French Sheet Slipcovers: Part 2

Ok...on to the details

Over the years, having completed tons upholstery projects 

(which I love to do, in case you hadn't guessed)

I have found the best way to communicate how I want the finished project to look is to give the upholsterer visuals.  

In the case of the couch, in addition to explaining it, I gave them this: 

What I was looking for is a very relaxed slipcover 

with nice details but not too frilly

There are three monograms so I wanted to be sure the seamstress fully understood the placement.  

If they cut up the sheets prematurely with out knowing where the monograms were meant to go

"ouch"

the whole batch of sheets is wasted 

I also washed the sheets twice to be sure they had fully shrunk.  

Linen can shrink big time...so always prewash!

If you are unsure how you want your sofa skirting to look 

here is link to Houzz...there is about 43,000 photos to browse through

And here is a yardage chart to pin or print out if you need
some help knowing how much fabric a project takes

 The best thing about slipcovers is this

My dirty little country girl Millie, likes to rub and ich her back side all down the side of this white couch so you can about imagine the big brown stripe of dirt that appears after a week or so

I wash them and then dry them just  until a bit damp, 

before I pop them back on the couch

Here you can see the embroidered monogram and the cut work along the top of the back

 Every exposed seam got a 1 inch French or flanged welting
This is unusually large but I wanted this to look very hand sewn and loose

 The corners are softly gathered and puddle just a bit.
 I always have my skirting lined so it hangs better.
Now I suppose you could iron these but I really like them this way

 The corners get a little pinched treatment

 Here are the flanged seams along the back which I really love

 One of the monogrammed sheets had a seam and the other did not
 but its all part of the vintage quality of the fabric

you can get so creative with pillows and throws

So there you have it!

Don't forget to stop and see Wendy's lovely fabric 

A bientôt !

Vintage French Sheet Slipcovers: Part 1

This is such a pretty photo of my little living room...taken by the super talented team of
Victoria Pearson and Heather Bullard
for Country Living Magazine

 those are some very old and creaky windows 

on the wall behind the pine bench, so I'm really glad they don't show !

We have some fun and interesting plans in the works for that wall
 ( a new space for dining and entertaining!)

but that's another story

So lets talk about the couch...

 the story with this couch
(why does all of my furniture have a story? too weird)

is that I basically got it for free,

well almost free...

When we bought this house I needed a small couch and 

 I had tons of American Express Rewards points so 

I turned them into Pottery Barn gift cards 

and bought a couch...yep it was quite a few gift cards

Here is the couch in the catalog:

It is called the Greenwich Loveseat

It has a tight back which makes it seem deeper for a small couch

 and

 the lines are clean and simple 

with plenty of room for pillows

I also thought that it would look great slip covered without being too frilly

Because the living room is rather long and narrow,  there are only a few ways to place the furniture
so the back of couch can be seen most of time.

I know that doesn't sound like a big problem but how often do
we really think about how the back of a couch looks?

And what fabric to use for the slip covers?!

Once again I called on my wonderful friend Wendy Lewis

I purchased some wonderful faded floral fabric
very similar to this

my original plan was to slip cover the cushions in the floral and the rest of the couch
in white or cream linen...
but in the end the fabric seemed lightweight and bit too feminine
and maybe not quite strong enough to hold up to
dogs, muddy shoes and coffee stains

So how about thick French Linen sheets?

Perfection!

I purchased 3 really big sheets.
Two with red monograms like this one

and one with a white monogram and ladder cut work like this one 

None of them match 

but the weight is very similar

and they feel old and washed and very antique!

Just what I was looking for...

Next post...

Part 2

getting creative and putting it all together 

Orange Crush

flower garden color crush

Helpful Little Friends

 Scattered throughout our yard are 

lots of buckets and containers for flowers and shrubs

 This cutie hangs on the front porch

 

 I have been seeing these guys hanging around lately...hum?!

Benvenuto: Camisoni Premium Extracts

Today I want to introduce you a really interesting company and a new sponsor! 

Camisoni

This artisinal producer of premium cooking and baking extracts 

dates back to 1876  

where Antinio CamiSoni started selling his then famous extracts 

in the town of PortoFino Italy

 The family has a very long 

History e Tradzione in Italy 

and the product continues to be made just outside of PortoFino 

where it is bottled and shipped  all over the world.

If you go to your neighborhood grocery stor,e most of the extracts sold for baking 

are actually imitation flavors

Camisoni extracts cannot be found in the grocery store and are made much the same way as when Antonio started his company

with passion and attention to detail 

for a superior product....I wish more companies thought this way!

 The products range from the traditional such as Vanilla, Coffee and Almond

to  the more exotic 

 like ginger and pine

you can add the extract to cakes, pies and cookies 

as well as ice cream, brownies and candy...any where you want a more flavorful addition to your recipe

I think the raspberry would be great added to a homemade jam recipe or a fresh fruit cobbler

and I'm definitely going to add some to my granola recipe...probably the almond

Check out their recipes and baking tips 

and interesting facts about Camisoni Premium Extracts

Can't wait to try it and share how I use it in 

some of my favorite recipes

Grazie for stopping by