Sunday, May 27, 2012

Winnebago stuff, Gunne Sax, Burlap definitions

well my little gas guzzler Home is now sporting some fine curtains....Burlap and vintage fabric (of course)....

 I made undercurtains of burlap! Burlap! I love burlap!! see below to see more Burlap ! I think they're the perfect textury touch and they are Burlap !
and we ate dinner at the dinette the other evening....
The tree curtains are made of a 70s acrylic momie...a rather lightweight barkcloth, that was most often used for dresses, men's shirts, and halter tops...It's bright! and it's tree trunks and branches....in oh so 70s brown and orange and green....


mmmm....dinner !  organic broccoli, vegetarian corn dogs, garden salad, baked potatoes....and a martini to wash it down....



When the nasty nasty mini blinds were still up, I clothespinned the fabric in place to see if  I really liked the fabric, and the colors....and I do!

I used the selvage of the burlap panels to sew stretch wide lace to make a top casing. I also sewed a line around 3 edges to I could fringe the sides and hem....I love burlap fringe !!  I hung them up and they were too stiff........so I washed them. Warning !!! They Shed fibers!!
Oh well.  I hung them up again, fringed the edges, and bingo!! I really love them. This is about the 5th time I've made curtains of burlap.....

Look at that!
Trees!
I bought it about a year ago, and I had no idea what I was gonna do with it......because the rule is "The lady with the most fabric when she dies, wins!"

It could have become a ...tote bag, skirt, pillow.....but curtains for the Winnie is the right choice.
(If you want to see the beginnings of the re-do of my Winnebago, click the ----> Winnebago posts.)
This is what I mean, when I say "the recycled life". Winnie is recycled, and so much of what is here is re-used...thrift store, yard sales and stuff I've had for decades....


 I look at this fabric and I am reminded of the deep redwood forests of Northern California. That totally suits me fine.
Like I said,"When decorating, I'm trying to make Ralph Lauren cry.....
 and referencing a California cabin in the woods on the Marin coast, and a bit of classic 70s stuff....the kind of things I had when my kids were little...."




I've noticed looking around the blogosphere that birch trees and birch tree wallpaper is very popular right now....and I love love love birch ...it's on my Top Ten Trees I Love....but I adore this ...and you know me, I like to do my own thing, and not follow fads.


this neat vintage  fabric is from etsy seller vintagesistersoup





I also made little valances....one over the sink.....and one over the door....(pictures coming soon)

....the other thing I've noticed when I go looking for RV related topics is that many folks are painting their  trailer and RV interiors white........so, I get it. It can be dark and claustrophobic in there, but I adore the faux bois, so I won't be painting it white. I am thinking of doing something with the refrigerator door......but we'll see.

This is a sweet cottage style RV....lots of fabrics, lots of white paint, and so very cute....




Here's the original source, an RV blog that needs translation !


and now ....BURLAP. Burlap is bur·lap/ˈbərlap/ Noun: Coarse canvas woven from jute, hemp, or a similar fiber, used esp. for sacking. Lighter material of a similar kind used in dressmaking and furnishing. Synonyms: sackcloth - sacking - bagging.

 Origin: 1685–95; earlier borelap, equivalent to bore ( l ) coarse cloth. from Old French burel (see bureau ) + lap. burlap 1690s, probably from M.E. borel "coarse cloth," from O.Fr. burel ; or Du. boeren "coarse," perhaps confused with boer "peasant." The second element, -lap, meant "piece of cloth." Definition of Bureau: Origin: 1710–20; < French: desk, office, originally a kind of cloth (used to cover desks, etc.), Anglo-French, Old French burel, equivalent to bur- (probably < *būra, variant of Late Latin burra wool, fluff; compare bourrée ) + -el noun suffix. More info »Dictionary.com - Answers.com - Merriam-Webster - The Free Dictionary

 ...and also see Hessian cloth at wikipedia.
So,yeah, fabric used to cover a chest or desk, from Middle English and Old French. Coarse cloth. And yes it is! That's what I like about it...simple and basic. also let us not forget gunny sack. From which I am sure, Jessica McClintock took the name Gunne Sax.
Just after The First Depression, and WWII, after 16 loooong years of poverty and make do.....folks had been mighty accustomed to making clothes from that which was discarded...you know recycled and repurposed.......such as flour sacks and gunny sacks....such as this....

 Hi Marilyn! Nice dress made from a very itchy gunny sack!



here's a gal who made her own burlap curtains.....her inspiration was Ballard Designs....here's her tutorial....Way Cool....



here's one of my favorite things of all time....a 70s vintage jacket made from....burlap. yup. I wear this all the time.




made by Campus Casuals, of California....
of course, and I do love the rips in the jacket....
I blogged about this jacket before......go here to read all about why burlap was used, and who might have bought this jacket originally........


Bike and burlap pin I made and a burlap heart with custom calligraphy.....






so not only do I make lots of things from burlap.....I also use a huge coffee bean sack for the rug in my photo area....

you've seen this a billion times....




this 60s dress is available here.....





2 comments:

Lesley said...

I'm amazed at your creative blog and how cheaply you can decorate a home if you use your imagination and creativity.
The white interior of the trailer was very beautiful and done on a shoe string.
That Burlap jacket is great, I would even stencil some patters on it with white or brown paint. I use stencils a lot on my walls and on cushion covers and bits of wooden planks and swop them with my sisters ones.
I've just got my new sewing machine and want to start recycling old clothes of which I have a ton, as I used to hoard stuff. I've decided to unclutter my house so I've got lots of useless stuff to re-use.
My first project was cutting up old corderoy pants and a torn check shirt of my hubbies resulting in granny squares and a curdoroy cell phone pouch for my Tracfone smart phone LG500G, so I don't get to scratch or shatter the screen. I sewed a little check giraffe motive on the phone pouch, which looks really sweet.
My next project is to make a denim bag from one of my old jeans that don't fit anymore.
Your blog is inspirational and dynamic and I get exited by looking at all your economic ideas.

propriatress said...

well thank you! I think a lot of decorating can be done with thrift! My goal is to spend as little as possible on my Winnebago...it is my home. I live in a rental, but Winnie is my real home.
Both of the white-interior RVs in this post are so pretty. If you read through the cottage-style blog about the redone white RV with all the little prints, they replaced a lot of things, but they had an eye on a small budget.
I know you're gonna have a lot of fun with your new sewing machine. I can't imagine life without mine!