Before & After -- Bringing a B. Kliban Pillowcase Back to Life
Remember this grubby vintage B. Kliban pillowcase that I plucked from the Goodwill bins last week? This photo does not do justice to how gross it was.
I soaked it overnight with a half scoop of Costco knockoff Oxyclean and then ran it through the wash. Lastly I hung it on the clothesline to get out the last bit of discolor with old fashioned UV rays, which completed its de-yuckifying transformation.
I should've taken a photo of the brown water that I poured out of this basin. It was like mop water.
I still needed to address the undone hem, which is an easy enough task, even though it took a bit of time. Would've been faster by machine, but A) I don't actually own a sewing machine; and B) I like the look of a hand sewn hem and I'm a decent hand sewer.
Here it is after I did a running stitch around the top.
This is what the inside looked like after completing the hem.
And here she is as a fresh clean and hemmed pillowcase.
This may seem like a lot of work to bring a single pillowcase back to life and I wouldn't disagree with you. It was. However, the task was enjoyable and this is a vintage item that's no longer manufactured and let's face it . . . also super cute!
I spent approximately 25¢ on the pillowcase, 10¢ on the Oxyclean and currently have it up on eBay for $18. I enjoyed the project and there's something so very satisfying when you bring something back to life and save it from the landfill.
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
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Now your turn, what frugal things have you been up to?
Katy Wolk-Stanley
"Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without."
Click HERE to follow The Non-Consumer Advocate on Instagram.
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This blog post includes an eBay referral link.
I have rescued cashmere and wool sweaters from thrift stores when they cost 1-2 euros but are pilled and/or stained. I wash them and use my “depiller” and then sell them on FB MP. I use the funds to offset the cost of buying second hand clothes to cut them up for making camouflage nets for the Ukrainian Army. There are volunteers who weave the nets and I help them by providing materials to them.
Mais-Liisa, I love hearing about the materials you're providing for the camouflage nets in support of the Ukrainian Army. Well done!
Hello, Mais-Liisa! Good for you on your support of the Ukrainian Army. (And would you mind telling us what country you're in? From the reference to euros, it seems to be an EU member nation, rather than Ukraine itself.)
Hello, A.Marie and thank you for your supportI live in Estonia, a tiny country in northeastern Europe and a member of the European Union. We have a long history of Russian and Soviet occupation, so the support to Ukraine is very wide in the whole society.
PS I am a longtime reader of the NCA and Frugal Girl blogs and I especially enjoy the creative titles of your FFT posts
Mais-Liisa,
Bless you for helping the Ukrainian heroes! I pray for them and hope they can win the war. And get every inch of territory back from the Russians!
Thank you for the blessing and your support to Ukraine! We are rooting for their win because we ourselves remember the Soviet occupation. I myself was 10 years old when we regained our independence.
That is so cool and creative how you are helping fund the camouflage nets for the Ukrainian army! Keep going! I am continuing to pray for Ukraine that they will win the war and it can be ended soon.
I LOVE this! I also rescue good quality fabrics with holes and stains and make other things. At our house, we stand with Ukraine!
Hand-sewing is such a satisfying activity when it returns an item to a useful life. And, man, you could do testimonials for Costco about how ell the cleaner works.
I have been looking for a banned books t-shirt to wear to meetings of the banned book club and finally found one on eBay for only $5 and free shipping. The seller provided a size but no measurements, so I looked up the brand and determined it probably will fit. If not, my trick for too small t-shirts with cute art is to trim off the graphic with a good hem allowance around it, iron down the hem, and machine sew the panel to the front of a right-size plain shirt in a matching color. Started doing this when several people gave my son really cool shirts that were too small.
Having a more month than money May, so I stayed home, made a pot of homemade soup, organized the freezer, and straightened up the pantry.
Katy, you're more than a decent hand sewer. Your stitches look great.
Today I learned that Costco has a knockoff Oxiclean! Thank you!
