yard sale jackpot

[PancakeGoddess]

So, our local assisted living/nursing home had their annual yard sale. Wow.... beautiful prints, hand embroidered everything, woven linen towels and tablecloths. This stuff is old, though, and in most cases stained or torn. I'd love to just use it all for sewing. My three questions:

1. How would you recommend I wash these things - in particular, the older linen? I'd also be willing to make some small attempts at removing old stains, but ftmp I want to just use these for sewing. I don't want it to fall apart. Of course, if it can't stand machine-washing, I obviously can't sew much with it other than something decorative, but that would also be fine.

2. Do I need to do anything special to machine-sew with these older fabrics?

3. Most importantly : - can you recommend any good projects? After I post this, I'll put some pictures on my blog so you can see what we're talking about. I'm a *very* new sewer, so it has to be simple. I have a few fabulous pillowcases, but no daughters. Is there a way to sew summer tops for an adult?

thanks in advance!

[momto l&a]

Good quailty oxygen bleach, like from Natural Choices.
Do a overnight soak in hot water with oxygen bleach. It will get those old linens looking beautiful again.

The stuff from stores just isn't as good as Natural Choices or the stuff from some lab supply place in Florida who's name escapes me at the moment.

I have lots of old linens from my grand and great grandmothers :

[PancakeGoddess]

thanks! can you find that in stores anywhere? The shipping costs more than the product! :

[iowaorganic]

What if you did a 'pillowcase top' kind of like the pillowcase dresses for little girls? Just an idea....

[PancakeGoddess]

yea! that's what I want to do, but how??

eta - what are your favorite, totally easy (but hard enough to learn something new) patterns for boys' shorts?

[iowaorganic]

not sure about the boys shorts... but for a pillowcase dress you just cut out little curves for the arms (and the seam on the end of the case), hem those and make a casing for ribbon through the top, run the ribbon and you are done! I have been thinking they would make super comfy tops too- and really cute!

You could also fussy cut out the embroidery and make it into a quilt- or do picture story boxes with other odds and ends (I would love one of those!).

Boack on clothing, you could applicate (sp??) some of the embroidery on a jacket or something- I bet you could come up with something awesome with the right embellishments!

[momto l&a]

Originally Posted by PancakeGoddess

thanks! can you find that in stores anywhere? The shipping costs more than the product! :

No I dont know of any stores that carry it. Though IMO it is worth the price as high as it is.


Thats why I started buying from The Chemistry Store.com
Then I just mix that with washing soda and have my oxygen bleach.

[KariM]

I wash old linens in HOT water, but basically hand wash them. I boil up water and then add in some soap. I swish them gently in an enamel basin with a wooden spoon, let them soak a while, and then rinse them very well.

For stubborn stains I'll go ahead and use an oxy bleach - but only if I wouldn't mind losing the piece.

Linens were often boiled clean if they're older than the 1920's as that was a common washing method. If they're newer vintage (from the '50s or so), they were still likely washed in very hot water if they're cottons or linens.

For projects I use border prints and embroideries as accents on garments and love recycling table cloths into skirts. I treat the linens as if they're yard goods and work around the stains or holes.


ETA: most red work does bleed, so be sure to wash those separately!

[art4babies]

This is good info:

http://www.marthastewart.com/portal/...&rsc=ns2006_m4

"It's very unlikely that brown foxing stains will ever come out, and yellowing is irreversible. If the linens you're considering suffer from this sort of damage, it's probably best not to buy them. Always clean linens before you store them, because stains oxidize over time."