Hand Made Soft Furnishings

I love to wander around my local fabric remnant store looking for fabrics to inspire me to create home soft furnishings.

It is amazing how large a piece of fabric can be called a remnant - especially with the heavier, more expensive materials.

If there isn't enough left on the roll for a pair of drapes or curtains the shop often has no need for it so to them, a few $$s or ££s from you is better than it going in the rubbish.

An idea that came to us whilst wandering around our local fabric retailer was that some of the textiles were so beautiful that they actually looked like art work or tapestry. We bought a few remnants with the same basic coloring and used them to create our own masterpieces with co-ordinating wall art at a fraction of the price you would pay for something ready-made.

I do understand that to some people the idea of making your own soft furnishings is a little daunting as it brings to mind the sort of things that can only be created by those who love to sew, knit, crochet etc and not all of us are blessed with a 'crafty' side to our characted but please bear with me for a few minutes and see if our cheats suggestions appeal to you.

We have a great idea for making pillow or cushion covers that only require you to sew in a straight line (even I can do that - on a machine of course...!) and there is no need to worry about buttons or zippers. Another great source of fabric is your local goodwill or charity shop - when you know where to look.

Have a look at how we used some bargain, unwanted clothing to create unique cushion and toss pillow covers using shirts
My other favorite idea shows you how you can turn fabric remnants or dresses into simple cushion covers.

For one of our favourite source of cheap fabric have a look here for ideas to use when finishing off a bedroom.

You can completely change the look and feel of a room by using a bright accent color to add a splash of stylish interest to a room when turning it into new toss pillows or cushions and - like almost everything else we love - it will cost you very little in the way of time, money or skill.

Making your vacation property look a little different from all the others is important and what better way to guarantee this than by making some of the things you need yourself? It really is the only way you can be sure that no other property will have the same as you.