Sunday, December 14, 2014

Vintage Tablecloth Curtain - The Christmas Version

Hi there! It's getting closer and closer to Christmas day and I'm still decorating here and there! LOL!  Last year I wanted a vintage Christmas curtain for our kitchen window and I had the idea of using either a tablecloth or an apron. I came across this tablecloth HERE and when I saw it, I purchased it.  It was perfect!
This 1950's tablecloth is right up my alley when it comes to vintage stuff.  I love it!  Even though I bought it last year I never made it into a curtain.  Why you ask?  Searching Pinterest for curtain ideas, I could never find just the right look I wanted.  My main problem, I really didn't want to cut up this tablecloth!  This year, I looked again and I found this awesome lady with an excellent idea for me!  Thank you Amy!!
Now that I didn't have to cut up my lovely tablecloth I was on a mission to get it hung up and spreading the Christmas cheer in our kitchen!  It was a bit stained as you can see above, but to me that means it was used lots and loved even more!  BTW, do you have a remedy to remove really old stains from tablecloths?  Let me know below if you do.
Luckily, most of the stains were to one side, so I lucked out there too!  My tablecloth was not perfectly square either, so I had to strategically fold it to make it look good hanging up.  The corners didn't quite match up, but I just offset it as you see above to make it work.
Next, it needed a good pressing to get all the fold lines and wrinkles out.  I used my old faithful Faultless Heavy Starch.  Yes, I iron in my kitchen because our tiny little washroom doesn't allow me and the open ironing board to be in there all at once. LOL!

{Wanna see my laundry room?  Look HERE.}
(And if you like my ironing board cover, you can read about it HERE.}
Now that I have it all pressed and pretty, I folded down just enough to achieve the length I needed, then I inserted a tension rod into the fold that I had already set to length for my window.  I ended up folding it down a lot more than you see here.  You can tell in the next picture.
And then I hung it up and adjusted until I had the look I wanted!  If you look in the very upper right hand corner you can see the end of the tension rod sticking out.  I used a tension rod because that's what I had on hand, but I'm sure you could use a regular curtain rod as well.
For the sides, I just kind of turned them into the center of the window and kept adjusting until I liked it.  So pretty and festive!
I've got more of my vintage collection sitting in the window too.  My sweet little Santa mugs, my old cheese box that I added the trimmings from this year's tree to along with some shiny red bulbs I had and then a nice stack of white plates and my tiny snowmen tin cups I found HERE.
Here's another fun idea I had this year.  I borrowed a galvanized bucket from my front porch decor and added a little faux tree that I found at Goodwill for $1.29, sat it in an old plate and BAM.....pure cuteness!

I'm so glad I didn't have to cut my tablecloth up, this was a much better idea to me.

Do you love vintage goodies as much as I do?  Please leave a comment if you've decorated for Christmas in a vintage way, I'd like to see your decor too!

Don't have a vintage tablecloth?  Look right here for this cutie.

It doesn't have to be done all at once.  It is a slow process in the works! C-ya next time!

I'm Linking to:
These lovely and FUN parties!
Between Naps on the Porch
DIY Home Sweet Home
We Call It Junkin

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6 comments:

  1. Hello, Yes I am a vintage lover, and most of my Christmas Décor is vintage, I do mix with modern. I have been wanting to do similar on my kitchen window, thanks for the inspiration.
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  2. Goodwill's loaded with treasures, isn't it? Even if you're not sure at first what to do with them. Love that you held onto the vintage tablecloth until you found just the right thing to do with it. Looks great!

    *Glad to have found you through Janine's Wonderful Wednesday linkup.

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  3. Gorgeous. Love vintage table cloths. My Mom used and still uses them all the time.

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  4. Since this is an older post, I don't know if you still need to have a waybtonremove yellow stains easily. Here is a link I've not tried but thought of when I read your post.
    https://www.pinterest.com/pin/11681280255538353/

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  5. I didn't read the above post on pinterest, but here is my solution. It generally works on my vintage table linens. I use oxyclean. I fill my deep sink or washing machine with VERY hot water and oxyclean. I place the item in the water and let soak. I had an handmade quilt from my husband's side of the family totally filled with nicotine stain. I used this method and have a very nice quilt now.

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    Replies
    1. Thank you MayAnn, this is very good to know! I'll try it next time! :)

      Delete

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