The holidays are a favorite time of year for decorating ones home to the hilt! Holiday parties, open houses and casual family get togethers make it the perfect time of year to show off your home. One quick and easy way to make huge holiday impact is to use holiday fabric. Here are a couple of top notch ideas for swathing your home with holiday spirit.

Pick two or three of your favorite holiday patterns and stock up on as much yardage as your budget allows. I love Waverly fabric, but buy what you like. An easy way to make sure they mix and match? Buy a large print, a small print and a stripe or a tone on tone, all in the same color theme. (ie…Red and green, blue and silver, winter white and gold) Now you can use the fabrics on multiple rooms and for multiple uses without worrying about upsetting your design.Drape swags of fabric over your existing window treatments, even using small thumbtacks or double sided tape for extra hold and placement. Try using holiday ribbon as tiebacks for your curtains, with a big bow.

Sew simple slipcovers from your holiday fabric to slip over the backs of dining room chairs. Use a glue gun to attach bows or trim along the seam lines, hem or on the back of the chair cover for an individual twist to each chair. If you don’t sew, you can even use iron on hem tape to create these elegant slipcovers.

Stitch up a couple of holiday throw pillow covers and just slide your existing pillows inside! You can find easy patterns at your fabric shop…or even free handout instructions if you ask.

Winter fleece is always on sale at this time of year and the solid colors make great easy throw blankets to warm up the room. Pick up a yard and a half in your chosen holiday color scheme and simply cut fringe about 2 inches in from the edge on two opposite ends of the fabric. You are done! What could be simpler? For a reversible throw, use two pieces of fabric the same size. Cut fringe all the way around both pieces, Lie one on top of the other and then knot each fringe top and bottom. (Basically, you are tying the two fabric pieces together, one piece of fringe at a time.)

 

Use simple iron on hem tape or your sewing machine to create simple table covers, cloth napkins and placemats. No need to get fancy, the beautiful holiday fabric showcases itself! (Don’t tell…I’ve even been known to use masking tape to quick hem an impromptu tablecloth…who will know?

Adding holiday fabric to your home decorating creates instant drama, sparkle and magic. Now bring in your personal and well loved ornaments and décor and fill your home with good cheer, family and friends! (And have the most decked out home on the block, to boot.)

 

Kathy Wilson is an author, columnist and editor of The Budget Decorator, Decorating Your Small Space and Decorating Cottage Style.