Fabulous Fabric Finds

[valleythriftshopper]

I did pretty well at yard sales yesterday, actually all the best ones were within two blocks of my house so it was great!  I started at a church sale which wasn't quite ready for business yet so I left the car there (brought the car in case there was something too big to carry) & walked a block over to another sale that was just starting.  There was a rack of fabric that a woman was looking through I immediately went over to it & saw it was full of barkcloth pieces & other cool stuff!  I started snapping up the hangers that the fabric was on.  This is what I got for 6 bucks.  The other woman did snag a beautiful piece of robin's egg blue barkcloth with roses that I wish I could have bought as well. 


The other fun finds for the day included an old metal musical cake stand that you wind up & it plays Happy Birthday & rotates.  It is all white with embossed roses on the top & just the right amount of chippiness around the edges, very shab chic.  And a vintage aluminum handled tray also with embossed roses & some vintage jewelry that will be Ebayed.

[SeSo_Says_So]

The material is fabulous! Great job!

What will you do with it? Curtains? Pillows? 

[akbjr]

You done good, the vintage tray sounds really cool. Congrats!

[valleythriftshopper]

The material is fabulous! Great job!

What will you do with it? Curtains? Pillows? 

Not sure.  There was a little vintage embroidered sampler in there that I am going to make a pillow out of.  I hope to take a sewing class before the end of the summer so I'll keep you posted

[SeSo_Says_So]

The material is fabulous! Great job!

What will you do with it? Curtains? Pillows? 

Not sure.  There was a little vintage embroidered sampler in there that I am going to make a pillow out of.  I hope to take a sewing class before the end of the summer so I'll keep you posted

Yes, please do. I am sooooooooooo jealous! I want to take a sewing class, but none are offered when I can take them...only offered at night or very early weekday AM or very early Saturday AM/far away from where I live=too much $$ for gas.

That vintage embroidered sampler sounds wonderful.

[foutchie]

gorgeous!!!
If you want to learn to sew and no classes are near, contact a local sewer who does a variety of things (such as alterations, etc) or pass the word among friends, I'm sure you'll find someone to teach you.

[nancydr2]

I am so jealous of your barkcloth find!  I thought I was going to have the fabric find of the weekend:  a bag full of grandmother's flower garden blocks made from feedsacks along with 11 unused feedsacks.

As for sewing classes, do ask around.  I'm just old enough (early 40s) that I learned to sew in high school home ec.  I've taught many women younger than me.  I always believe in sharing these skills to help build up my karmic bank account.

Back to that fabric, I think you should consider making a patchwork bag like the ones from Coach (google "Coach patchwork bag" and you'll see what I'm talking about).  Bags and purses look complicated, but they really aren't.  Depending on the pattern, they can be a great project for a beginner.

Great find!

[valleythriftshopper]

Wow, 11 feedsacks & the quilt squares is a pretty amazing find, that would go for big bucks on Ebay.  I would love to see a picture of them!  I have a few feedsack pieces, actually I was going to use one for the backing of the pillow I mentioned.  I have taken a few sewing classes before, I did once make a beach bag for myself, I was thinking about making some market bags.  I have always had to travel kind of far for classes but there is a newish sewing supply center that is within walking distance from here that has some classes, hopefully not too expensive.

[nancydr2]

The quilt blocks are really great.  The feedsacks are later ones, maybe from the 1950s or 1960s.  All of them are geometrics.  I'll try to post a photo. 

[DianneK]

Valleythriftshopper,the vintage materials are just lovely.If you don't mind me asking,what is barkcloth? ???And what is it used for?
I don't mean to sound ...stupid.
Dianne

[valleythriftshopper]

Barkcloth is a heavy nubby cotton fabric named so because it resembles bark texture.  It is used commonly for drapes & upholstery, but also handbags, pillows etc.   

[Jay2TheRescue]

And sometimes Hawaiian shirts... 

Barkcloth is a heavy nubby cotton fabric named so because it resembles bark texture.  It is used commonly for drapes & upholstery, but also handbags, pillows etc.  

[DianneK]

Is it what feed bags were made from?

[Jay2TheRescue]

Some feedbags may have been made from it, I have never encountered one though.  Its not like burlap.

Is it what feed bags were made from?

[valleythriftshopper]

I have never seen a feedsack made from barkcloth either.  Feedsack cloth is usually just a plain weave cotton, some have a linen-like look.  People made clothing, quilts, aprons, potholders etc from the cloth.  Here are some quilt pieces I found at a sale, probably some are feedsack cloth.