(collaborative post) There are so many great ways to use fabrics in the home. With a surge of DIY enthusiasts making all sorts of improvements and changes to their home, many more of us are trying our hand at making our own home furnishings. What better way to make a unique and tailor-made item that you can not only be proud of but also design your way. There are so many items you can try your hand at making that it could surpass the hobby stage and become something more lucrative. It’s easy to purchase fabrics. Next, you’ll need to decide on the sort of items can you make yourself to furnish your home?
Curtains
Curtains are one of those items that people enjoy making or at least designing to suit their requirements. Rather than having a run of the mill, off the shelf item or expensive premade curtains, it gives you the opportunity to get creative and style something to the suit your home perfectly. Don’t forget that this sort of item can involve a fair amount of sewing. This isn’t always an issue as many of us now have our own home sewing machines and we all covered sewing in technology classes at school. If you’d rather not do the sewing yourself, simply buy the material and instruct your local seamstress. They’ll appreciate the work and can often provide competitive rates.
It makes sense to buy more material than you need. That allows for adjustments and the leftover fabric need not go to waste. The latest craze is to upcycle as much as possible to minimise waste. It is not only great for the environment but also means we have a few handy items for our homes.
Excess curtain fabric can be used to make:
Cushions or Throw Pillows with Surplass Fabrics
If you are making curtains to use in a new home then another essential item you’ll need is cushions. Depending on the room having matching cushions and curtains can add to the feel of the room. You can keep them simple or add embellishments or even applique (pieces of fabric sewn on forming a picture or pattern) depending on your taste and how extravagant a look you want to create.
Tote Bags
An item that is not only extremely useful but also reusable. The ones made from thicker curtain fabric will last exceptionally long. Fabric tote bags are far sturdier than plastic and are less likely to split. Not only are you reusing the remains of the curtains you are also reducing plastic waste. These are simple to make and can be quite pretty too. Add embellishments to them as with the cushions, and you can have some gorgeous tote bags that others would be envious of. Once you become a dab hand at making them you can also use them to gift presents rather than using non-recycleable wrapping paper and bags.
Fragrance Bags
These can be lovely and make wonderful gifts. You don’t need much of the unused fabric to make the bags. Once sewn together, bags are normally approximately 10cm by 10cm. You can fill these bags with fragranced herbs. Most often lavender is used. To enhance or refresh the fragrance simply add a few drops of lavender essential oil. The bag can be sewn to close or tied with a ribbon. As scent will fade with time it’s best that they can be reopened easily. The bags can be used all around the home to add a touch of fragrance as well as the kid’s gym bags and your car. They make lovely little additions to bulk up gifts.
Face Masks
With the growing need to wear face masks in more places than ever before, it makes sense to use scraps of different fabrics you have at home to make our own. It’s far cheaper to make a reusable mask than buy one. Again it’s a great way to cut down on environmental waste. You’ll find all sorts of facemask templates online to help you with the shaping. Sew in rubber bands or hair ties to either side. These are then hooked around your ears to keep the face mask up.
Reupholster Chairs
It’s actually far easier than one might expect having seen both a professional and also my dad at it. To reupholster a chair you simple need to remove the cushioned parts, remove the old fabric and replace it with the new. That is provided the legs and back of the chair are in decent condition. Once replaced this simply needs to be stapled on and screwed back onto the chair. It’s a great way to refresh an outdated or old chair you’ve decided to reupholster. There will always be left over material and sometimes buying a bit extra can mean making some great new items for the home.
Excess upholstery fabric can be used to make:
Place Settings
This is a great idea especially if you are using surplus upholstery material from some previously used to refresh dining room chairs. It’s simple enough. All that needs to be done is cut a piece slightly larger than needed, fold in, and sew all around to tidy up the edges. It’s a great way to help protect wooden tables from spillages and reduce the amount of cleaning required on glass.
Table Cloths
Something many of us use regularly. Larger pieces of upholstery fabric are perfect for creating table covers. It’s so simple to do and embellishments can be added easily to fabrics with simple designs or single coloured fabrics to liven them up a little. Adding a table cloth can add to the look of a room and a table. But where you have a stunning piece of oak furniture you don’t really want to hide it. Instead, consider using a runner along the middle of the table to help create a pretty, modern, sophisticated look. These are simple to make and basically long pieces of patterned fabric with any additions you desire. This is a trick many use to make their table stand out when entertaining and add to the wow factor.
Dishtowels or Hand Towels
Super simple to make, yet something that comes in very useful. If you have pretty or sophisticated looking material then you can always make dishtowels to give as gifts. It’s uber trendy to have handmade products so keep that in mind.
Patchwork Quilt
You can add all sorts of materials to these including patches made from baby clothes and baby blankets to add a mix of colours and a more personal feel. A good range of different patches can work well. Create a pattern with some squares being used from the same material whether it’s left over curtain or upholstery fabric. Not only can these be very pretty but they can also be very personal so make wonderful gifts and hand me downs.
