May 2008

There are two types of vintage fabric collectors: those who buy them to make things with and those who just buy them.  I'm in the latter category.  I've never made curtains, quilts, or even a pillow out of them.  I just can't bear to cut up those gorgeous designs.

One thing I do, however, is hang them on the walls like I would any work of art.  This gives them the prominence they deserve (plus it's much easier than sewing).  I've hung them straight across curtain rods -- again, on walls, not windows.  I've stapled them (ouch!) over stretchers like artist's canvas.  And I've matted and framed them behind glass.

Apparently, other folks do this, too.  The March issue of Cottage Living showed decorator John Loecke's dining room featuring a framed piece of Dorothy Draper-designed fabric over a sideboard.  It was hung with the selvedge marking, "Styled by Dorothy Draper," at the bottom, as if it were a signed work of art.

So if you're feeling guilty about your stash of vintage fabric languishing away in the closet, get it out, choose a piece that talks to you, and put a frame around it.  Instant art!

April 2008

How about their quality of evoking memories? (I still have pieces of the orange striped shantung curtains that hung in my childhood bedroom in the 1950’s, and when I look at them, I’m immediately transported back to that time and place.)