A Large Vintage Sheet Quilt and my Best Tip for Buying Vintage Sheets

(Please note that affiliate links have been used in this post.)

You may have read before on here that I don’t take too many custom orders. I think I could easily get wrapped up in running a quilting business and a blog, and some days I think I want to call this my part time job. I think I want to pour more time into sewing and blogging. In reality, though, my sewing and blogging is best a hobby. Despite what I think, I know reserving my sewing and blogging for nap times and rainy movie-watching days is best.

My kids are young and some days are long, but I hear from those who’ve gone before me that this time in life will fly by faster than I could ever imagine. My three boys are as sweet as they could be, and there is nothing better in life than pouring my heart (and often tears) into encouraging and shaping their little hearts.

All that to say…I accepted a custom order last month. 🙂 And a big custom order this one was with a finished 70 inch by 70 inch quilt.

I’m so glad I accepted this order. I absolutely love the way this quilt meshes together with a mix of mismatched vintage sheets. I mentioned it before, but my custom orders are all about timing. I had just finished my son’s economy block quilt, and sewing with simple five inch squares was much needed. It was relaxing for me, and a good break before diving back into my Dresden plate quilt. My kind customer requested a custom at just the right time.

This may be my fourth or fifth quilt made of vintage sheets, and I think I’ve narrowed down my best tip for you:

Don’t settle for anything less than vintage sheets in EXCELLENT condition.

I can easily admit that for a year, I’d come home with a vintage sheet from Salvation Army almost every time I went. I was so excited to find one hanging on a rack. It didn’t matter what kind of condition it was in because I was so excited just to find one.

On my journey of learning to sew with vintage sheets, I’ve definitely grown much more picky about what ones I bring home.

The bright florals and colors are what make this quilt beautiful to me! The patchwork is very simple and very basic. I used only beginner skills to make this quilt, but I love it because of the patterns. If I hadn’t bought these sheets in great condition, I couldn’t say I loved the bright colors and florals. Often used sheets are dull and faded, and while I have plenty of those in my stash, I’ve learned now to only bring home the bright ones when digging around for them.

Oh goodness, can you beat a scrappy backing?

I listed off a couple backing options for the kind lady who requested this quilt, and you can be sure I was excited when she chose to have the backing made out of the scraps left over from the front.

In an effort to use up some of my stash, this scrappy backing was the perfect way to use up the last of some of my sheets. (Even though that meant I am officially out of that gorgeous pink daisy print.)

In case you are wondering about the dimensions on this quilt, I cut 5 1/2 inch squares. I cut 196 of them. The quilt is 14 squares across and 14 squares down for a square 70 inch by 70 inch quilt.

If you care to know how I basted this large quilt, you can read through this post on basting.

There’s history in these quilts. Many of us remember sleeping on sheets like this as kids. They make us think of our grandma’s house. There may even be some sheets like this in your grandma’s linen closet.

I have to say it was a bit hard seeing this one go. I love the prints, and these were some of my favorite sheets. The only thing that made it easier was my husband telling me this one was a tad too bright for his tastes.

I listed below all the other posts I’ve written about something or other pertaining to vintage sheets or other vintage inspiration.

1. Sewing with Vintage Sheets and a Few Tips I Learned Along the Way. This is a generic post with lots of great information on sewing with sheets instead of quilting fabric.

2. How to Sew with Vintage Sheets. This post is a sequel to the one mentioned above. I learned some more after sewing a third vintage sheet quilt!

3. A Finished Quilt Made from Vintage Sheets. If you need some inspiration to cut your sheets and sew them back together again, you may enjoying browsing these photos.

4. The Story of my very own Vintage Chalkboard. Are you a vintage hunter and sometimes find the best things? You may be able to relate to our story.

5. Where am I currently Finding Vintage Sheets? This is a post listing off a few of my favorite resources for bringing home vintage sheets in excellent condition.

Follow along on my Vintage Sheet Pinterest board for some other great inspiration!

Ask away if you have any questions or leave some insight you may have for sewing and hunting for vintage sheets. If you really like this scrappy combination, I have a quilted pillow cover listed in my Etsy Shop that’s just like this quilt.