Five Uses For Ticking Striped Fabric

When I was a young teen, my sister and I embarked on a cross country road to trip with my step aunt.

It was a wonderful journey and we had the best time. We drove from New York to Wyoming. 

We spent the night in hotels and ate out every single meal. It was tons of fun. 

 I discovered a couple of things that have stuck with me to this day. 

The first time I'd ever had sour cream on a baked potato was on this trip. I've loved it ever since. 

We were disturbed in the middle of the night by bears outside our hotel window. I'd never been scared by a bear before. 

I think I had Ranch dressing for the first time on that trip too. I go in fits and starts with Ranch Dressing though. 

The best thing about the trip was the feather pillow that I adopted. It was in the back seat of my aunt's Camaro.  I started using it for car naps in her cool car. At the end of the trip, my aunt gave me that pillow. It was covered in vintage ticking. I've been a fan of ticking since that time. 

It became thread bare and eventually I had to recover it. Feathers flew all over the yard. Try moving pillow feathers from one covering to another. It's a lesson in futility! It also looks like it's snowing.

I adore ticking! 

I want to share with your my five favorite uses for ticking striped fabric. 

Placemats:
I made some placemats out of ticking about four years ago. These placemats have been the foundation for some darling tablescapes.

Pillows: 

Not bed pillows but decorative pillows. I love them thrown on the couch to ground the corners.
They are a Farmhouse Style staple and they go with any pillows that I pair them with.

Ticking comes in red too.

Valances:
This is a recent love.  

I've made two valances for the kitchen windows and one for the laundry room. 

They have such a Farmhouse feel but not just American Farmhouse. I think they also go with European Farmhouse Style.

Cupboard Curtain: 

One of my favorite uses for ticking are the curtains for the doors of the pie safe.

 

China and recipe books are hidden behind the doors.

Last year the ticking was red. This year it is blue. I love the ticking behind the rabbit wire. It almost looks like a checked pattern. It is a great way to add a little more fabric to a space.

Slipcovers: 

This is my favorite new use for pillow ticking. 

The slipcover for the curved back World Market chair is so darling. It has a fun cottage feel but the lines are clean and crisp.

I get my ticking at Hobby Lobby. It has a nice heavy weight that closely mimics antique ticking. 

Look for it in red, black, tan, aqua and green. 

Some of the colored ticking isn't as heavy a weave as true pillow ticking. This faux ticking is not really a tight enough weave to keep in pillow feathers.
Make sure you pre-wash the fabric before using. I learned this the hard way.
There you go. Five fun used for pillow ticking fabric.

Have a wonderful day.
What are you up to this weekend?
Katie

Follow The Yellow Brick Home
A Stroll Thru Life 

Blue and White Buffalo Check Valances

Hi guys, 

I wanted to pop in really quick and show you our new valances for the kitchen windows. 

It's been about a year since I pulled all of our blue and white china pieces out of the nooks and crannies around here. Subsequently, I've been on the hunt for more blue and white to add to our decor. 

Our Christmas tree had a cute blue and white checked fabric detail. 

I could see both the tree and the kitchen window from my recliner. It dawned on me that some checked fabric in the kitchen window would be darling. 

I've been watching a fun YouTuber - here's the link.

Liz found some darling valances at Walmart so I decided to have a look there. 

I really couldn't believe that they had exactly what I was looking for. 

This valance came with a pair of Navy blue cafe curtains as well. Each Better Homes and Gardens set was $14.99. The cafe pairs were much too long for my windows. They would also block my view. I love looking out when I do the dishes so I don't think I'll hem them and put them up but I may use them for something else.

They look pretty cute. 

My tiered tray got a pig and cow that was sold in the craft area. 

They were already stained. 

They're darling! 

I found a blue enamelware pot at the thrift store for $3.00. 

It was sale day so I only paid $2.25. 

What a deal. 

A spice jar from Pioneer Woman sits next to it.

 

The clock is from Walmart. The bird is from Target.
The market bag is from Hobby Lobby. The flowers were from Joann's.
The heart is from my favorite crafter.

That's what's going on in the kitchen.
What do you think? What a cute Walmart find.
Have a great weekend.
Katie 

The Trailer Privacy Curtain

There is a curtain that separates the bedroom from the living room and kitchen in the trailer. 

At first I didn't think we needed to put that curtain back up but Bill insisted that it was crucial.
 He likes to get up early and read. I like to sleep in.
I can be a tad grumpy before I've had my coffee.
I may or may not make angry faces when I'm grumpy.

For the sake of harmony, this curtain needed to be made.

Shopping for the trailer fabric took some time.

We wanted coordinating grays.
I couldn't find the same fabric for the window curtains and the privacy curtain.
When I went back to Walmart to get more panels for the privacy drape, the slate color was already discontinued.
It ended up being fortuitous because there was a lighter weight, black out option instead and it was cheaper too. The four panels were only $20.00.
Harmony doesn't have to be expensive.
 This curtain measured 120 inches wide by 66 inches long so it took a lot of fabric.

The privacy curtain had a special plastic tape sewn onto the top of the treatment.
White plastic clips interspersed along the tape, glide along a special track that is attached to the ceiling.

We were able to get the curtain off by unscrewing the last screw near the wall. Once that was done, we were able to bend the track away from the wall.
The curtain slipped right off of the track.

Saving the old curtain with the plastic tape was very important.
We had a throw away pile and a save pile when we cleaned out the trailer in June.
The old curtain could not be thrown away until I removed the tape with a seam ripper.

To make the new treatment, I sewed the four panels together.
It was time to attached the plastic tape to the tops of the panels.

I used the zipper foot to sew the tape onto the new curtain.

The zipper foot maneuvered perfectly around the clips.
Sewing through the plastic was not a problem.
Once the new drape was hemmed and ironed, we slipped it back onto the track and screwed the end of the track back into the ceiling.

A tieback with a snap holds the curtain in place when not in use.

All our grays coordinate!
Yahoo.

Now the early riser will not disturb the grump.

That is the latest in this series.
Thanks for stopping in.
Be kind and pin! You just never know when there is a trailer remodel in your future.
Katie

 Read about Primer.

Read about Paint. 

Read about Curtains. 
Read about flooring. 

Read about the sofa