Fabrics Textiles

My love affair with mudcloth is well documented. If you are unfamiliar with the stuff, mudcloth is a somewhat heavy fabric, sewn in strips, and dyed naturally with mud. It usually has a graphic pattern of geometric lines and dots, in high contrast black and white. Given the process of making it, it’s no surprise that the real deal is also somewhat expensive.

Drop cloths are sturdy fabric, come in a basic neutral shade, and are readily available for little money at the hardware store. Need I say more? Okay, then I will. Drop cloths look remarkably similar to linen, so you can get that relaxed, coastal, or rustic vibe for less. Check out these 50+ projects to get the look… A hand-printed rug, done by Poppytalk, with a Sharpie! I love this super colorful painted and sponge-pattern rug that Nellie Bellie made.

Sheepskin and flokati rugs are everywhere these days — they add texture to a room, and instantly add comfort to a hard plastic or wood chair. But if you’re looking to make your sheepskin stand out from the run of the mill, or just need a little change, fabric dye is the ticket. Fabric dye 1 cup salt Rubber gloves or stir stick Soaking bucket or bathtub Water 1.

A cyanotype is a photographic process that produces a cyan blue print. The print can easily be made on a large variety of materials, so I wanted to see what would happen when experimenting with fabric. It worked! The process wasn’t that much different than if you were to use paper, so if you’ve ever tried that method, you’re a step ahead of the game. The best way to come by the chemicals needed for the process is to purchase a kit from Photographers’ Formulary.

I get obsessed with things I see on Pinterest, and this padded headboard (okay, the whole place) is one of my recent fixations. I like the modern, streamlined look of it— but that it’s also more relaxed than a lot of the tufted, nailhead DIY headboards I see all the time.

This isn’t your average DIY; I can’t give you simple step-by-step instructions or promise that you can get this done on a Saturday afternoon. After all, these chairs took me months to complete.A few years ago, I enrolled in a just-for-fun, one-morning-a-week course in Traditional Furniture Upholstery. The idea had been at the back of my mind for a while, as something which would combine my background in fashion textiles with my burgeoning interest in interiors.

Suzanne saw potential in IKEA’s popular BESTA shelf, and not just as vertical storage. When flipped and tweaked, she was able to make it into something else entirely. Keep on reading to see the pretty remarkable transformation… This might just qualify for a hack and a half. Using the IKEA BESTA as a base, Suzanne custom created a DIY tufted banquette that’s sophisticated and stylish (and offers extra hidden storage as a bonus).

Don’t throw out your faded or stained napkins, rugs, or quilts just yet—give them a new lease on life by overdyeing them. Here’s how it works: Mix up a big batch of dye, then dunk old textiles to camouflage stains and brighten faded fabrics. Roll up your sleeves, grab the biggest plastic bin you can find, and get ready to turn outdated items into colorful, modern pieces. What is overdyeing? Just as the name suggests, overdyeing is the process of dyeing over already-dyed fabric.

In small studios, it’s common to hide or disguise a bed to save space. Stanley Lewis took another route. Instead of masking it, he opted to make it the centerpiece of his 500-square-foot studio. Rather than tucking it in the corner, he chose to celebrate it and make it the highlight of the room. There’s no expensive custom bed frame or headboard here, though. Most impressively, he did it all with just a mattress, a box spring, and fabric!

Let’s talk tapestries. They’re the perfect solution for that big empty wall, for helping sound proof thin walls, for replacing headboards when headboards aren’t an option, and they’re typically pretty renter-friendly art. Most can be hung with a simple dowel rod and a nail or two. Maybe you just inherited a piece from your grandmother, or stumbled upon a brilliantly patterned textile at the flea market, or maybe you made your own wall hanging.

Crafting trends ebb and flow just like decor trends come and go, and at the moment, embroidery is enjoying its time in the spotlight—and showing up on everything from jean jackets to tennis rackets. Whether you choose to pick up a needle and thread, or prefer to admire these beauties from afar, we’ve pulled together a sampler of Instagram accounts offering endless stitch-spiration.

Keep things au naturale with this easy tutorial.

When Cristin and her husband found this dresser on the curb in their neighborhood, it quickly became apparent why no one had grabbed it first: it’s huge, heavy, and covered in dated white veneer. But with a little vision and a ton of Mod Podge, this beast became a buffet. From Cristin: Last summer, while hosting a garage sale at my house, my husband came home from work and told me there was a buffet table out to the road in our neighborhood.

Michael found a vintage Steelcase bench from the 60s and decided to replace the ripped vinyl upholsery — with Missoni! Michael chose a thoughtful mix of Missoni Kew and Missoni Claremont to totally transform and update the steel bench.Missoni upholstery-weight fabric is not cheap — but it elevated the bench to great heights!After purchasing the Missoni textiles from Amara, Michael hired a local upholsterer to do the magic.