Last few years I've kept an eye out for modern or mcm patterned blankets/quilts...little success.
With the colder weather setting in... Would like to expand my hunt even more. Ideally very warm, utilizing natural materials, non-throw body length and superiorly made for everyday use. Any suggestions?
A nice option robert. I...
A nice option robert. I need something with more loft. Comforter seems overkill...but might be an option. There is a local quilting club/store. Maybe I'll just make one if I get free time...an oppurtunity to work on my flirting skills with the silver haired ladies.
make your own
If you are interested in making your own, I would recommend the book, "Make your own Contemporary Quilts" and also patterns by Denyse Schmidt, she has a book too, just Google her name. Her work is also available for purchase, see link below.
I love contemporary quilts and think they add a very homey touch to MCM interiors.
http://www.dsquilts.com/
Details
WoofWoof,
Are you looking for something to use as a bedspread that will be part of your bedroom decor, or a blanket to put on the bed underneath the bedspread that doesn't show?
Or, are you looking for something to fold over the end of the couch?
I'm looking for a bedspread right now myself and I have been to every "big box" retailer around and can't find anything I like. I'm thinking of going to a fabric store and then sewing a duvet cover myself.
I want to avoid getting...
I want to avoid getting homey Dorieg, at least keep it to a minimum. The book will be reviewed...appreciate it.
Riki explained it succictly Robert. I like waking early, opening the windows letting the morning chill in (Fall/Spring). Then grabbing a book and read on the floor while coffee is brewing. Getting the coffee and coming back to a warm blanket. Same in the winter with shut windows.
Best best I suppose is the comforter. Big box stores haven't been much help either. Quality and materials can leave more to desire. Appearance could be better, and dare I say...can be too feminie or boring. Will tackle some more stores, and see what I can dredge up. Might take a while.
Matelassé
Check out matelassé bedcoverings. Matelassé is a woven texture that looks like very fine quilting. Many of them have traditional floral designs but more and more companies are coming out with geometric or otherwise plain patterns. Colors are usually pastels or neutrals and the fiber content is almost always all cotton.
We have one that is just a grid of small squares. It looks very crisp and clean.
They don't have any loft but can be used as a spread over a comforter.
The Company Store has a bunch of them in non-traditional patterns, including one really nice bamboo design that also has bamboo in the fiber content. They have some nice patchwork quilts, too. Their photos show them in color-coordinated rooms that I don't like but take away the matchy-matchy stuff and I think they will look very good.
Even better is GarnetHill.com . They've been selling better quality natural fiber bed linens for many years and always have a nice selection of modern quilts and coverlets. I've gotten stuff from them and have been really pleased with the quality.
Linensource.com has a few nice things but you have to wade through a lot of traditional crap to find it. Their prices are good.
The first two photos are of Garnet Hill items and the third is of the mattelase cover that I got from linensource.com (Deco Squares).
http://www.thecompanystore.com/dept/Quilts+Bed+Covers/3200/
IKEA
IKEA has some nice designs but I find their fabrics to be cheap quality and the color tends to fade pretty quickly with washing. They also come out of the dryer more wrinkled than better quality bedding.
I say this as a longtime fan of IKEA, too. I just don't think their bedding is worth buying.
Actually, Spanky, I'd disagree...
IKEA has great bedding if you have had any education on how to pick fabric. They use a less thread-count poorer quality cotton on their 'fad-ish' prints. If you opt for a solid color, look for a higher thread count, and check the 'hand' of the fabric, you can do quite well. I have some IKEA duvet sets that are still going strong after 7 or so years of frequent use. However, you have to expect wrinkles out of pure cotton if you use a dryer instead of a clothes line, that's just the nature of the beast. I hang mine when I can and pull them out damp and put on a rack when the weather isn't cooperating. I get my color from pillows and a throw at the end of the bed. I must admit I make most of those myself, but pillows are easy to do. I pick up fabrics that I like no matter what they are or where I find them and then just turn them into pillows, etc. Table runners look really nice across the end of a bed. In fact this thread is oddly timely as I am sewing a new batch of pillows right now from some napkins I got at Crate and Barrel.
However if a modernist print is something you crave there are companies out there for you, WooWoof. Be prepared to put a hurt on your wallet. Here's the places I've turned up over the years:
Crate and Barrel, occasionally they have wonderful prints
IKEA, just be choosy on what you select
Dwell Studio (.com), not connected to the magazine, you can get at Target!
Pillowsandthrows.com some nice modern mixed with the trad.
Designpublic.com good deals on closeouts
http://site.inmod.com Design your own! Expensive, but way cool!
Good Luck!
fabric quality
Olive, IKEA very well may have a few worthwhile textiles. I know whereof I speak on what I've seen in the store and bought to use at home. I am 53 and have been a fabric maven since childhood. I have sewn all my life, have made quilts for beds and to hang on walls (some of which have been published in books and magazines, including FiberArt Design Book IV and V). I drive myself nuts on a regular basis trying to find sheets and blankets and other linens in patterns and colors I like that are high quality and affordable, and that have natural fiber content.
I got that big colorblock set of bed linens that IKEA offered a few years back---greens/blues/purple. It's made of cheap cotton and with no resins. It faded in the wash almost from the first laundering. Same with towels from the same line in the red/orange colorway. I also just got a duvet cover made for kids, the one with printed numbers all over it that came with a solid green sheet. It's cheap quality stuff that came out quite wrinkled from the dryer but I plan to make the print fabric into a quilt for my little grandson (quilting around the numbers) so that won't matter so much.
IKEA's solid color linens may be decent quality but good bed linens in solid colors are widely available. It's the modern style prints that are hard to find, and though I like a lot of IKEA's prints, I would like them a lot more if the fabric quality was better.
As for the wrinkle factor, yes, cotton does crease easily. But most cotton sheets are treated with resins to make them resist wrinkling. This does cut down very slightly on their absorbancy and/or ability to breathe, but for me the advantages outweigh the disadvantages. I find resin-treated cotton sheets infinitely more comfortable than a 50/50 cotton-poly blend. When I win the lottery and have a fulltime housekeeper, I'll switch to untreated cotton sheets! yeah!
Yeah, I'm a 'fabric maven too...
My mother, is 5'10" and my dad is 6'4". My mom wisely decided her daughters would learn to sew since they were going to have a heck of a time finding long enough pants. That used to be true,(I'm 6'0") but, thankfully not any longer.
However, sewing is a handy skill, I made my own wedding dress and my sister's bridemaid dress and saved a big bundle of cash. ($250 versus more than $2000 back in 1991!) Now-a-days I mostly do upholstery and bedding, etc. Quilting makes me insane, too fussy for me. I know what you mean about those particular linens from IKEA, though. My sister bought them for her kids and they crapped out pretty quickly. What I like about IKEA's solid color stuff is the fact that I can get a king duvet set for about $60, which is hard to beat. And I never do printed linens anyway. But some of those other places I listed above have great prints, for not completely insane prices.
As for treated cotton, nope nuh-uh not for me. Give me natural, even organic is I can get it. I don't want to spend 1/3 of my life sleeping on substances that are of questionable safety for my health. A little extra effort hanging the sheets is worth it. And if I fold them neatly they pretty much iron themselves while stacked in the closet. I just add the latest ones to the bottom of the stack....although I do admit to ironing the pillow-cases occassionally...
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