Hungarian vintage linen and hemp

We have just sourced a number of long vintage linen rolls with blue stripes. All hand woven in the 1920s-1940s on narrow home looms. The second roll down is probably Slovakian and has very unsual silver grey and some brown threads making for an interesting and unusual overall effect. We have 30+ metres of this one and have been lucky to source such an unusual fabric in such a long roll, this one is heavy and close woven and would be super for upholstery.

Some of this blue striped linen has an antique French look about it , being very similar to antique French linen which is now very difficult to find in decent quantities. This blue striped vintage linen is always popular in Sweden and looks good with painted white and grey furniture.

Grain sack upholstery

These two images are from the October issue of The World of Interiors in a feature Anna Wintours Long Island Home. The chairs upholstered in Grain Sack fabric are good example of how a mixture of fabric can be use to good effect

Choosing vintage fabrics (2)

These images show a mixture of vintage linen rolls, grain sacks, mattress covers and cart covers.

The linens pictured above were all hand woven in Hungary.

These toffee and caramel stripes were not as commonly woven as the red or blue stripes and as shown were sometimes woven with pinkish red or blue. They usually have a very light sand or cream ( rather than grey or stone stones) backgrounds and often mix and match well.

Cart covers and rolls can be used to upholster large pieces and mattress covers for chairs. Sacks can be used to make cushions, the red and caramel striped sack in the picture above is 150 cm long and could be used to make 3 small cushions.

For upholstery fabrics with close weave are more hard wearing. Generally thes fabric are very strong and hard wearing.

Choosing vintage fabrics (part1)

It is sometimes difficult when choosing fabrics online to get a clear idea of the subtleties of weave, weight and tone. This can be especially tricky when considering which fabrics complement each other and/or colour schemes.

Most of our antique and vintage linen has either a stone/oatmeal or cream/wheat coloured base. We try our best to accurately describe tones. When choosing fabrics to be used together the background tone is probably the most important consideration and going for either the grey/stone/ porridge tones or the wheat/cream/yellow tones is a good starting point

Mixing striped linen with plain often works well and for larger projects using any combination of grain sacks, cart covers, mattress covers, sacks and sheets with the same tones can produce stunning results.

Over the next few weeks we will be presenting examples of combinations of vintage linen which could be used for interior projects. We will also be suggesting complementary Farrow and Ball paint colours as we aware that like us many of our customers use Farrow and Ball.

(Farrow and Ball is an English company producing environmentally friendly paints with a fantastic range of neutral (and other) colours. They go particularly well with our vintage fabrics.

Chelsea Flower show

Parna vintage linen will be feautured on the Hartley Botanic stand at the Chelsea Flower show. Vintage linen and hemp is fantastic for upholstery and soft furnishings and blends well with both contemporary and antique textiles and interiors. Parna was asked to supply fabric to upholster a small chair and for curtains which will feature on the stand.

Hartley Botanic, in association with their media partners, Period Living, have worked with Philip Hooper, of Sibyl Colefax & John Fowler, to create an integrated garden and interior, planned to appeal to gardeners and decorators alike. Internally, the main glasshouse reflects a loose interpretation of late eighteenth century style, with a nod to the gothic and Mughal architecture and decoration so popular the time, to tie in with the external theme.

The horticultural theme is inspired by the bi-centenary of Thomas Andrew Knight, a fruit grower and gentleman botanist, who moved to Elton Hall in Cambridgeshire, (rebuilt in romantic gothic style about 1760), when he married in 1791. (information courtersy of Hartley Botanic)