I visit a lot of estate sales, flea markets, and antique shops. I really do enjoy it. It's like modern-day treasure hunting. You never know what you might find. I know enough to never really look for anything specific, because you'll never find that. But if you have an open-mind, you can find something AWE-SOME! Last week I came across a table filled with vintage linens. Usually vintage linens are plentiful at flea markets, but what was unusual about these linens were the prices. She was giving away armfuls for dirt. Perhaps because they were mostly dirt and not in the best shape, but after some digging I found my armload.
There are many recipes for cleaning your linens, but this is what I did: I first filled my bathtub with oxy clean and warmish water. Soaked my linens in for several hours. Rinsed, and then refilled tub and soaked again. I then hung them outside to dry in the sun. This made most of them like new. For any stains, I spotted treated them with a paste of salt and vinegar. I applied this compound and let it soak for several days on the spot. If this wasn't enough, I also tried hydrogen peroxide as it sort of bleaches the fabric very slowly, not harshly, thereby can remove some spots. There are other treatments out there, just do a google search and you are sure to find additional home remedies that might do the trick. I have heard fantastic things about quilt wash which can be purchased at your local quilt shop, or obviously, online. But, I haven't tried that yet. I will with the next batch....
After the linens were fresh and clean, I decided to breath new life into them by creating something new from them. There are countless things that one can do with them (pillow cases, embroidery fabric, doll clothes, etc..etc...) but I decided to applique specific cutes from the linens onto dishtowels, thus creating kitchen towels that are vintage- inspired.
