Vintage Kitchen Towel Ticking Stripe Fabric

Something draws me to the old ticking striped fabrics ... it could be the softness of the fabric, or the various stripe layouts and colors, or the simpleness of them ... I just love them!

Most of these pieces of fabric that I have acquired are linen, a textile woven from fibers of a flax plant, and measure between 15″ to 17″ selvage to selvage. These narrow fabrics were woven to be used to make kitchen towels or I've seen them used as curtains in pie safes that had wire mesh window openings.

Linen tends to make a good kitchen towel because it is a very strong fabric, highly absorbent, lint free, it resists dirt, and lasts for generations. Linen will also soften on repeated washings.

Linen wrinkles very easily adding to the vintage charm but if you don't like the wrinkles, after delicately washing them in cold water with regular detergent, line/tumble dry them until just damp and then iron.

You can certainly use them in projects to get that soft romantic Vintage Vavoom look as I have done with this basket that sits on the island in my kitchen. I was experimenting with chalkboard paint and created this cute plaque from a silver serving plate that was damaged and spoon angel. I thought it was kind of "bistro romantic" but had no place to hang it in my kitchen. So I found this basket in the basement and decided I could hang the plaque from it. I then used one of the red ticking striped pieced of fabric which layered nicely in the bottom and now my basket becomes a welcome to the kitchen and a fruit basket (or at Halloween time - a treat basket). Works great on the island in the kitchen.