Decorating with Antique & Vintage Linens

Visit The Gatherings, to see all of the beautiful antique and vintage textiles I have ~ antique clothing, hats, accessories, children's clothing, vintage bed and table linens, antique children's toys, vintage sewing notions, quilts and so much more!

Subscribe to The Gatherings Antique Vintage by Email

Have you thought of adding antique & vintage linens to your home decorating style? You don't have to be a collector of antiques to find a pretty little doily that would cozy up to that bed side table to give just the right look. Or the vintage tablecloth with napkins to dazzle your dinner guest.

One of a kind antique and vintage bed or table linens will give your home an inviting distinction setting it apart. Come shop The Gatherings Antique Vintage for all your linen needs. All my items are from the Victorian era to the 1940's with many of them hand made. Other pieces have never been used or only slightly. I am sure you will find many items to fit your home decorating lifestyle.

Thanks for shopping!

The Seamstress Art ~ Early Paper Mache Milliner's Dolls

Visit The Gatherings, to see all of the beautiful antique and vintage textiles I have ~ antique clothing, hats, accessories, children's clothing, vintage bed and table linens, antique children's toys, vintage sewing notions, quilts and so much more!

Subscribe to The Gatherings Antique Vintage by Email

In an earlier blog post I mentioned my trip to Nashville, Tn to the Heart of Country Show this past February. As always it was a fun and enjoyable experience. Not only was I able to buy some exceptionally nice merchandise but I was able to just admire other wonderful pieces. Of course, it is always a learning experience as one never knows what treasure will be around the corner to take your breath away.

It happen with these two very early milliner's dolls. I was completely intrigued by them not that I am a doll collector as I am not. Dolls of this type were made to be dressed in the latest fashions of the period by a fashion designer, most generally from Paris. The dolls were then shipped to many parts of the world including England and the United States giving the client the ability to see the detailed garment in miniature. Still, a seamstress might employ a milliner's doll to create a fashionable garment to show a potential customer. The customer would be able to view the details of the garment plus the skill of the seamstress.

Both of these milliner's dolls were purchased from the same household and date about 1830 - 1840's. How incredible to have been stored away all these years. Both have paper mache heads & shoulder plates with hand painted features. The larger doll has wonderful whispy curls painted on the back of her shoulders. They have kid leather bodies with wooden carved limbs. The limbs are very long & slender including very thin fingers. The flat shoes are painted on. Both dolls are dressed only in underclothes with the smaller one having a pair of petticoats. One a plain fine cotton with guage pleating at the waist and the underslip in a fine print with scallop edge. The larger doll also has a cotton petticoat & long gauze bloomers in a red & white. Of course, all hand stitched.

I just found these dolls so endearing and so much to my liking.

Update ~ Hats Through The Ages Pictorial Review

Visit The Gatherings, to see all of the beautiful antique and vintage textiles I have ~ antique clothing, hats, accessories, children's clothing, vintage bed and table linens, antique children's toys, vintage sewing notions, quilts and so much more!

Subscribe to The Gatherings Antique Vintage by Email

I have just finished updating the "Hats Through The Ages in Pictorial Review" module on my Squidoo Lens by adding photos and descriptions of three great hats. The first, and I know one of my favorites is a lady's brimmed straw from the Edwardian era. A lovely creation in an interesting natural straw accented with stiffened fabric & a floppy fabric flower. Along with and in this same era, a men's black wool felt derby or bowler hat in excellent condition with a Dunlap label. Last but certainly not least is a vintage late 1950's feather hat by Christian Dior Chapeaux label. Wow! What a statement this must have made at the cocktail party! It certainly would have turned heads! So please take a moment to take a peek.

Cleaning of Antique & Vintage Textiles

Visit The Gatherings, to see all of the beautiful antique and vintage textiles I have ~ antique clothing, hats, accessories, children's clothing, vintage bed and table linens, antique children's toys, vintage sewing notions, quilts and so much more!

Subscribe to The Gatherings Antique Vintage by Email

The cleaning of antique & vintage textiles can be a fun and rewarding experience. It can also be a trial & tribulation. In one of my other blog post some time ago I wrote an article on oxidation - what is it and why it appears on our wonderful old treasures of the past.

I have now written an article on cleaning & caring of cotton & linens from gone by ages. If you have questions and need some answers you might like to read my "thoughts & writing page here at my new web site store http://www.the-gatherings-antique-vintage.net. Over the years I have cleaned & cared for many textiles and although everyone does have their favorite methods and remedies for cleaning, removing stains and etc., this is the method I favor. If you have questions please leave me a comment. I would love to hear from you.