Happy Wednesday! If you've been following along here for almost any amount of time, you'll know that I love to work with vintage sheets in my sewing and quilting projects! Working with them and collecting them has been a part of my creative journey for 12+ years! I first started collecting and sewing with them in 2011. Over the years I've made many different projects repurposing these beautiful bedsheets, and I wanted to bring them all together in one big post. To be honest, there were a few that I had forgotten about! For most of these projects, there is a corresponding blog post, but I'm also sharing a little bit about each project here. If there is a tutorial or pattern associated with the project, I've also included a link to that. My plan is to keep this post updated as I make more things with vintage sheets.
When I finished my most recent vintage sheet project late last year, I realized how multi-layered my love for this material is. First and foremost, I just find the patterns and colors to be so beautiful. I also appreciate how unique they are, especially compared to most of the quilting cotton designs that are available today. But I also really love being able to give new life to a discarded material. Almost all of my vintage sheet collection has come from thrift stores, which means someone didn't want them! Being able to rescue them from a path to a landfill and turn them into something beautiful is really satisfying. It's also a really budget friendly source for fabric. Even when vintage sheet prices being a bit higher than when I first started collecting, it's usually still a good price for how much fabric you're getting.
I've broken down my projects into categories, and within each category they are mostly in chronological order. So you'll be seeing more recent projects first, and then older projects. Seeing it all broken down also made me think about what kinds of projects I want to make with vintage sheets next!
Quilts
Soft and Subtle Vintage Sheet Plus Quilt - I had been wanting to make a low contrast plus quilt for a long time, and this baby sized quilt is the result! It's so soft!
You can read more about this quilt here:
Soft and Subtle Vintage Sheet Plus Quilt, and I have a pattern for this quilt which can be found
Arithmetic Quilt Pattern (PDF).
Vintage Bear Paw Quilt - This throw size quilt came together over the course of three years. I think it was worth the delay though! I used so many different prints in this quilt, and I love how subtle some blocks are.
You can read more about this quilt here:
Vintage Bear Paw Quilt, and I have a pattern for this quilt which can be found
Vintage Bear Paw Quilt Pattern (PDF).
Vintage Bear Paw Baby Quilt - Another bear paw quilt, this one I didn't even mean to make! When I was making the throw size quilt, I went a little overboard cutting block parts and had enough leftover to make a baby quilt.
You can read more about this quilt here:
Vintage Bear Paw Baby Quilt, and I have a pattern for this quilt which can be found
Vintage Bear Paw Quilt Pattern (PDF).
Photos © 2020 Love, Patchwork & Quilting Magazine
Patchwork Posy Quilt - There is something about stars and vintage sheets that I just can't resist! I made this quilt for the 84th issue of Love, Patchwork, and Quilting Magazine. I loved using all different "background" sheets for this one.
You can read more about this quilt here:
Patchwork Posy Vintage Sheet Quilt
Vintage Sheet Four Patch Quilt - This throw quilt was the first quilt that I made after we moved to Connecticut in 2017. I was craving something simple and cheerful and this quilt fit that bill! I started by cutting from my vintage sheet scraps and then pulled from my stash.
You can read more about this quilt here:
Vintage Sheet Four Patch Quilt
Vintage Sheet Scrappy Trip Quilt - This quilt is so fun. It's a scrappy trip around the world quilt, made using
this tutorial by Bonnie Hunter. Every strip that I used for this quilt came from a different sheet, so there are 252 different prints in this quilt! It's a bit of a time capsule for my collection at the time, which I love.
You can read more about this quilt here:
Vintage Sheet Scrappy Trip Quilt
Giant Vintage Star Quilt - This quilt went from idea to finished quilt in about 24 hours, making it probably the quickest quilt I've ever made! It's one of my favorites, and it really shows off the sheet prints!
You can read more about this quilt here:
Giant Vintage Star Quilt. I also have a tutorial for this quilt:
Giant Vintage Star Quilt Tutorial and a pattern for it:
Giant Vintage Star Quilt Pattern
Giant Vintage Star Baby Quilt - This is the baby version of my giant vintage star quilt! I think it's so cute. I went with just four colors for this one!
You can read more about this quilt here:
Giant Vintage Star Baby Quilt, and instructions for it can be found in the pattern:
Giant Vintage Star Quilt Pattern
Vintage Sheet Patchwork Prism Quilt - I really loved making this quilt. I used a free pattern by Anna Maria Horner which can be found here:
Patchwork Prism. It may have been my first time sewing with equilateral triangles!
You can read more about this quilt here:
Vintage Sheet Patchwork Prism Quilt
Vintage Sheet Sparkling Cider Quilt - My first and probably forever favorite vintage sheet quilt! I still love this quilt so much! I used some of my favorite sheets at the time. The pattern is the Sparkling Cider Quilt Pattern by
All Washed Up Quilts, which unfortunately does not seem to be available anymore.
