There are times when a new blogger comes along and you just know their blog is going to be awesome and a daily read. Jami from
Freckled Laundry is one of those special
bloggers. She has a beautiful style, great pictures, and informative content. Jami has a passion for textiles that rivals my love of furniture. She also knows her stuff and was willing to share that overflow of knowledge with us today.
Thanks, Jami, for taking the time to teach us more about something you’re passionate about.
“Hello. I’m Jami, stopping by from freckled laundry and completely flattered to be guest posting on Miss Mustard Seed’s Creative (and very inspirational) blog. Thank you so much, Marian!
When I’m not completely absorbed in my blissful role as mom of infant twins and a second grader, I’m transforming my home into a vintage chic cottage on the cheap and creating handmade wares for my shop. (I also decorate babies in vintage chic style.)
Simply put, I love natural textiles. They are as essential to creating a comfortably chic space as eggs and flour are to baking a cake, so I thought I’d take a minute to talk about a few of my loves.
Cotton
What is it about our bed that leaves us longing to fall into it at the end of each day? Aside from being the one place where the world momentarily stops and we are left to our thoughts and reflections, it’s the way that it feels…soft, fluffy pillows and 400 thread count sheets that welcome our toes with cool comfort. And, it’s usually cotton.
Cotton is a tried and true secret to creating a comfortable, chic space. It is pure. It is simple. It breathes. Cotton comes in many weaves but here a few that have made their mark in both vintage and modern homes.
Voile is a ‘whisper’ of cotton. It is a delicate, lightweight, smooth weave. Voile is French for veil; its original use. It is perfect for curtains when you want to create a light filtered, airy, barely there look. In pure white, it’s a shabby chic dream.
Muslin is a ‘breath’ of cotton and has been a European staple since the 17th century. It is a closely woven, breathable, soft fabric. It has evolved from an inexpensive lining material for quilts and dresses into a [still] inexpensive essential for sheeting, pillows,and light diffusing curtains. It’s smooth texture is great for stamping or painting on when creating decorative pillows and is a staple at the freckled cottage for decorating on the cheap (average cost per yard: $3).
The muslin fabric in this photo is great but just look at that writing desk.
{sigh}
Canvas is the ‘workhorse’ of cotton given its heavy, tight weave. It is a durable, thick textile that comes in either plain or duck. It is perfect for slipcovers if you want washable furniture. One creative lady in particular with the initials M.M.S. has even used canvas drop cloths to make inexpensive, beautiful slipcovers.
How cute is this pillow?
Feed sack cotton, also known as ‘chicken linen’ has a coarse, homespun texture. Vintage feed sacks have been around since the 1800s but in the 1920s, thrifty ladies began using the fabric for dish cloths and other household purposes. With this in mind, manufacturers of feed sacks began printing them with letters and decorative images; and in several prints and colors. Today, feed sacks are collected and/or used create a vintage chic look in decorative pillows, dining chair slipcovers, etc.
Linen
Linen is a timeless fabric. It is one of the oldest textiles, most often made from flax. It can also be made using hemp or cotton. In it’s natural state, linen colors include ivory, ecru, tan, or gray. Pure white linen is bleached. Antique Homespun Linen is highly regarded in cottage and farmhouse decor given it’s rarity and handmade texture. Linen creates a lovely base to vintage decor.
Burlap
Woven from jute, burlap is a very affordable, natural fabric. It tends to have a rough, scratchy texture although some French burlaps have a smooth feel. More than comfort, burlap provides visual texture, another important element to consider when creating a comfortable, vintage inspired space.
Hemp
Hemp ranges from a smooth weave (i.e. hemp linen) to a rougher texture but isn’t nearly as coarse as burlap. It is an imported fabric and thus can be rather expensive. Used in rugs and accents, it has a softer, natural visual texture.
Osnaburg
Typically woven from low grade or waste cotton, Osnaburg is an inexpensive alternative to hemp and linen. It ranges from a loose, course weave to a tight, smooth, “sheeting” texture. Osnaburg was the fabric most commonly used for slave garments and the bodies of cloth dolls. In its natural color, it is tan with flecks of white and brown with a very earthen look.
Beachy, vintage, shabby chic, cottage, traditional, and farmhouse styles alike use these natural textiles to create a certain “nest” feeling…
…and, the loveliest of nests use a combination of them to create a space as comfortable and inviting as our bed.
I hope you enjoyed reading my first guest post!
Happy to meet you,
Jami”
Ok, I learned a lot of stuff I didn’t know. How about you? Now, go show Jami some love on her
blog for sharing all of this great information with us…while caring for infant twins!
Show off.
11 Responses
Jami! I enjoyed it very much. Things I had no idea about! And a couple of fabrics I have never even heard of!! Thank you!
Beautiful photos by the way!
Hugs
SueAnn
Great post Jami, I learnt lots there too!
xx Karen
Thanks for the tutorial, and the lovely photos!
XO
Lenore
marian, i have enjoyed jami's blog freckled laundry. she is inspiring for sure, and with twins too! thanks for putting her on your blog. jami nice post on all the types of fabrics we can use in our nesting attempts!
This was a great overview of fabrics with Jami. And such beautiful photographs. I am a quilter and love fabric. Thanks for introducing Jami.
Great post Jami and yes, I definitely learned some things today. I just love all the beautiful photos too. Thanks for sharing! 🙂 Have a great day Sweetie!
Wow, thanks so much for the guest posting. I love Jami's blog. I'm a fabric junky too. I just have to learn how to sew with it 🙂
A wonderful lesson in fabric, well done.
Lisa
Awesome post!
one question – I am soooo wanting to make some burlap pillows for my white bed, but I'm a bit put off with all of the shedding. I tried washing to get rid of it, but that turned out horrid.
What to do? Slap it with the broom until all the burlap dust is gone? LOL!
Thank you for your sweet comments about my first post, everyone!
J. – To answer your question:
Yes. Slapping it with a broom will work EVENTUALLY! 🙂 Because burlap is considered a shoddy fabric, the shedding is almost inevitable even in the higher quality burlaps. A finer quality might minimize shedding, but you will still get some. When I use burlap (I've made a table runner & two pillows), I DO machine wash it at least twice in a row with fabric softener, press it (it will be quite wrinkled as you may have learned), and use spray starch. This seems to do the trick in most instances. Before I wash it, I stitch the ends & sides at least two rows…one straight stitch & one zig zag. When I iron it, I place a sheet over it & steam iron, then spray on the starch.
I will be making burlap roman shades for my office/craft room/guest bedroom and plan to take the fabric to the laundromat to wash it because there's quite a bit and their industrial machines can handle the debris. When I washed the burlap to use for the pillows, I stuffed it inside an old pillow case, tied off the end, and threw it in the machine and ran 3 cycles, cleaning the "lint" out of the pillow case after each wash. I wash my burlap to get rid of the shedding AND because most burlap is coated with stinky formaldehyde & I don't want my babes to be breathing it in. Washing will soften the texture, but the visual texture remains. You could also hand wash it in a big Rubbermaid bin if you're worried about your machine. Just don't dryer dry it or hang it in the hot sun.
Did you machine wash your burlap?
I have looked to see if they make a coating or a sizing that you could use on burlap to keep it from shedding but so far I haven't found anything.
I hope that helps. Burlap is just one of those dirty fabrics that you suffer through to get pretty.
If anyone reading this has found a different, perhaps easier secret to a shed-free burlap, I'd like to hear it, too!
Thank you,
Jami
lovely pictures!