Cotton Lawn or Voile Fabric Friday

31 comments

For Mother's Day one of the gifts my daughters Chelsey and Jamie gave me was this beautiful crinkled cotton scarf from Anthropologie. The scarf has a tiny little pom pom trim on the edges. It is made from cotton lawn fabric, a perfect summer weight scarf. I really like it and I wore it yesterday. We are kind of a scarf wearing family and I've always wanted to make some light-weight scarfs for myself out of cotton.
This close up shows you why this fabric makes a perfect scarf, other than the beautiful colors and prints. It is the same on the front as in the back of the fabric, an essential part of a good scarf.
Lawn fabric, if you are unfamiliar with it, is a sheer cotton high quality fabric. Liberty of London fabric is known for beautiful cotton lawn prints. At $36.00/yard it isn't a fabric most people have on hand in a quantity suitable for making a scarf, nor can we afford that. Here is a Liberty print above that I got from Natalie for a past birthday. It is very vintage looking and a sweet novelty pattern with the feel only a good cotton lawn can provide. But it isn't a print that would be perfect for a scarf since the back is like most fabrics, a faded lighter image of the front side and I only have a bit of it anyway.
The fabric on the left was also another tiny piece of Liberty given to me by Natalie. Both are beautiful and sheer

But the blue print would be excellent for a scarf since it has the same print on the front and back. Too bad I only have a few inches of this one. It really is lovely.
A couple years ago (I think) Moda came out with a line called London Lawn. The line is filled with pretty light prints patterned similar to the Liberty fabric. But it isn't quite as sheer and it definitely does not have a see through front to back quality.
If I used this to make a light-weight scarf I'd have to line it with something very light weight too. Kind of defeating the purpose of a summer scarf.
Here is a print from Bolt 44. It is a lawn-like fabric in a print that would make a fun scarf. But again, same issue as the Moda lawns.I scoured my shelves for some super light weight see through type fabric like a lawn but also known as a cotton voile. Do you remember voile dresses from the 60s? I sure do. I had a really cute pink one with lace trim. Both of these Japanese prints above are what I would consider cotton voile. But I have less than a fat quarter in the one and an odd scrap size in the other. They would really make lovely scarves though I think.
This yellow and gray floral I have just enough of to make a scarf. It is more of a voile weight than lawn. I will have to find some trim and make this into a scarf. I will need to french seam half way into the scarf but since that will hit my neck I'm not too worried about it.
Here is another "off my shelf " fabric. You can see the back side is slightly lighter than the front side but I think I can get away with that. More trim needed and a french seam as well.Here is one of the first non-kitchen prints I purchased of vintage fabric. I've had it for ages. I am sure it is from the 60s. Like the previous fabric it is very slightly lighter on the back side but I've always imagined this as a beautiful scarf, especially since it is a border print. Again, I'll have to french seam this very small quantity of fabric but I do have enough to just barely make it. Finding the right trim for the edges will be important.I think the colors are lovely and the fabric is so light and perfect for a summer scarf to add an accessory to an outfit. I sure wish I had some of that wonderful cotton voile that was on my mother's fabric shelves in the 60's. Oh if 'd have only known! But as a kid I'd never have wanted to make a scarf no less wear one!

-nanette
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31 comments

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

Oh I love to wear a scarf , I use one all winter and in the summer, I do not like the air conditoning blowing on my neck. You have some perfect fabric, I bet I got rid of that type of fabric from my mom because it was not "quilting" fabric. If I had only known!!

Jane's Fabrics and Quilts said...

Oh my goodness, I forgot to say, waht a beautiful gift from the girls!!

Sandy said...

The rose print on the bottom is the prettiest..I'm a scarf person too, but never considered making my own. Tha's something else to add to my list of projects !! I didn't know about Lawn fabric..thanks for explaining..
What lovely gifts..

Trisha said...

It blows my mind, Nanette, that you have new fabric to show every Friday! And they are all amazing!

