Making Myself a Damask Blanket (and Pillows!)

My basement studio is always cold even when it is 60 degrees in February, so I decided it was high time to put some upholstery weight thrift fabrics to good use as sophisticated blanket.

The $4 half off red roll seen in my Mini Thrift Haul video became the backing to its fellow $7 Goodwill Waverly Country House Toile. This black and cream damask remnant is only about 2 yards, but it is discontinued with online resales going between $10 to $50 a yard! These are heavy fabrics that don't need further interior batting or stuffing, but I treated the material as one giant pillow, laying out the damask and cutting the red to match between multiple gentle ironings. For even more lux formality, I decided to use some $4 clearance red braid piping from my stash, basting it onto the toile before going through with a tighter running back stitch. The toile and red were then laid again with the two front sides facing together, pinned, and basted. I debated using my sewing machine, but it was easier to control the thicker sewing along the piping by hand with the magical invisible thread last used in my Mother Christmas Costume. The first round of slightly larger, not basting but neater invisible stitching was great, however the finite, running back stitch along the braiding took longer than I expected – a week rather than a weekend. The faint stripe in the red fabric was a nice guide, and I kept thinking to myself, “little by little one travels far,” but one millimeter at a time is a long journey!

After turning the right sides out and pressing flat again, the invisible seam on the bottom was a much faster finish, so I spent a few days making a farmhouse print pillow for my sister and upcycling a black and white tie dye dress. This was a 15 year old threadbare gift from my mother from Marshalls, so I cut out the cool tie dye design, sewed, stuffed, fin. This big tie dye pillow is great for when I sit closer to my desk during podcasts, and the blanket is big enough to wrap around me in my fancy orange chair. Sometimes, it even gets too hot! Neither may be quite perfectly square, however for a sophisticated throw made of thrift and clearance, who cares. I couldn't buy this kind of sumptuous for $15– maybe more like $150! The damask and tie dye also may not actually match, but for freebies and second hand fabrics, you do you, and I am cheap, but pampered and toasty.

(It's tough taking photos of a blanket that don't look ~messy~!)

For more project photos, visit Kbatz Krafts on Facebook and Instagram! 

More Pillows and Thrifting:

Sewing on a Budget for Search Magazine

Memento Mori Sewing

Halloween T-Shirt Pillows