dresses out of vintage tablecloths

I found another gem in the box of vintage stuff from Anne's mom's house- I'm going to start calling them "Anne-me-downs"- a home made dress from the 1940's worn by an aunt long ago.

I'm sure it's made out of a tablecloth. The tablecloth selvedge is intact along the hem. And of course there is the border design and the nubby, tableclothy texture. I just love the 1940's for it's clever upcycling. I've blogged about it here before. I can only hope to channel that cleverness.

I've been gathering more than a few vintage tablecloths and have added some more to my growing stash.

Yellow cosmos- so delicate.

 

Oh so very 1950's roses.

Another one in cobalt blue and avocado.

More 1950's roses.

I don't think think this one is quite vintage. I bought it at an estate sale for the pretty appliqué. It looks like the kind of appliqué made for export from the Philippines. It's the girliest, pasteliest one I have. A sweet little girl and her mom came to the studio for a custom dress. The forthright little miss went straight for this one which was stacked on the shelf, only visible from the side.

Okey dokey, then. I usually use manila hard patterns, but I like to use tissue when cutting out the tablecloth dresses. Makes it easier to engineer the placement.

Voilà!

 

I also made this one a while back and have it listed in the chirp & bloom shop. More to come...