Reusing Vintage Linens

Charlotte on a vintage tray cloth

I collected quite a few vintage embroidered linens from charity shops over the years. My problem is that when I come to cut into them to give them new life, I think of the hours of laborious work that some unknown person has put into making them. I find it incredibly difficult to cut them up. This piece was a bit different because i was adding to the hand embroidery on the tray cloth.

I took a photo of my granddaughter, Charlotte, and traced the main outlines onto tissue paper. I pinned the tissue paper on the area of the tray cloth where I wanted to add my extra work and then I simply embroidered through the tissue to create the outline of Charlotte in black. I have used a simple back stitch to do this. I appliqued the apron in a bright fabric.

To remove the tissue paper without “pulling the stitches, use the index finger on your non dominant hand and place it over the stitches where you want to start. Gently pull against the pressure of your finger with your other hand and the tissue paper will tear away quite easily.

I added the light blue buttons at the end just to finish this off.