Abby and Stephanie said...

The things our grandmas and moms had that we NOW wish we had! Beautiful scarf. I have 3 pieces of Liberty of London I bought in London 6 years ago. I've actually used one in a quilt and haven't dared cut into the others yet. Such wonderful quality to the fabric.

Sandi Linn Andersen said...

I love lawn cotton. It is so soft and luxurious. I have a few pieces that I bought on a long ago trip to England and have only used bits for tiny doll clothes. Sometimes, I just like to look at it and feel the fabric and then wonder what I might do with it ..... someday!

Kritta22 said...

I don't understand why fabric companies stop making different fabrics!!

They are all wonderful and should all be made! :)

Mary on Lake Pulaski said...

Thank you for the fabric tour!

Browndirtcottage said...

All your fabrics are lovely!!! I especially LOVE that scarf you got!! Actually, I have never worn a scarf myself, but I have made around 38 of them!!!!

Sherri said...

Thanks for all of the fun info...I'd heard of "cotton lawn" before but didn't understand how it was different from other cottons. Such gorgeous fabrics in your collection...I always ooh and aah over them!

Candace said...

What a fabulous gift, Nanette! And a perfect color for you! Mr. Squash's mother called the pom-poms "boom-ba-letz-ga's"!! Liberty has such incredible stuff! I was fortunate to visit them many years ago in London - totally blown away by the gorgeous fabrics! Cheers!

Jodie said...

Oh Nanette,
That first photo ! I thought it was a pair of trousers with pom-poms on the bottom......
I thought - well Nanette will get noticed in those pants.

Nedra said...

I love scarves too. But now that the heat is getting near to 100 degrees here in St. G I guess they better be put away for a while.

Lurline said...

It's nice to see Daughters spoiling Mum in such a way - I'm sure you look so bright and happy in the beautiful scarf!
Hugs - Lurline♥

Anonymous said...

V. here...
I loved the cotton voile of the 6o's. I can just remember all the underlining of the dresses, which may have defeated the idea but it was needed. V.

Little Lady Patchwork said...

What a great gift! I know that you will get lots of use out of it.

Have a good weekend!

Dawn said...

I always look forward to Fabric Friday!! You have the best collection of fabric!!

Micki said...

I love scarves too! I just got a really pretty one! The fabrics are marvelous!
Micki

Jill said...

Hi, Nanette!! A wonderful "Fabric Friday"-again!! Thanks!!

*karendianne. said...

Always such a lovely show! "...the blue print would be excellent for a scarf..." Oh yes, I totally agree. Wish we had more of that, too!!!

Unknown said...

Liberty lawns are beautiful, aren't they? I adore them.

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Isn't it funny how the older you get - the more you treasure the things from your past!

What sweet girls you have to give you such wonderful gifts. You're a blessed woman!

Rhondi said...

Hi Nanette
What a beautiful gift you got. I love the other fabrics too.
Rhondi

Celia said...

What a lovely post!
Love your fabrics and I have to tell that I have the same Liberty flower fabric but in pink and green instead of that fresh blue! I love yours!!!!!! lol...

Thimbleanna said...

Beautiful fabrics Nanette. It will be fun to see your finished scarf!

Cathi said...

What a glorious scarf!
Your fabrics are, as always, a real treat at which to look!

Eileen said...

This was a fabulous post. Thank you for sharing your knowledge about lawn and voile.. and showing your samples. You really have some NICE large pieces.
Liberty really is wonderful.. but expensive. The only thing I've ever made from it are tiny Hitty dresses.. but it is absolutely perfect for that!

Natalie said...

Hi! sorry, I don't know you and I haven't read your blog before. I was doing a search for pictures of cotton lawn fabric and came across this. What a great blog post! I just wanted to let you know, if you like cotton lawn and you're a scarf person like you said, you might want to check out Spoonflower.com. They just started offering cotton lawn as one of their fabrics, and you can design your own and have it printed to make your own scarves!

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