You can read more about this quilt here:
Sparkling Cider Vintage Sheet Quilt
Mini Quilts
Log Cabin Mini Quilts - This was a fun set of mini quilts that I made to experiment with prints vs. background fabric placement. I used the Modern Crosses Quilt pattern which can be found in
Modern Log Cabin Quilts by Susan Beal*.
You can read more about this quilt here:
Log Cabin Mini Quilts
Mother's Day Mini Quilt - I made this quilt for my Mom in 2011 for Mother's Day! I did some simple raw-edge applique with vintage sheet scraps. It hangs in her craft room. :)
Wonky Star Mini Quilt - I made this mini quilt as a part of a swap with a fellow sewer I met on Flickr. I had just participated in a vintage sheet fat quarter swap, which greatly expanded my collection of prints!
You can read more about this quilt here:
Wonky Star Mini Quilt
Bags
Laundry Size Lined Drawstring Bag - This bag appears on the cover of my most popular sewing pattern, the Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern! This is the largest size, the Laundry Bag. It's gotten a lot of use over the years!
You can find the pattern for this bag here:
Lined Drawstring Bag Pattern
Pillowcase Drawstring Bag - I am still proud of this project idea, it is a drawstring bag made from a pillowcase! I used a vintage pillowcase, but you could do this with a new pillowcase too. It's super fast and requires very little sewing.
You can find a free tutorial for this project here:
Quick Pillowcase Drawstring Bag Tutorial
Patchwork Tote Bag - A super simple flat tote bag that I made with some vintage sheet scraps!
Pillows
Vintage Bear Paw Pillow - After making a throw quilt and a baby quilt I still had one bear paw block left, so I turned it into a pillow!
You can read more about this pillow here:
Vintage Bear Paw Quilt, and I have a pattern for this quilt block which can be found
Vintage Bear Paw Quilt Pattern (PDF).
Giant Vintage Star Pillow - This project is yet another take on my Giant Vintage Star Quilt, this time as a big 24" pillow made with two colors! I used one of my favorite background sheets for this.
You can read more about this pillow here:
Giant Vintage Star Pillow. The instructions for it can be found in the pattern:
Giant Vintage Star Quilt Pattern
Vintage Sheet Dresden Pillow - This project definitely ranks high on my list of all time favorite makes.
You can read more about this pillow here:
Vintage Sheet Dresden Pillow
Vintage Sheet Half-Square Triangle Pillow - I cut out this pillow using an
Accuquilt Go! Fabric Cutter* and wrote a tutorial for it! I love pink and yellow together, it's just so cheerful.
You can read more about this pillow and find the tutorial here:
Vintage Sheet Half-Square Triangle Pillow Tutorial
Home Decor Projects
Vintage Sheet Wrapped Wreath - This project came about in an effort to use up a specific scrap I was creating when selling vintage sheet fat quarters. I couldn't bear to throw away the skinny hem from the bottom of each sheet, so I came up with this simple wreath design to use them up! And I wrote a tutorial for it too.
You can read more about this project here:
Vintage Sheet Wrapped Wreath Tutorial
Scrappy Valance - Another scrappy project, and one that I really loved! I wanted to switch up the valance for my craft room window in our last apartment, but didn't want to buy anything new. There were these cheap metal curtain rows already installed when we moved in. I simply knotted strips of fabric along the rod to create this valance! I think it's pretty cute.
You can read more about this project here:
Scrappy Valance
Simple Sheet Blanket - This is one of those projects that is so simple but has gotten TONS of use. I made this blanket by placing two sheets (uncut) right sides together, sewing around all four sides and then turning it right sides out and top stitching along the edges. It is the perfect weight for summer, when you need more than a sheet, but a regular blanket or quilt is too hot. I've used it every summer since making it way back in 2010. I made a matching one (same sheet design, different colorway) for Michael and he uses it every summer too! It's always the simple projects that seem to get the most use at our house!!
Patchwork Blanket - I made this simple patchwork blanket to take with us on a beach vacation in 2010. Nothing fancy, just a bunch of big squares of sheets sewn together, and a solid sheet on the back!
Scrappy Coasters - Back when I had an Etsy shop, I used to make coasters sets to sell! This scrappy set was one of my favorites.
Wrapped Hanger - I wish I knew where this hanger was now! This was a cheap metal hanger (like from the dry cleaner) that I wrapped in thin strips of sheets.
Garments
Hinterland Dress - My first vintage sheet dress! I made this dress using the
Hinterland Dress pattern by Sew Liberated.
You can read more about this project here:
Vintage Sheet Hinterland Dress
Gathered Skirt - My only other vintage sheet garment is a super simple gathered skirt! I am not 100% sure I ever wore this, as I am really not much of a skirt person!
If you're looking for more vintage sheet project inspiration, check out my Pinterest board:
Sewing with Vintage Sheets
If you'd like to learn more about working with vintage sheets, check out this post:
How to Identify, Shop for and Sew with Vintage Sheets
Happy Sewing!
*Note: Any links marked with an asterisk in this post are affiliate links. This means if you click through and buy something, I make a small commission, at no extra cost to you.
