Sunday, February 20, 2011

The 411 on Laminated Cotton

What is Laminated Cotton? 
It is a hot new fabric--it’s a friendly material that makes fabulous tablecloths and splat mats. Because it’s BPA-free, PVC-free and it's CPSIA compliant and great for family use. Laminated cotton is a thinner and more supple oilcloth that is a high-quality quilting-weight cotton print, coated with a thin layer of polyurethane on the fabric’s right side.


What's it used for?
It's great to use for snack bags, lunch sacks, baby bibs, splat mats, diaper covers, rain coats, purses, shower curtains, placemats, aprons, and  tablecloths. It's water proof, easy to clean and hard wearing so it's great for many applications.
How do I work with it?
Laminated Cotton pretty easy to work with. A regular sewing machine, thread and needle is all that is required. If you have a fancy Teflon or roller foot  handy you'll want to use that for any top stitching, if not just use out tape tip instead. Check out our Tips and Tricks page for more helpful information on working with slick fabrics.

At Oilcloth Addict's Etsy shop you can buy Laminated Cotton in 1/2 yard cuts or by the yard. We are happy to supply you with small samples to help you plan for the big projects!

Check out our post on taking care of you laminated cotton. the care instructions

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Laminated Cotton Pastry Mat

As you may have noticed, I haven't done a tutorial for you all in ages. I've been so busy with my upcoming book, Sewing with Oilcloth, and all my new creative efforts have been a bit top-secret.

But don't fret, I found a really quick project to share. A few weeks ago a customer asked me if oilcloth would be good to use as a pastry mat, my answer is no, not oilcloth but what about laminated cotton

The idea lead me to go back and ask good people at Freespirit and Westminster Fabrics if they had tested their laminated cottons for food safety yet. Well, the answer was yes, it has been tested and it is food safe. What great news is that?? When I asked the same question last May the answer wasn't available, so I was thrilled to get this news. 

CORRECTION:  After having a discussion about the food safe fabrics with another blogger I contacted the good people at Westminter and Freespririt fabrics and asked for tangible proof that laminated cotton is indeed food safe. Unfortunately the company hasn't tested the fabric for "food safety" at this time and makes no claim that the laminated cotton is food safe. They did apologize for any misinformation previously given. 

So let's talk turkey, no one's saying that it's not food safe, it just hasn't been tested. Please know that I strive to give you all the latest news about such things, if I hear more on this issue I'll be sure to give you all the facts.  

Like everything in life, educate yourself and make the best decision for your family.  

The fabric Westiminster company sent me the lab results proving that their laminated cotton is BPA-free.  I'll be contacting them for the PVC test result and to confirm that the laminated fabric is CPSIA compliment as I understand it to be.

Back to this super simple project! I had forgotten about the mat idea until I was about to make heart-shaped pizza's for Valentines Day. The last time I made dough I through away my Tupperware dough mat because it was totally gross and melted from a little cookie pan incident! Well, I ran into the Modern June studio and whipped up a new dough mat out of the Heather Bailey, Hop Dot laminate!

I literally made this in less than 10 minutes!

Materials:
2/3 yards of laminated cotton
Wide ruler or square
pencil
glue stick (my new found BFF)
Pinking shears or a fancy rotary cutter and mat
matching thread

Step 1: On the back of your fabric use your wide ruler or square to draw two 24" squares. 

Step 2: Cut out your squares using your pinking shears or rotary cutter and mat. I used a rotary cutter with a crimped edge. (note: a really sharp blade is best when cutting the laminated cotton, it's a bit tricky to cut with a dull blade)
Step 3: Use a glue stick instead of pins to bring the two layers of laminated cotton wrong sides together. A thin layer of glue along the stitch like was all it took to keep the two pieces together.
Step 4: Using a 1/2" seam allowance stitch the mat closed on all four sides. If you have a roller or teflon foot handy use that to keep the laminated side of the fabric from sticking to your foot. If you don't have a fancy foot, no worries click here for our tape tip. As for needles, we used to suggest a microtex needle but we have found that an nice new all-purpose needle will do you just fine!

Step 5: All that is left is to start baking! To get you laminated mat to stick to your counter just use a use a clean dishcloth to dampen your counter before you lay it down. To clean it up, just whip it down with a soapy dishcloth and air dry. I told you its easy-peasy and super pretty.

