I have been collecting vintage sheets for a few years now. Every time I can go to a thrift store I check out their selection and purchase any that catch my eye.
(There is a piece of fabric or two and a shower curtain and maybe a window curtain as well in this collection, but they were all great pieces with great color for something I might want to create some time.)
I chose from my collection a few that worked well with the ideas we had for our daughters high school graduation party and created some table covers, then with the leftover portions I created some bunting - as many pieces as I could fit.
I purchased a serger (from Amazon) for this project because I knew I had a lot to do and didn't want to ask someone else to do this for me. It worked like a charm for me, but I didn't try to learn any other stitches because of the time it took to do what I had to do ..., so maybe I'll have more fun with that later when I have some extra time (but I'm not holding my breath).
I serged the four sides of each of the 10 square and/or rectangular table covers and each of the three sides of the bunting pieces (I think one section has about 44 pieces and the other has about 47 pieces).
I spent all of one day with this project - I had no idea it would take sooooo long, so I was especially glad I hadn't asked someone else to help me out here. Though it was time consuming, it was so much easier and faster than folding and ironing and sewing and turning right-side out and ironing again ..., and I loved that the serger cuts and finishes the edge at the same time ..., and I really do love the finished look.
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When the serging on the tablecloths were done they were complete so I washed and folded them, ready to use. They looked lovely in a pile and they looked lovely on the tables, ready for the event. You can see here that I paired them up with solid 100% cotton napkins in assorted colors, each to match the cloth they were on. And those cute striped paper straws were placed on top the napkins. (RePurposed Book Centerpieces)
Serging the bunting took a little longer than the table covers did ..., I had several. I used some of every tablecloth fabric, including pieces from the buffet table cloths I had prepared (I think there were a couple I didn't end up using). When I was done serging the edges of each triangle piece I sorted them and sewed each piece onto a folded bias tape.
The bunting is double sided so that it could be hung in the center of a room and look nice from any view.
Our tent doesn't have tall enough walls to put it back and forth across the room from one side to the other, so I wrapped it around the side walls and I love the touch of color that it gave to the walls and the way it brought everything together. It gave the area character.
It was a little long for the wall, so we just folded it back a few feet ..., and that was cute too.
... I was so happy with the overall look ...
Vintage sheets helped us create a great look for a HAPPY GRADUATION! (A Graduation Party)
And ... when I washed them after the event was over I realized how great sheets are for table covers because they don't come out all wrinkled, in need of ironing. AWESOME! They are folded and stored away for the next use ... some day!