There’s nothing excitingly frugal going on in my life today, other than planning a meatless dinner.
Also, I’m somewhat satisfied to see the media reporting that inflation is real. It’s frustrating to see prices going up, but hear the
orange oafpresident report otherwise.Li, I bet the orange oaf has never been grocery shopping in his entire life. What would he know about inflation, prices, or anything else?
Remember he doesn't care about the finances of others.
Yes, he actually stated it although those of us with eyes and ears already knew it. He has absolutely no shame. Maybe the orange dye is seeping into his brain.
Oo I'm excited to see if this one sells! It came out looking so fresh and clean. Nice job.
Washing soda is effective for brightening and removing oily stains. 2 Tbsp in a gallon of hot water. Soak for 30 minutes. I just treated an oil stained parka, then gave it a once over with a rub of laundry soap bar. rinse and renewed.
I love that you saved the pillowcase. It shows respect to bring items back to a useable state.
How satisfying to bring something back to life! The pillowcase looks great! I remember B. Kliban! Seventies era?
I haven't done anything like that today. I did go to PT and managed to find a free parking place, which wasn't easy. It involved a bit of a walk, which is just what my doctor wants me doing.
I didn't take the train because I had another errand. After my session I went to the branch library to pick up a book on hold. It is one recommended here -- All But My Life. I won't start reading it, however, until I finish the book I got from a little free library -- Girl in the Rearview Mirror.
Then I came home and took a nap. Ah, retirement!
First, Katy, I applaud both the restoration effort (wow!) and the fact that it involved B. Kliban. To my mother's delight, my sibs and I all took to calling her "Momcat" in her later years, in honor of another Kliban cartoon with that title.
Now, FFT, An Ethical Gray Area? Edition (simulcast here and at The Frugal Girl):
(1) I've been raking in Ollie's Army coupons left and right lately. In part, this is because I've made two relatively big-ticket purchases (two Vornado fans to use on the rare rainy occasions when I get water intrusion in the basement, replacing various motley rental property fans)--but it's also in part because I have two Ollie's Army accounts. After DH died, I opened an account in my own name and then tried to close his. But the staff and I ran into a bureaucratic snafu with this, so I just threw up my hands and kept DH's account. Ethical gray area? At any rate, I feel no need for any warehouse club membership with this arrangement. (There's no Sam's near me any more; our only Costco is on the other side of the county; and BJ's and I had a disagreement several years ago.)
(2) As soon as the Second Ice Age ends here (enough with the frost warnings already in mid-May!), I'll be moving my zinnia and mini basil seedlings out to my mini greenhouse, where my kales and the two thyme plants I bought at the Regional Market on Saturday have already been toughing it out.
(3) One of my two Sunday morning walking buddies has a mid-May birthday, and the other buddy and her husband will be hosting us to brunch next Sunday. I'm giving the birthday girl a never-used terra cotta tagine pot I found at the SA a while back, and will be giving both buddies some of my mini basil seedlings, which do nicely in containers/flowerpots.
(4) Frugal fail: My local squirrels have evidently lost their sensitivity to the Ollie's crushed red pepper I mix in with my birdseed, and they are making nuisances of themselves. I tried coating the feeder poles with Vaseline (of which I have a large supply, also from DH's rental properties), but this only worked for about half a day. So the feeders will be coming down for the summer as soon as bird spring migration is over. And I've told the squirrels I'm looking up some of the squirrel recipes in Mom's 1943 wedding present Joy of Cooking. 😛
(5) But I'm planning a good time this Saturday: I'll be going out to a local nature center's annual native plant sale, and then stopping by a Presbyterian church's chicken BBQ (my first of the season!) on my way home. As I've noted in prior years, I adore Upstate NY's charity chicken BBQs, which use a recipe developed at Cornell.
Cool pillowcase rescue. I find hand stitching relaxing.
An audio book, my hexi quilt, a sunny spot and I am in my happy place.
