Vintage Tablecloth Makeover

I created this project in July 2023 as part of my time as an Aurifil Artisan, and it was featured as a guest post on the Auribuzz blog in December 2023. While it didn’t receive as much attention as I had hoped, I felt it was important to share it here on my own blog as well. This project is close to my heart because it highlights the art of upcycling, which has become an essential part of my quilting journey and holds great significance for me.

I intentionally picked an upcycling project for my first Aurifl Artisan Challenge, as it is always very satisfying to re-imagine old textiles and transform them into something new that can be both used and enjoyed again. Here, in Finland, upcycling is a life style rather than just a trend.

This challenge is all about using threads from the Artisan Welcome package. It was really hard to restrict myself just to a few colors, since I simply wanted to use all of them. Moreover, it was not easy to settle on a project as my head was buzzing with ideas - not until I found a vintage linen tablecloth at the Recycling Centre. I thought it would make a perfect background to showcase those beautiful threads. Therefore I decided to try something new and went with the heavier weights of Aurifil thread, since I haven´t used 12 wt or Lana 12 (wool) for machine stitching before. I would like to share my experience with you, because knowing how to use Aurifil thread correctly is crucial for success.

That linen tablecloth was sent to the Recycling Centre for a reason.

It has a discolored spot. Even though I love natural linen, I must admit the tablecloth looks boring, as it lacks color.

I decided to start with decorative stitching and picked the following inspirational palette from the welcome package:

Aurifil Lana 12 color 8431 Pink gardenia

Aurifil 12 wt color 2000 Light sand

Aurifil 12 wt color 2510 Light lilac

Aurifil 28 wt color 2880 Pale green

When I looked at those pastel colors, they reminded me of spring and tulips. Therefore I was convinced that what this tablecloth needed was a circular flower wreath in the center. Since my machine embroidery skills need some practice, I drew a simplified version of a tulip that can be made using regular machine stitching rather then embroidery. To transfer the design on the tablecloth I needed a template. So I traced the outline of the flower on a plastic sleeve for paper and cut it out with scissors.

Then I marked a 28" circle in the centre of the tablecloth and traced eight "tulips" with a water erasable marker. All flowers were positioned on the circle but faced different directions, since I think that variety always adds interest.

I didn´t use any stabilizer or embroidery hoop since the linen was quite heavy and my sewing machine Pfaff Quilt Expression 720 has an IDT system (integrated dual feed technology). This means that it feeds the fabric precisely (equally from the top and bottom ((on a standard sewing machine the feed is from the bottom only)). If you have a standard sewing machine I recommend using Sulky Solvy water soluble stabilizer (dissolved in water and brushed into the area you will be stitching on).

I started with Aurifil Lana (50% wool / 50% acrylic) 12wt as top thread. I used Aurifil 40/3 color 4670 in the bobbin as it blends perfectly with linen. Top stitch Titanium needle 90/14. Since the thread is very heavy I deceased top tension from 4.6 to 3.2. I used standard presser foot and regular stitch length 2.5.

This is not a free hand machine embroidery but regular stitching with feed dogs engaged using simple straight stitch. In the photo below you can see how I stitched the flower. I outlined the flower first, then stitched the lines inside the flower. Starting at the bottom of the flower, I stitched on the traced line. Once I got to the end of the line, I turned the fabric 180 degrees and stitched back on the same line to the center (1). I stitched the same way on the other half (2), and then filled the lines inside the flower, always stitching twice on the same line in the opposite directions. You can watch a video here.

The heavy weight thread gives a fantastic visual impact. As you can see from Photo 6 I ventured a bit outside the straight lines, as it makes that simple stitching stand out and brings in some additional movement. I stitched every other flower (4 in total) in Pink Gardenia Aurifil Lana.

The remaining four flowers I thread painted with Aurifil 12 wt. I used the same settings, needle and bottom thread, except the top tension was 3.4. First, I stitched lines with Light lilac thread and then filled them in with Light sand.

When it was time to stitch the stem I realized that the Pale green 28wt thread was too pale. My sewing machine has 2 spool pins and I had a crazy idea to mix two shades of green to get the right color. So I threaded the machine with 2 threads (Aurifil 28 wt color 2880 Pale green and Aurifil 50wt color 5019 Military green).

As you can see from the photo below, the 50wt doesn´t show much but adds the perfect hue.

This is how the tablecloth looked once the flowers were completed. I sprayed water to remove the marks and ironed the damp linen slightly pulling on the stitching to make it lay flat.

Yet, I still felt like something was missing...

Therefore, in a moment of pure experimentation, I took a box of Tilda hexagons and immediately realized that they were exactly what was needed.

1" hexagons from Tilda Maple Farm collection and 1/2" low volume hexagons brought the flower wreath together beautifully. I thread basted some additional hexies and used Aurifil 50wt color 2615 Aluminum to applique them on the linen. This linen is heavy and the tablecloths are also washed frequently; thus the heavier weight of the thread than the one I always use (80 wt) seemed appropriate. Even though the thread color looks lighter than the color of linen it worked perfectly.

Here is the finished tablecloth in all its glory photographed in the beautiful locations in Helsinki: the Seurasaari Open-Air Museum and Cafe Adjutant in Tamminiemi.

I am very happy with the transformation this vintage tablecloth has undergone. I hope you enjoyed watching the process and learnt something new along the way. Perhaps it even inspired you to upcycle something and add a dash of color with Aurifil thread and this easy technique.

Happy Stitching!

P.S. Thank you, Aurifil! Your beautiful thread pushed me out of my comfort zone and made me try new things!