The Laura Ashley challenge: Alternative uses for a throw

 

Here at Cosy Home, we’re all about creating the perfect…er..cosy home, so as you can imagine throws are one of our favourite things. Whether it’s snuggling up on the sofa with a velvet throw, some chenille cushions, a huge mug of hot chocolate and a box set of Downton Abbey; or pulling on our fluffy bedsocks and wrapping ourselves in woolly blankets to combat a chilly winter bedroom, we think we’re pretty imaginative when it comes to throws. So when our friends at Laura Ashley asked us to take part in a challenge to find unusual uses for a throw, we reckoned they were talking to the right people.

Our throw of choice was the lovely Shaldon Stripe throw, priced at £50, in a mix of blue and sandy-coloured stripes.

From our point of view, the challenge was about creating a new use for a throw that wasn’t permanent, so that we could always re-use it as a throw in the future, so we didn’t want to cut it up or damage it. The thinking cap went on, and as in the past we’ve used throws as rugs, blankets, covers, picnic rugs, pet beds and car seat covers, we reckoned there was only one thing left to do – hang it on the wall!

There’s a particular room we have that isn’t cosy at all, in fact it’s a bit chilly. A really thick, luxurious curtain on the single window would help to stop drafts and keep the temperature up, and incorporating the fringed edge of the throw would add a quirky, individual look. We set to work.

First stop was the Cosy Home bits ‘n’ bobs cupboard, where all the leftover material, cotton and trimming from previous projects are stored. There must be something in here to help us!

After pulling out lots of bits and pieces, we eventually settled on some lovely natural linen fabric, which would eventually become our curtain header. Fortunately we already had lots of heading tape, although it needed a bit of straightening out, some spare curtain lining and some matching cotton.

We started by cutting a strip of the linen fabric that was 12″ (30 cm) deep and the same width as the throw. We folded it in half lengthways, and ironed it into place, then ironed a 1″ (2.5 cm) hem on each side.

We folded the top side of the throw down, then pinned the linen fabric to it.

We machine sewed a line of stitching, folded the linen over the stitching and then over the top of the throw, and pinned it into place on the reverse side so that we had a linen header that was attached on one side.

Next, we cut a piece of curtain lining to the size of the throw, and ironed a 1″ (2.5 cm) fold into each side. We then machine sewed the bottom hem, and pinned the fabric into place on the back of the throw. Finally, we pinned the header tape (we used pencil pleat tape) over, so that it hid the top of the lining.

Then, all we had to do was machine sew along both sides of the header tape to hold everything together, tie off one end of the tape and gather it. Then it was time to put it up!

The result was just what we’d been wanting – opulent looking, individual, and wide enough to cover the whole window easily, to keep those drafts out. As an added bonus, we were able to use the lovely packing ribbon that had come with the throw as a curtain tie.

Laura Ashley stock a whole range of other blankets and throws, so you’re sure to find something to match your colour scheme. We’d love to hear your ideas for unusual home furnishing, as well.

* Fifteen bloggers took part in the throw challenge. To find out what alternative ideas for using throws the other bloggers came up with, have a read of the Go With the Throw post on the Laura Ashley blog.

By Sara Walker.