Friday 29 November 2019

From Curtains to Cushion Covers

Ages ago, in a little local op-shop, I found a pair of old cafe curtains made from a creamy cotton printed with many beautiful blooms of Australian native flowers. The fabric features detailed prints of Qualup Bells, Christmas Bells, Swamp Wattle, Bottle Brush, Blue Pincushions, Banksia, Waratah and many others beautiful blooms. Each flower's botanical name is printed underneath too. Gorgeous!


Op-shop cafe curtains.

I adore botanical sketches, stitching, paintings and prints and love our beautiful native flowers so, for just a few dollars, I brought these old curtains home with me and stashed them away until I had time to make something from them. 


Printed with gorgeous Australian native flowers.

I followed the steps of this online tutorial, which includes a YouTube clip, to re-purpose these old curtains into a pair of pretty cushion covers. They were very easy to sew and I'm very happy with how they have turned out. 

Cushion covers from old curtains.


Perfect for someone besotted with plants!

Meg









30 comments:

  1. Love the material, they are now beautiful cushions.

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    1. The material is lovely, Marlene, and was in good condition so I was glad to be able to make something from it. Meg:)

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  2. The cushions are beautiful. A fantastic use for the fabric. X

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    1. Thanks, Jules. It is nice to be able to make something "new" from something old. Meg:)

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  3. Meg, I love the print. It’s so pretty. What a thrifty way to make beautiful cushions. The fabric looks brand new. You can’t even tell it’s repurposed.

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    1. The print is really vibrant, Nil, and I love the detail of the different native flowers. Such a bargain! Meg:)

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  4. What beautiful fabric, I can see why you bought it from the op-shop. It looks lovely made into cushion covers, such a great use of the fabric.

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    1. I couldn't leave fabric like this behind in the op-shop because the flowers are just so beautiful. We have gorgeous native flowers here in Australia; I grow quite a few grevilleas in my garden and there are wattles and bottle brushes along the creek. Meg:)

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  5. What a find these are so beautiful I can see why you picked it up. The cushions are great. Very clever. Kathy

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    1. Very beautiful flowers, Kathy, and so lovely to find them in a detailed print like this one. Too lovely to leave at the op-shop! Meg:)

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  6. Lovely fabric and the cushions are great. I love the Australian native flowers too. It's good to recycle.

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    1. Thanks, Rosie. I adore our native flowers too and so felt quite lucky to find such a fabric at the op-shop. There was very little scrap after I cut out the cushion covers and the few strips left over have become garden ties so no waste at all. Meg:)

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  7. That's a wonderful idea! I'm sure they'll look great on your couch. I love how unique the fabric is. Op-shop finds are great like that! Fabric is often stashed away for years in someone's possession, then finds its way into the op-shop. Where you get to rediscover and repurpose it.

    I actually have some Op-shop fabric I purchased, with a few projects in mind. Now I've cleaned up my sewing room, I can find my way to getting the machine out again. So I'm glad you shared your inspirational project, repurposing fabric. It reminds me to get cracking on mine. :)

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    1. I love looking through the fabric and craft piles at op-shops; I've found some lovely fabrics, pre-loved doilies, yarns and threads over the years to use in crafts. I hope you'll show us what you make from your op-shop fabric too. Meg:)

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  8. Hello Meg - I have not commented here before but just have to say how lovely your cushions are and the other things you have made. The fabric is so lovely it has inspired me to get on and make something with some of my fabric stash.

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    1. Thank you for visiting and your lovely words. I think pretty fabrics really make simple projects that bit special. I wonder what you'll make with your fabric? Happy sewing! Meg:)

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  9. They are gorgeous! I love botanical prints too. I'm on the look out for some fine curtain netting to make more produce bags from the op-shop. One of the supermarkets I frequent has a decent array of loose dried goods so I need finer produce bags then my veggie bags. :)

    I love making things from discarded items, its the ultimate in feel good sewing I reckon! And the added bonus is no one else has anything quite the same as you.

    xx

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    1. Thanks, Emma! Definitely feel good sewing when you can turn something old or discarded into something useful again. I hope you find the netting you are looking for to make your produce bags. Great to find a supermarket that has good selection of loose dry goods too, gives one the option of not having to purchase things wrapped in plastic! Meg:)

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  10. What gorgeous fabric. I want some cafe curtains for my kitchen window but I keep forgetting to look for some when I'm out. Seeing that fabric I think I might have to find some nice material and make them myself. The cushion cover turned out brilliantly. xx Susan

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    1. Thanks, Susan! I hope you find just the right fabric for your cafe curtains. I think cafe curtains would be an easy project to sew and they look lovely when hung in a window. Meg:)

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  11. Meg, what lovely fabric and you have done a good job of reusing it. Well done!

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    1. Thanks, Chel. The cushion covers were easy to sew and I think the vibrant native flowers on the fabric make something quite simple feel a bit more special. Meg:)

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  12. Wow what a beautiful op shop find Meg. That fabric is just gorgeous, and so are the cushion covers.

    xTania

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    1. It was a very lucky find indeed, Tania. Some of the flowers featured in the print are growing in our garden or in our neighbourhood - bottle brush, grevillea, wattle - so lovely to have those on fabric. Meg:)

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  13. Beautiful! Smart idea too. Andrea

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    1. Thanks, Andrea. I find a lot of ideas for re-purposing fabrics on the web.
      Meg:)

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  14. Great find Meg, they're lovely, very fresh looking.

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    1. Thanks, Anne. It's lovely to unearth a treasure like this fabric and repurpose it so it's useful again. Meg:)

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  15. Hello Meg, I am new to your blog and just read this post. I absolutely love these cushions. Do you use a sewing machine or did you sew by hand? I love that you have given some unwanted curtains a whole new lease on life.

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    1. Hi Susan. Thanks for your lovely comment. I sewed these cushions up using my sewing machine. They were easy and quick to make. It's always nice to be able to extend the life of fabrics by turning them into something "new".
      Meg:)

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