To Summarise
Making our own furnishings with fabrics can not only be a great money saver but also quite therapeutic. It’s a great way to make sure items are fashioned the way we want them than something that has simply come off a production line. There are so many things we can create to use up extra curtain or upholstering material some of which overlap with what we can make with excess curtain material. It can be an idea to order more than you need for the sheer fun of creating your own items. Using up the smaller scraps can also be easy and a great way to be more eco friendly and reduce environmental waste. You’d be amazed at what you can make with fabric within the home.
What item(s) would you like to make using fabric?
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Written by Melanie Edjourian.
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So many brilliant ideas. My auntie is really in to quilting and we each have a beautiful quilt made with mixed material. They mean so much as they are made as a gift.
We also have a beautiful wall hanging made by my Mother in Law and it is the main focus of my daughters bedroom. It’s based on Lord of the rings and its a real talking point x
Quilting is really popular!!! The wall hanging sounds amazing!!!
I am all for finding funky fabrics for masks at the moment! I am terrible! :/ I bought even more fat quarters last week in the Lady and The Tramp designs… I need to step awwwwwwwwway from the fabric! 😉 Sim x
lol, but it is fun!!! Have fun making your masks.
I love adding something to a room, I am terrible for buying cushions and throws and have them all over the house, I do love changing curtains as well
The great thing is you can make your own easily.
I would love to make my own curtains. It’s not always easy to get the right size if you don’t have standard windows and it can really save you money
That’s very true. Many of us have an odd window or two that doesn’t seem to fit to standard sizes. Making your own curtains is the perfect option.
You have some greta suggestions here. A woman I used to be friends with actually helped me reupholster my 6 dining room chairs a number of years back, it was easy and I was very pleased.
Well done Valerie. Thanks for your comment. That’s great and the good thing is you can do it again when they need to be redone or you fancy a change in room colour.
I keep meaning to add some nice new cushions to the sofa in my lounge; it can really help to liven up a space.
It sure can. They’re easy to make yourself too!!!
A patchwork quilt is a fantastic way to use fabrics! I love your suggestions for different ways to use fabrics around the house, you’ve given me some ideas.
It sure is. I’ve seen some amazing ones!!!! Have fun Rebecca.
Some great uses for fabric, any overspill is great to rise for face masks as we all know we’ll need to do them for a long time x
We’re going to need masks for the foreseeable future.
Thanks for these ideas, I have just purchased a sewing machine and am keen to start making some uphostery diy remake and cushions to help redesign the look of the living room
Oh wow, what a coincidence. Have fun Ash!
I love making my own home furnishings to decorate our home. I’m currently making cushions for the living room.
Oh wow, that’s great. It can be quite therapeutic to do these things!!!!
I have been collecting reusable fabric facemasks as there are so many really lovely ones out there, I love floral and older style fabrics as I think they look so lovely.
You can make so many different ones with fabrics in the home. It helps to buy a little extra to do this.
YESSS! Such great ideas here! I bought a tonne of fabric and I’ve made cushion covers for our sofas, as well as a cool cushion for my son with his initials on it. I’ve also made a few other things for the home, but I love the idea of the place mats.
There are so many things you can make with fabric. This is barely touching the surface. The post would have gone one for ages though.
I hadn’t really thought about all the things you can make with fabric, there is so much you can do!
There is loads of fun stuff you can make. The great thing is you can make your own gifts too!
I’m working on getting at better using my sewing machine. I’m currently planning on making cushions covers for our spare room/my office, I love making what I can.
It can be really good fun Menna. I hope all goes well with the cushions!!!!
I’d love to make a quilt with loads of different patches. It’s always something I’ve wanted to learn! Good idea for dishclothes too ! x
This is a fab list of ideas – lots of my favourite makes on here! I come from a family of sewers so we’ve always made our own textiles. There’s nothing like making something that’s just the way you want it, and totally unique too.
These are great suggestions for using up spare fabric. I want to make some curtains for my spare room. Might make some matching throw cushions too for the bed.
That sounds great Kara. Have fun. I hope it goes well.
So strange, I was just this morning thinking about giving cushion cover maki by a try. I love the idea of matching them with the curtains. So many different ideas here, fab post xx
Thanks Wendy. Matching cushions with curtains works really well.
I’ve started to make much more recently using fabrics, love how it gives textures to the room
It can really add to the appearance of a room. Have fun Steph.
Some really good ideas here. My Dad makes all his own curtains and they look so much better than shop bought versions.
Love the idea of making some tote bags and yes to using scrapes for masks – I have seen such pretty fabric masks lately so very good ideas
Laura x
There are some lovely masks out there. You can also make some cute hair ties too!!!!