Love to eat them mousies...
Mousies what I love to eat!
Bite they little heads off,
Nibble on they tiny feet!
-Kliban
The only poem I've ever memorized.
Ha!
Do you play the guitar as well?
OMG that's hilarious! How fun that you remember that little poem. 🙂
Zoe, that poem brings back memories of a co-worker who loved Kliban cats! When we were young with odd senses of humor!
So funny (though I do think mice anywhere but in my house) are so cute!
I had a Kliban beach towel with that "poem"/song on it!
My mom used to say/recite this, and I didn't know what it was from! Good memories, thank you.
Thanks for reminding me of the poem that I knew when I got my sheets.
1. Took an old coffeemaker from the garage (something left behind years ago by former Roommate From Hell, who steadfastly refuses to come get her stuff) and donated it to Goodwill. I figure it's not wrong if I give her stuff to charity; she's been asked/told/begged numerous times to come get it all. Asked for, and was given a 20% off coupon. Since she owes me back rent, I figure the money I save with the coupon can go towards the many hundreds of dollars she owes me. I'm tired of being her free storage garage.
2. Today is Senior Day at Goodwill. Went shopping. Did not need the coupon, which I'm saving for another day. Need some more slacks. Eureka! Found my favorite brand of slacks (Alfred Dunner) in my size and in a color, bright turquoise blue, that I wear often. It looked, and probably was, brand new. Didn't even need to try it on bc I know it fits. (Yes, I later tried it on at home. Perfect fit!) Bought 2 other small items. With my discount, everything was $10.
3. Mr. Snuggley Wuggley Dog was overdue for annual rabies shot. Our old vet charges way too much. Called around for prices and was able to get a better deal at another vet clinic. (Although IMO it was still too doggone high, even with samples of heartworm preventative, because I got him everything else he needs to be healthy. But it was about 50 to 100 bucks cheaper than the old place.) Snuggy now weighs a bit over 61 pounds. But he was a good boy and absolutely charmed his new vet.
4. I also got Snugs a new reflective collar (Walmart) and ID tag that has my new phone number on it. Grabbed a free sample dog biscuit from the pet store where the tag was printed.
5. Reading my library books out on the covered patio in the evening when it gets cooler. I'm about to finish Dirty Thirty in the Stephanie Plum series; also have #31 to read. While I read, Snuggles sits nearby in the grass chomping on his bone. Total contentment on both our parts!
Re: your #1, Lisa, here's a story that was told to DH by a fellow party-school-university-area landlord: There was this one kid that just wouldn't come get his stuff...for quite some time. Finally, the landlord tossed it. Months later, the kid came back: "What about my stuff?" The landlord said, "I put it in storage." The kid said, "Oh, good! Where is it?" The landlord replied, "Seneca Landfill."
LOL!!! I'm cracking up over here in your neighbor state of Massachusetts!!!
That is a very cute pillowcase. I'm glad it's going back into circulation.
That pillowcase IS super cute!!! Totally worth the effort!
Cute pillowcase. You also hem much better than me! My hemming looks like a toddler did it. So are my eating habits, Que the pbj sandwich….. lol
Very cute! Someone will see that and want it for their pillow. Plus, like you said, it's not languishing in a landfill.
I had that pillowcase and matching twin-size sheets back in the day! I would guess the set was donated after I grew up, although I might have still had them when I got my first apartment. Lol. I was a HUGE Kliban fan. Thank you for rescuing this!
My mom had some remnants with this kitty on them and she made me a tote (with red handles) out of the remnants. I didn't know this pattern is no longer in production....makes me appreciate by tote even more.
Pillow case came out so cute. I enjoy hand sewing too.
Does the dollar store knock-off Oxy compare well to the Costco one?
Katy, your hand stitching is fantastic! Love the transformation. I really enjoy your ebay endeavors.
My Mom got me a set of those sheets when I was in high school. They were my Christmas gift. What a great memory, thanks.