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Vintage Fabric Bundles

At Vintage Fabric I sell fabric by the metre as well as pre-used curtains, I often reuse and recycle beautiful old curtains, cleaning and trimming faded parts, doing this I find myself with plenty of smaller offcuts which can have hundreds of uses. Patchwork and quilting, craft projects, rug making, smaller interiors work like cushion covers or chair seats. Vintage Pink Laura Ashley…

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1970's Crimplene Flower Power Shift Dress

What an amazing job by Sallyanne. With just one yard of vintage 1970s crimplene fabric and using one of her grandmothers 1960s patterns, she has made this iconic shift dress, fully lined with lace edging too. It is so satisfying to see the fabric I have unearthed being put to such good use.

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Chair Upholstery - What People make with Vintage Fabric.

Vintage 1950s Sanderson linen union fabric ‘lytton’ has been used to cover two vintage chairs. Sara took weeks re-building and covering these chairs at her upholstery class. What a brilliant job she has done. Linen union fabric is a blend of linen and cotton, making it very strong and durable, so ideal for upholstery work. Vintage linen union in particular is of heavier quality than more modern…

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Vintage Fabric For dress making, quilts & interiors; photo shoots and collectors.Bargain prices for rare material. Unused or recycled pieces from the 19th to 21st century Rare Arts & Craft designs by William Morris.. linen curtains from Sanderson.. Vintage Liberty print cotton lawn fabric.. 1940’s Viyella.. retro cotton from the 60’s.. Laura Ashley fat quarters…floral prints for 50’s style…

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Morris & Co Textiles and The Red House

Morris & Co Textiles and The Red House

The Red House is an important Arts and Crafts building in Bexleyheath, Southeast London. Designed in 1859 by architect Philip Webb as a home for William Morris it was completed in 1860. Although Webb was the architect it was known as Morris’s ‘brainchild’

photo by Ethan Doyle White

Unable to find suitable textiles and furnishings that were to his taste, William Morris got together a  group of…

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Birds and Animals in William Morris Designs

Birds and Animals in William Morris Designs

William Morris (1834-1896) is regarded by some as the greatest designer and one of the most outstanding figures of the Arts and Crafts Movement, this group of artists and craftsmen set up to provide beautiful, handcrafted products and furnishings for the home. Morris is much quoted as saying “Have nothing in your houses that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.”

He loved…

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More Vintage Barkcloth Fabric

More Vintage Barkcloth Fabric

About 4 years ago I began making a record of the vintage barkcloth fabric I have collected. I am adding to it constantly, so here are some more.

Cotton barkcloth fabric was very popular in the 1950’s and 60’s often produced in iconic prints by well known designers of the era such as Eames, Panton and Barbara brown. The fabric used for interiors work has a textured finish with a rough feel like…

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The Art of John Piper in Fabric and Textiles.

  John Piper (1903–1992) is one of the most significant British artists of the twentieth-century.   An official war artist during the 2nd world war, he came to prominence soon after, known for paintings, tapestries and designing large scale glass windows, such as those in Liverpool and Coventry Cathedrals.

The ‘rerados’ tapestry in Chichester Cathedral 1966

  Many of his bold designs were…

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The History of Paisley Fabric

The History of Paisley Fabric

  Paisley is a  design that is many hundreds of years old and can be traced back to ancient Persia, now Iran.

The fashion for using the pattern spread to many other Asian and Indian countries over the following centuries and it was in the Moghul period between the years 1526-1764 that it became the most popular, appearing on everything from stone carvings to the dress of Princes and Holy Men.

The…

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Indian Influence in 1960's Fabric Design

Indian Influence in 1960’s Fabric Design

In the late 1960’s and early 70’s there was a great fascination for Eastern cultures. The Beatles especially were very interested in Indian music and were influential in spreading the word widely. Music, art and fabric designed for clothing and interiors all showed this trend.

It was a fashionable, especially with the hippy movement to wear kaftans, paisley designs and batik printed clothing from…

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Barkcloth, Birds and Cherry Trees

Barkcloth, Birds and Cherry Trees

A sunny April morning in our Gloucestershire orchard. The bird cherry is full of blossom and the birds are singing, you can pick out a chiff chaff amongst others in the video below.

YOUTUBE VIDEO

The fabric on the washing line is mid century barkcloth cotton, the two on the right are Heal’s ‘cherry orchard’ ( appropriately) by Irmgard Krebs and blue ‘counters’ by Richard Jarvis.

Where has the…

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Vintage Brocade Fabric & the Jacquard Loom

Vintage Brocade Fabric & the Jacquard Loom

Brocade is a decorative woven fabric with a raised pattern made to mimic embroidery. It was originally made using silk for rich dress making fabric, as in this bustle dress from 1880’s.

  The Jacquard loom was introduced in 1804 , using a series of punched cards it made it easier to weave the complicated patterns needed for brocade, damask and matelassé fabrics. Brocade type fabric began to be…

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Wool fabric - for cold weather.

Wool fabric – for cold weather.

Clothing made from wool fabric has always been considered the best for wearing in cold weather, it traps heat and will prevent the body from cooling. Wool absorbs moisture, but stays warmer than many other fabrics, it is also inherently flame retardant. So a good choice for clothing when the weather gets colder.

A lovely soft wool fabric in royal blue and navy blue check with threads of red and…

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Vintage Fabric - Updating the Website..

Vintage Fabric – Updating the Website..

Time for the annual update of Vintage Fabric’s website..

The site has useful and interesting links for anyone keen on fabric, sewing and interiors.   As well as information about us and our blog, it has links to our ebay shop ‘vintage fabric and curtains’, a page showing all the Sanderson fabric we have in stock ( changed frequently), one dedicated to fabric bundles and a fabric of the month page.

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Grautex. Mid-Century Danish Textiles

Grautex. Mid-Century Danish Textiles

  Grautex fabrics were a leading textile company  in the 1950’s through to the 1970’s. They were based in Copenhagen, Denmark and used many well known artists and designers of the time such as  Joan Nicola Wood,  Kirtsen Romer and Ronald Hansen who produced art prints such as pine trees ( below) and beech trees panels.

Ronald Hansen –  pine trees

Arne Emil Jacobsen, meadow. 1951

‘Hyacinth…

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Toile de Jouy Fabric

Toile de Jouy Fabric

Toile prints were originally produced in Ireland in the mid-18th Century and quickly became popular in Britain and France. The name Toile de Jouy originated in France in the late 18th century and means “cloth from Jouy”, a town near Paris.

Christophe-Phillipe Oberkampf set up business in Jouy-en-Josas outside Paris in 1759, where he joined with engraver and designer Jean Baptiste Huet to design…