrifty.

Farmhouse Blessings said...

I LOVE repurposing old items into new treasures ... and yours are simply gorgeous!

Smiles,
Lea

Philigry said...

Must find vintage sheets! I love the one you just got! wow! what a bargain, and the thought of making p.j. pants too is such a bonus.

I am Arizona; a person, not a place. said...

Almost half of my stash is sheets I've found at Goodwill and at yard sales. They do make excellent quilt backs. My Goodwill frequently also has fabric...brand new fabric. How awesome is that?! I recently got 4 yards of a yellow floral print for $2.50. Total bargain!

Gill - That British Woman said...

what a super idea, I may be copying it at some point.

Gill in Canada