I really will dye anything. I've been dyeing vintage cloth for a while now, I love the way it feels, soft with use, usually much better quality than anything you can buy today. This particular piece is a napkin, which I did some very basic batik on, forgot about, overdyed and ironed out... I'm really very pleased with the way it turned out.
The problem, of course, is that I bought it to cut up, and I can't bring myself to do so. Repurposing may be all the rage, but I find it difficult to sidestep the original context that a textile piece has. Mind you, I have managed to cut up tablecloths for pieces, so perhaps all I need to do is wait. Or let someone else do it!
7 comments:
Or make a mini throw pillow or lovey blanket. Then you don't have to cut anything. :o)
What a lovely piece, Marion!
That is so pretty. Now... how do you duplicate it when it was a mistake?!! That's always the pits ...at least for me!!
I've had the exact same hesitation. The vintage lovelies soak up the dye so beautifully and uniquely that you just know there will never be such a perfect arrangement of colorus and textures.
Marion, why not do a whole series of napkins? They had a good reason for being when they were made and they work just as well now.
I expect that they would hold up on the tea table and in people's laps just as well as they have held up in the last fifty years.
One might have to be a bit selective in which guests get to use them. The attrition rate may mean you need lots more napkins than you thought.
That happened to me with white cotton gloves left at an exhibit for people to use. They all went home with other people. t
I share your hesitation about cutting up vintage items like napkins and tablecloths. It's not just the context, it's their history that's being violated. You definitely have to be purposeful to repurpose!
I have the same problem cutting up beautiful pieces of fabric. I try not to be so 'precious' about it, but I always think what if I cut it up and it never looks as beautiful as it did when it was one piece...? My solution is usually to use the thing whole!
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