Hey friends, hi! I have something a little different for you today! A finally finished UFO (UnFinished Objects). Once in a while I like to take a break from paper crafting and do something else, something crafty but dissimilar from my usual. Even better, if it’s something that doesn’t require much in the way of design decisions! Another of my passions is any kind of vintage, repurposed, reclaimed decor, and the project I’m sharing today checks these boxes too!
The roots of this project go deep! Way back to before I was even born, when my grandmother lived through the privations of the World Wars, and of immigrating to Canada and working hard to provide for her growing family.
Back then you didn’t just decide that you don’t love this dress anymore and put it in a box headed to the Good Will! Rather, you wore it until a good laundering and/or pressing could no longer cover the signs of wear and tear, then you cut off all the buttons, removed the zipper and reclaimed anything else that could possibly be re-used, before ultimately cutting up the fabric to make something else.
A little dress for a child perhaps, or patches for a quilt, or doll clothes, until finally, they became cleaning rags. In my grandmother’s case, she even cut the tags out of clothing before recycling the rest. I’d love to know why; what did she plan to use them for?
When she passed, many years ago now, and we went through her few belongings remaining from the early years, and found a little bundle of clothing tags, (along with other lovely sewing supplies in aged packaging that I had to keep just for their vintage beauty) and I knew I wanted to have and use these tags!
There weren’t many, less than a dozen, but they were the seed that this project grew into. Over the years since then I’ve cut a few tags out of my own cast off clothing, found more in vintage shops and grew the collection to the point where they could cover a pillow case like this one.
I found some fabric remnants at a discount fabric store in town; mattress ticking – a whole vintage look of it’s own! I bought it in several colors and made some cushion covers for chairs at the lake. I had enough extra fabric to make this pillow cover, and then cover it with all the clothing labels I had collected till now.
What puts today’s project in the UFO category is the number of years (3) wherein I’ve tucked the fabric and labels into the project bin that travels with me from my home in AZ to the lake for the summer and back home again in the fall, the first year nicely folded up and bagged, the second and third years with the labels positioned on the pillow case and rolled up in a dishtowel but returning home untouched. Last week I got together with some friends for a day of crafting – any project we felt like working on (and toting the gear for) and I decided to finally tackle this one.
I’m not sure where it’s ultimate home will be. Probably up to the lake where it will have good vintage company, but wherever it is, I know it will catch eyes, start conversations and bring my grandma’s memory alive once more! Each of the labels was machine sewed on once they were all positioned and arranged and will be secure for any butt-cushioning canoe rides or trips through the washer and dryer.
Thanks so much for stopping by today! I’d love it if you left a comment. Do you recycle? Repurpose? Re-use? Tell me about it!
