Where to Find Free Decorating Fabric to Use In Your Home

Budget decorating idea on where to find free fabric to decorate your home. Hint… it may be something you already own. Don’t throw it out like I almost did!

Last summer, one of the deck umbrellas on my deck broke. We fixed it as well as we could. This summer “our fix” broke and the umbrella was a goner.

Instead of throwing the whole thing in the trash, I threw away the mechanical frame and kept the durable Sunbrella fabric cover you see in the photo above.

What Did I Do With the Fabric?

I repurposed it into something perfect to decorate my kitchen for the fall season.

If you have read my blog for awhile you know I enjoy finding ways to reuse, recycle and repurpose items into decorative objects and decor.

It makes me feel good that I am saving money and helping the planet at the same time.

Back in the early summer, I removed the blue and white cushions from my dining chairs for the summer.

I then added white chair back slipcovers that I had made for my dining room table chairs in my previous home and left the seats cushion-less.

I made both the cushion covers and slipcovers and like to switch them out seasonally.

Repurposing Fabric

I repurposed the Sunbrella fabric from the umbrella into new neutral cushion covers for my kitchen chairs. The fabric is perfect for fall. It has a slight texture and weave that I love.

I made these new cushion covers the same way I made the white and blue printed ones. You can find out how I made them in this post:

• DIY Chair Cushions & Fabric Covers

• How to Make White Dining Chair Back Slipcovers

The umbrella was a large 9 ft. umbrella. After washing and measuring the fabric and figuring out how to cut it, I had just enough fabric to make 5 cushion covers with a little left over to maybe make something else.

I couldn’t be happier with how the new covers turned out.

All they cost me was time to make, which was about 4 hours total. It felt nice to not have to spend a cent to make something new for my kitchen for fall.

Pretty nice deal… Free fabric that if I hadn’t kept an open mind about, would have ended up in the trash.

Where to Find Free Fabric to Repurpose to Decorate Your Home

Besides using the fabric from a broken deck umbrella, there are many other fabrics around your home just waiting to be repurposed into something new.

• Old tablecloths you no longer use. I used two to make window valances.
• Drapes and curtains. I used drapes I no longer wanted to make banquette cushion covers in my previous house.
• Sheets – I used a fitted sheet to make a pretty window treatment.
• Clothes – Mens shirts, especially plaid or flannel. There is enough fabric on the backside of a shirt to make the front section of a decorative pillow cover. You can even use the front pocket for a cute embellishment on the pillow.
• Blankets, kitchen linens, towels, shower curtains.

My $150 Kitchen Dining Table

My round kitchen table that the rattan dining chairs are around is going on 25 years old. I bought it at JC Penney back in the 90’s. It used to have a dark wood top and a black wrought iron base.

Seven years ago I decided to strip the top to reveal a lighter color and paint the wrought iron white.

Did you take notice of the paper table cloth alternative on the table in a few of the above photos in this post? It has held up better than I would have ever thought. It is starting to come up along the edges after 8 months. I will most likely remove the current piece and cut a new piece from the $20 roll I bought. It is the best table cloth to hide the beaten up veneer table top. It is so easy to wipe clean. I love it.

• Wood Look Tablecloth Alternative

Another aging part of the table is the base. Here is a close up shot of how the paint has held up. It has worn. I thought about repainting it, but I don’t mind the way it looks, especially now that fall is coming. I like aged and vintage finishes. They are warm, cozy and casual… just the look I am going for. Nothing fussy or in need of a pedigree for me.

I have looked into buying a new table, but this one is the perfect size and shape for the space. I will only replace it someday if I find something that I absolutely love.

Decorating the Kitchen Dining Table For Fall

I am still in pre-fall mode, but did bring in a few drying hydrangeas from my yard to place on the table. I shopped the house and found the twig vase I made a few years ago. It looks nice placed on a tree trunk slice.

• How to Make a Twig Vase

• I bought the brown stitched edge napkins at a church rummage sale last year. The white plates are from HomeGoods.

And of course a candle. I love white unscented candles all the time, but for fall they are a must in the rooms where I spend the most time.

The seeded (bubble) drinking glass is made by Tag but can be hard to find. I have a collection that I use to both drink from and use as votive candle holders. Here are similar ones.

So the next time you need fabric to make something decorative around your house and want to be thrifty, don’t forget to consider using the fabric from something you already own that you were about to throw in the trash. :-)