Yesterday I shared
25 ways to style a bed with kantha quilts, along with background on how kanthas (KAHN-taas) are made.
Today I’ll cover how to put kanthas to work beyond the basic bed and give your home even more boho edge.
I scoured the Internet and counted 30 more household uses. I wouldn’t recommend you do them all (boho overload), but pick and choose among what you like best and where your space needs some color, pattern and texture
oomph.
These are textiles that demonstrate their value (and fun potential) with lots of options for use when you need a change and start moving them around.
Sit on them (1-7)
1. Upholster a sofa
2. Layer a sofa
3. Upholster a chair
4. Cover chair cushions only
Either
sew fitted covers, or simply wrap, tuck and safety-pin—cushion back, bottom, or both.
5. Make/slipcover an ottoman
Either
make your own bean bag pouf or
slipcover an existing ottoman for a fresh look.
6. Dining-chair-seat cover
 |
| Bohemian Beach Company |
This is a simple DIY, but in case it’s your first time, here’s a
tutorial.
7. Butterfly patio chair cover
Chances are your chair frame came with a removable cover. Use it as a pattern to cut a new cover from a kantha, then bind the raw edges in double-fold bias tape in a contrasting color. Or ignore me and follow this
tutorial.
Hang them (8-12)
8. Window curtains
A kantha throw will be just about the right size for one curtain panel. For easy open and shut, hang with clip rings usually sold where drapery rods are available. Or, if you can wield a sewing machine (or follow this
tutorial), add a rod pocket and gather onto a rod.
9. Closet cover-up
No closet door? No worries. This looks so pretty you might even want to REMOVE the doors you have and sub a kantha. Just like with the window curtain, hang from a rod with either clip-on rings or a sewn-in rod pocket.
10. Bed curtains
11. Shower curtain
Shower hooks come in sets of 12, so use your liner as a guide and mark spacing for holes. Then either
install grommets in the kantha or make
sewing-machine buttonholes to hold the hooks. Clip-ons also might work, depending on how hard you tug going in and out.
12. Wall hanging
Make a rod pocket either by following the tutorial under #8 for the fold-over method, or buy extra-wide bias tape and sew it onto the back.
Admire them (13-22)
13. Tablecloths / 14. Placemats / 15 Runners
Just use a Kantha throw as is for a tablecloth, no cutting needed. Here is a tutorial for
round placemats and
rectangular placemats. Use the latter for table runners as well, but adjust the size. Runners are typically 14-17 inches wide and extend over each table end at least 6 inches.
16. Drape dining-chair backs
They’ll brighten up your table and, if you’re eating outdoors, be close at hand in case it gets chilly.
17. Lamp shades
 |
| Bellacor / Scoutmob / Another World Trading |
These purchased shades are no longer available, but you can make your own. This
woven-ribbon lampshade tutorial may provide the techniques needed for the lampshade at left. For standard shades, try one of these DIYs:
HGTV,
Apartment Therapy,
Design Sponge.
18. Display in a cupboard, 19. on a blanket ladder,
20. on a peg rack, 21. in a stack anywhere
We all know how beautiful quilts look in an open cupboard or one with glass doors. I couldn’t find a photo of a cupboard with kantha quilts, but just think how boho-beautiful the cupboard at left would look stacked full of all those exotic sari prints.
22. Bed canopy
Talk about sweet dreams!! And if you can’t sleep, you can always count stitches until you nod off.
Snuggle on, against, in (23-30)
23. Throw pillows / 24. Floor pillows
Size is pretty much the only difference between throw pillows and floor pillows. I prefer to make
envelope-style pillows and stuff with a pillow form or existing pillow because there’s no zipper to mess with. However, I do like a corded or fringed edge, so I chose a tutorial with that included. To make it even easier, skip that step.
25. Headboard
Headboards can be slipcovered or upholstered. Here’s one tutorial for
making a rectangular headboard and slipcover and another that covers
curves.
26. Throw on a sofa
27. Throw on a chair
28. Throw on an ottoman
29. Fill a basket with throws, ready for snuggling
30. Boho pet bed for particular pets
Working a kitty into a post is always the sign of a good day for me. Looks like kitties and kanthas are a match made in feline heaven.
So if you won't buy a kantha for yourself, do it for your cat, okay? S/he will thank you.
Or not. You know how cats are.
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