      
EASY CREATIVE THINGS TO MAKE
MATERIAL GAINS
When I went
to high school, there was a class called home economics that
covered both sewing and cooking. I always passed but was not
amongst the best and the brightest. It’s my theory that my
teachers gave me a passing grade out of pity for my lack of
natural talent or simply because they wanted to see the back of
me. No matter. I learned how to thread a sewing machine and fill a
bobbin. When I was newly married, my mother, who thought every
girl should aspire to domestic greatness, bought me a sewing
machine. I learned how to sew a simple pair of curtains but
mostly, the machine sat idle except for mending the occasional
seam on a pair of hubby’s work pants.
Over the
years, when I did get the itch to stitch, it had to be something
simple. Lately, decorating magazines have shown examples of
cushion covers made from cloth napkins. No measuring, no cutting
– just face the right sides in, sew along three sides, pop the
cushion in and stitch up the remaining opening. Even someone with
stunted sewing skills could do that, so I took this idea to the
dollar store and discovered that you could get a package of two
17” square napkins for a dollar.
Then, reasoning that I could probably use the same idea with
other materials from the dollar store, I created an oblong cushion
cover by joining two
tapestry placemats (a dollar each). This time, the stitching was
done with the patterns showing out to form a ¼” border. You can
do this with hemmed napkins as well. The beauty of being able to
recover cushions so easily and cheaply is that you can change them
with the seasons or just on a whim.
When I saw these striped tea towels, I wondered if they
couldn’t be fashioned into a new window treatment for the
kitchen. After all, what’s more at home in the kitchen than a
tea towel?
Three tea
towels were used for this 43”-wide window. I chose the striped
pattern because it’s perfect for a casual kitchen. Also, I
can’t be bothered with pins. Create a rod pocket by laying out
the tea towel length-wise, turning over the top edge (side of tea
towel) about 3” and sewing along the original hem. About 1 ½”
from the top, complete another line of stitching to create the rod
pocket and top ruffle.
My three-dollar valance may not be up to home economics
standards, but it does the job just as well.
see
also: Placemat
Cushions
See
Beauty
and the Bargain for Fall Decorating Tips
Decorating
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