One of the great joys in my crafting life is finding a way to rescue something that everyone else has given up on.
I refer to them as my Phoenix Projects – firstly because they’re items which are being transformed into something new, and secondly because I’m rescuing things which most people would be happier to burn. I thought it might be fun to share some of these with you over the coming months, in the hope that they might inspire you to look at your discards in a different light. You’ve seen some of them already – like the vermin-eaten 1950s opera coat that nearly made me throw up while I was restoring it last year…
…and the roadkill denim apron I made from jeans that I found under a car outside our house…
And of course, there’s my Penny shawl…
. . . . .
My latest project has involved this intriguing vintage textile I found at the Sewing Basket in Balmain. It was badly stained and torn, and its length made it hard to photograph. Pauline let me have it for $5 and I brought it home to try to clean it up. If anyone has a suggestion as to what it might have originally been used for, I’d love to hear it – for the life of us, we can’t figure it out. One friend suggested it might have been an altar cloth, but the fringing on just one short end rules that out, as does the lack of any religious symbols.
There is (now broken) pulled thread work down just one long edge and what appears to be shadow embroidery handstitched using rayon thread. We’ve debated whether it’s European or South American or Pacific Islander in origin. In a previous life, it had been used as a curtain, because there were rings sewn into it for hanging (sadly, these destroyed the fabric where they were attached), and although it was in a pretty grotty state, Napisan shifted some of the stains. If you ever need tips on restoring old fabrics, pop in to the Sewing Basket Balmain on a Saturday and chat to the wonderful Mark…
Then…(bear with me, this story gets better)…the following week, lovely Pauline texted me and said “Come back Celia, we’ve found its twin”.
So I went back to the store and there was another one of whatever these are, only in a much worse condition. A much stinkier, more torn, more stained condition. I offered Pauline another $5 but she refused to take it – from the way she was handing it to me at arm’s length, I think she was just happy for it to be out of her shop. I was pretty excited!
I think what I love most about a Phoenix Project is that it comes with absolutely no expectations, so the only possible outcome is a good one. Even if only a small scrap of it can be saved, that’s already better than the whole thing going to landfill. And this old piece, whatever it once was, had been dearly loved, because someone had gone to a great deal of effort to mend it by hand. I followed Mark’s advice and gave it a careful Napisan soaking, which disintegrated some of the fabric (a product of the dirt and water more than the Napisan, I suspect) but removed some of the stains.
Then I cut the fabric into 12 inch panels around the embroidery, using the secondhand quilter’s square I’d also picked up from Balmain. I tried to save as much of the previous mending as I could…
I love, love, love the carefully hand-mended patches…
I ended up with four embroidered panels and enough “clean” white fabric to make a double-sided scarf. I crossed my fingers and removed the rayon fringing, cut it in half and finished the edges, then reattached it to the ends of the scarf. It was still quite badly marked, so the finished piece then had another overnight soak in Napisan – the second round removed almost all the remaining yellow stains.
Voila! I now have a new scarf for winter! One that is completely unique and carries a backstory, even if I don’t know what it is, and a treasured vintage textile has been given a second lease of life. Phoenix Projects really are the best things ever – they cost almost nothing, they challenge me creatively, they respect the history of the textile, they give new life to existing materials, and they keep precious resources out of landfill. They’re a sustainability win! ♥
Fig Jam and Lime Cordial 
I seldom comment on this blog (I don’t do social media) but you have made something so very special and beautiful out of unwanted scraps.
I can’t help but admire your vision and tenacity to save old beautiful things and give them a new purpose. Jolly well done.
I applaud you! It’s so amazing that you can see the beauty in these old discards. Hope you wash them at a laundromat 🤪
Hahahaha no! In my laundry. But after the stripey socks, I’ve got no squeamishness left 🤣
That is such a wonderful end result for two pieces that may never have been used again.
Great result, my guess would be 2 parts of an old table cloth….looking at the hem edges.
No, unfortunately the fringing on one short end only discounts that, as does the fact that one long edge is a selvedge – so there’s no evidence they were ever joined together! Also, the two pieces were identical rather than symmetrical – so both had the pulled thread work on the right and the fringing at the bottom.
It’s a mystery!
Amazing!
Its gorgeous. I too love the careful repairs to the fabric.
Beautiful end result, Celia. My grandparents used to have lengths of embroidered fabrics [or lengths of lace]
hanging on the edge of shelving , eg dresser or cupboard shelves. .. maybe this was used for the same purpose ?
Oh that’s a possibility!! Thanks Denise!
Denise, I’ve given it more thought and I think the fringing at just one short edge means it’s unlikely to have been used for that? Plus it’s extremely long – more than two metres! Such a puzzle! 😉
Just lovely pieces of fabric and the embroidery is great. I do remember all of your other Phoenix projects. Denise might have the right idea.
I’m not sure sure now, partly because each piece was soooo long – like two metres each. Plus the fringing was only on one short edge
Like Denise, I was thinking former life as a dresser scarf, or buffet runner or table runner? Whatever it was, your restoration and reimagining has given it a beautiful, serviceable reincarnation.
Hi Celia, GORGEOUS CLOTH. Like Joyce I was thinking buffet runner, or table runner.
Gorgeous, absolutely delightful! Gray job seeing something new among the old.
Lovely! I often find neglected, unmounted or half finished peices of needlepoint, and I collect oddments of yarn when I see them as well, & use those to complete any unfinished. I’ve made some pretty tote bags, one tapestry on a bell-pull type peice of canvas became the centre panel of an oversized carrybag for xrays.
Celia it’s beautiful. Could it be like what I would call an antimacassar for a long settee or old armchair or a rif on that do you think ?
Helen, now that’s an interesting suggestion!! Although the fringing on just one short end is still puzzling?
Celia, I just love reading about the creative ways you can make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear (so to speak). I really hope someone out there can solve the mystery of what this fabric piece was in its previous life…
Thanks for sharing your Phoenix Projects – they certainly are a sustainability win!
Cheers, Sally at One Family, One Planet blog
It’s astonishing when you put your rescues together just how fabulous they are when compared with the original state – and how much time you have given to making them useful again. The opera coat would have sent most people in the opposite direction at a sprint yet it’s GORGEOUS!
I bow down before you Great God of Textile Rescue 🤗
Great work Celia. Congratulations on rescuing these pieces. Love the term ‘Phoenix Projects’ too. Thanks for sharing these successful projects and inspiring us to think laterally and do more. I like including old doileys and bits of old lace and buttons in crazy patchwork projects. Teadyeing is a great way to make some pieces of fabric look more vintage. Also love using avocado pits to ecodye laces pink.
It’s great to see the effort and love you’ve put into rescuing these textiles. Perhaps they are from India, as there are literally thousands of embroidery styles practiced there. It looks like a fine cotton or linen fabric, woven in plain or tabby weave. The embroidery yarn looks like silk.
From the shape of the pieces and the trims, I’d think that these were not made as routine clothing garments (but perhaps were used in traditional ritual settings, such as a fabric band used in a wedding ceremony), but as furniture decorations or banners/wall hangings used in a domestic setting. From the careful mending, great care has been taken, at some stage,to maintain the fabric. Perhaps it has religious or spiritual significance and was seen as a high status item, worthy of great care in its maintenance.
That is a beautiful scarf. I love the embroidered (?) motifs. So glad you were able to rescue the cloth and turn it into an item which you will enjoy wearing.