Wednesday, February 16, 2011

Great Idea! Oilcloth Pencil Case

Photo  Credit: Momtastic           

I found this nice little tutorial for a zipped up pencil case on the Momtastic blog, what a nice way to use up all those oilcloth scraps. What, you don't have any? Don't fret we sell fat quarters of oilcloth and they are great for learning how to work with oilcloth and small projects! But be careful, you'll get addicted to oilcloth!

Tuesday, February 15, 2011

I spy oilcloth...

Photo Credit: The Top Chef Blog
One of my favorite shows, Top Chef, hit the beach in episode 6 and what did I spy? OILCLOTH!!! Nothing is more fun or easier to clean then oilcloth! Check out the show, "We're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" on Hulu and see how darn fun the cook station looked.
Photo Credit: The Top Chef Blog

Monday, February 14, 2011

Great idea! Chalk Cloth

Look at what I found in my inbox today! Craft Gossip shared this very cute chalk cloth heart placemat made by "she wares flowers." Get the tutorial here. Happy Valentines Day!

Friday, February 11, 2011

I spy oilcloth...

Check out Jenny's Craft Service (catering) table in the picture to the right. All this lovely food fed hardworking people while they made a commercial for Toyota. I was lucky to spend a good part of my 20's working of movie sets, and I must say, there was never this pretty of a display to be seen!

Jenny is rocking the Blue Forever oilcloth, bright foods and patterns. She's even added some delicate little flowers here and there.

Well done Jenny and thanks for sharing!

Want to share your oilcloth Addict projects? Just send me a pic and a link to kelly@modernjune.com.

Thursday, February 10, 2011

Vintage Oilcloth Ad...


How fun is this? In my search historical knowledge of oilcloth I came across this ad on Ebay! My scanner cut some off but you get the idea, right? It's so fun, it'll get a frame! 

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Vintage Oilcloth Signs!

About a week ago I posted a little story about the history of oilcloth and Maria sent me a note and a link to some very fun pictures!
How fun is this?!?
If you like this, you're 'going to love what I've got coming my way. I'm just waiting on the mailman!!!

Tuesday, February 8, 2011

Great Idea: Oilcloth Table Cover


We just heard from Elyse and she reports that her table cover is still pretty after 8 months. I just checked out her very pretty blog and I can see that she's been using the oilcloth covered table both night and day! See how she made this pretty table by checking out her how to at Kido Info.

Color Combo's: Green and Blue Laminated Cottons

Here are all the pretty laminated cotton's that look great with the Hop Dots in green and blue!  Starting at the top center print and moving clockwise: Slim Dandy Strip, Navy Tea Garden Floral, Passion Lily Fern, Emerald Temple Tulips, and Picnic Bouquet Gold.

Sunday, February 6, 2011

Q & A: Oilcloth as a BBQ Cover

Question: I have been toying with using oilcloth for a BBQ cover in the winter. Are you aware of pros/cons? How does oilcloth differ from a tarp or vinyl in this regard?

Answer:  I use an oilcloth cover, and I must say it didn't look pretty for long! I made it in the summer of '09. As you can see in the picture, I used the cherry print on white. Over the first winter it became moldy and faded. I can, and have, scrubbed it clean but it's still a faded mess. On a positive note, it's still weather proof, which is why I am still using it.

I've been toying with the idea of using a sunbrella fabric, flat lined with a thin clear vinyl. That way I get a fun print and it'll still be waterproof.

Let me know what you decide to do!

Kelly

Friday, February 4, 2011

Q & A: Covering chair cushions with laminated cotton

Question: I am considering re-doing some old chairs that currently have oilcloth on their seats. They would be used in a very active kitchen (which includes three kids). How would cotton laminate hold up as opposed to oilcloth?

Kelly: While laminated cotton is not as thick as oilcloth, I do think that it will work. It's thin and supple, but it's still strong. I think it would last longer than if you were to use a medium weight cotton fabric.

If I were to try this, I would add a layer of fusible interfacing. I've had some luck using fusible Heat Bond on the back of laminated cotton. You need to use a dry iron, set on medium heat, and be sure to use a press cloth or the laminate will melt!! The interfacing would increase the longevity of the cotton laminate for use as seat cushions.

Oilcloth is a great fabric for covering seats, but laminated cottons have a different design aesthetic and compliment certain decors better than the kitschy oilcloth prints.

photo credit Prudent Baby
I am a big fan of going with the unexpected when it comes to easy projects like seat covers, and I like to change things every couple of years. I don't think you'd be unhappy if you used the laminated cotton.

Check out this fun bath bench from the brilliantly talented Prudent Baby gals! I'll email them and see how this cute bench has held up and report back to you all ASAP!