more to make

Tuesday I visited Vinnies looking for treasures to upcycle. Here's a collection of 2 pillow covers and a tablecloth which might combine well together. Total cost for these 3 = $8.

That Chinese border around the tablecloth really appeals to me as well. I might get a piece of mylar plastic out to cut it as a stencil pattern. Then when the table cloth is cut into patches to remake I can print the pattern on other parts of the garment to use as it an integrating motif. The khaki linen cushion cover appliqued with the flower petals has lots of potential to be reworked with embroidered hand stitches into something really special.

However I set these pieces aside and started working on an $8 king size doona cover I bought (a "doona" cover is a removable bag that contains a quilt). Doona covers are a magnificent resource for metres and metres of fabric. Like most of these used functional items this one was soft and the print faded with wear and washing, which just makes it all the attractive to me. It was also unstained and the cotton/polyester mix fabric still had enough durability to last for decades. One side had a print of large black abstract flowers on a white background and the opposite side was wide stripes of black and beige.

the doona cover is on the left and the skirt appliqued with sections and motifs I cut from it on the right

this is day 1 on the skirt

Day 2 on the skirt a whole lot more details are being added with black and white running stitches