Vintage Fabrics

Don't you get so excited when you go shopping and see that one truly unique piece of vintage fabric or clothing staring right at you saying "Buy Me! I need Love too!" ?
Your heart starts racing, your palms are sweaty, you are so excited that you almost start to jump up and down. You then notice the stranger beside you. You notice that they are looking at the EXACT same spot you are. You also notice that they are also doing a little jig. But then you see that same glimmer in their eyes which makes you panic. Your brain starts to think 'RUN RUN! GET THERE FAST! GET THERE NOW!' Before you know it your feet are moving very fast, you become short of breath, and you have knocked down every bystander. ESPECIALLY that crazy person with the weird look in their eyes.
Your sweaty hands grab it...but uh oh...it has slipped from your fingers and has fallen to the floor. You quickly look up. You see that crazy person picking up their pace trying to reach for it. You wipe the sweat from your palms onto your jeans, grab it, and run to the cash register. Your head is thinking 'Sweet victory is mine!!!'. You wait your turn in the line up. In the midst of inspecting it you here 'NEXT'. You carefully place it on the counter. You pay for it, feeling sweet relief. You walk out the doors knowing that you made it out alive. You take it home, not letting it leave your sight. You put it in the washing machine, careful to follow the care instructions. Careful you will not ruin your precious find. You wait patiently until it has dried. You take it out. You do your thing. And then you notice. "WHAT IS THAT???" Your head starts to race. You take a closer look at it. Yup. That is definitely a huge stain that has been embodied in the fabric for what looks like years. Sigh. You think, "What do I do now?"

This is what happens to me every week. I am going to *try* to post every weeks about eco friendly ways to get stains out of vintage fabrics.

Inside the Playground.......

Planet Playground is my on-line store through etsy.com. I sell infant and children's wear made out of recycled fabrics, and organic fabrics.
I love making infant and children's wear. I think it's because in a way, I never want to 'grow up'. I have so much fun mixing and matching fabrics. I try to make all my designs unique, fun, spunky, and sometimes even breath taking.
I am very much into recycling almost anything I can. I think it is great, it is an easy way to reduce unnecessary waste. I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I am the perfect environmentalist, I try my best to do what I can, and I feel like the tiniest things can help. We are all human, and sometimes it is hard to 'be green' 24 hours a day.
This is why I choose to make garments out of recycled fabrics. It is one step closer to living a greener lifestyle. I take beautiful old fabrics like vintage chenille, vintage laces, vintage hankies, sheeting etc and make them new again. All of these items are pretreated and cleaned of coarse. I also love to tear apart old clothes and make them new again. It is so much fun.
I am also getting into organic cotton. For those of you who didn't know, organic cotton is grown without the use of chemicals or pesticides. Approx 25% of the worlds pesticides come from traditionally grown cotton. It is very hard to find resources to buy organic fabrics, and it is very expensive for a small store like me, which is why I am currently focusing on recycling fabrics at this time.
The Planet Playground Team
I am the designer, seamstress, merchandiser etc etc. My parents (who live 4 hours away) are a big help with this business. My wonderful mother is the one who finds me most of my unique fabrics. She also gives me suggestions when I have room for improvement in my store (and she is my mother so of coarse I listen to her...most of the time lol) My father is my business adviser who gives me tips and advice and the most interesting stories of when he first started up his successful business many years ago. And then there is my wonderful boyfriend who drives me to see my fabric buyer and business adviser and escorts me to shows where we sell our product.
It is a great team. And it shows through our product.
Please see our store at
www.planetplayground.etsy.com