It is okay to sew vintage sheets with modern quilting cottons?

A hesitation some quilters have when using vintage sheets is wondering what will happen when vintage sheets are sewn with modern quilting cottons. There are a few wonderful customers who tell me they can't cut into their new vintage sheet fat quarter bundle because they are afraid to dive in and start sewing with the vintage sheet blend of 50% cotton 50% polyester. 

I am here to give you a big permission slip to mix those fabrics together with wild abandon! Quilting cottons work beautifully with vintage sheets. I dare say vintage and modern have a way of complimenting each another quilt well.  I will make my case with photos and tips along the way. 

Here's an example of vintage sheets paired with Essex Linen in Taupe. I liked how the neutral background has texture and movement. When sewing with vintage sheets and linen blends I like to shorten my stitch length to ensure a strong seam. 

• Linen available through  Modern Domestic quilt pattern is Sienna Burst by Then Came June.

• Quilt in Essex Linen Charcoal Modern Domestic & Flying Geese Quilt Pattern by Susan Beal in her book Sew + Quilt 

This quilt is a crowd favorite! The dark background of the vintage quilting cotton puts all the attention onto the soft colors of the paper pieced roses. Paper piecing is a great use of vintage sheets and fabric. Similar to when sewing with linen when paper piecing a smaller stitch length is used to ensure those seams stay together when ripping out the paper background at the very end of your project.

• Paper pieced rose pattern on Etsy and vintage sheets and fabrics by Vintage Fabric Studio 

Mixing bright modern cottons with naturally low-volume vintage sheets is a great idea. In this quilt I used high contrast pinks and greens mixed with low-volume vintage sheet prints. Not only was the quilt super soft the mix of styles makes the secondary patterns in the quilt stand out. Low-volume vintage sheets with a white background can be less stable than a colorful background print. If you run into this with your thrifted sheets try using a fusible interfacing like Pellon SF-101 on transparent sheets for extra stability.

• Quit pattern is Nordic Crossing by Coral and Co Patterns

Another way to use vintage and modern together is by choosing modern fabrics that complement the vintage sheets in your next project. For this quilt I pulled a selection of vintage sheet fat quarters with different yellow, purple and aqua hues. Then I went to my stash of modern quilting cottons and pulled prints with similar colors. The mix of simple geometrics and florals in the vintage sheets with the bold and modern designs in the quilting cottons make for a pretty striking finished quilt.

• This example of the Stacked Rows quilt is a first draft in the new Vintage Fabric Studio quilt series Sweet & Easy Quilts. Watch for this quilt and two others to be released later Fall 2021.

A few more general tips for sewing with vintage sheets: 

• I use my rotary cutter and mat just like when cutting out my quilting cottons. 
• Using a spray starch is super helpful.
• Keep the iron setting to warm/cotton. To much heat and the polyester in the vintage sheets will react by melting onto the iron.

I hope this was helpful and you gained confidence about sewing with vintage sheets. If you have any more questions for me about sewing with vintage or you have a tip of your own leave a comment below! 

Happy Vintage Sheet Quilting!

Kelly