UPDATE: the Upcycle Exchange is now closed

In December, we drove to downtown St Louis to check out The Upcycle Exchange. They were having a vintage fabric tag sale so of course, I couldn't miss it!

The Upcycle Exchange is an epic crafty wonderland. You fill a basket and pay what you want to pay. Obviously, they do provide an estimate of what customers generally pay for things to keep people from abusing the system but you can fill a basket for $20-$50+, depending on the value of the items. If you just need to grab a few things, they can easily provide a value estimate of a small pile too!


photo via The Upcycle Exchange





The craft supplies available are often brought in from other crafters and include beautiful fabric scraps and yardage, fine boutique yarns, vintage buttons, jewelry bits, old keys, maps, antique baskets, knitting needles, sewing patterns, scrapbook stuff, ribbon and the general kind of stuff that every crafty girl hopes to find at a flea market or estate sale. You can also bring in your left-overs for store credit, check the wish list to see what kinds of items they accept.

photo via The Upcycle Exchange

For the vintage tag sale, they had a big table of beautiful vintage linens, scarves, aprons, sheets, fabric pieces and quilts priced from $2-25 each. I must have been one of the first people at the sale because I came away with some incredible prints, mostly in the $2 range but a few table cloths for $3-5 each.


The curtain panels- I'm a sucker for a good curtain panel. You can do so much with them, even a small valance.

vintage 1950s 1960s strawberry novelty print fabric kitchen curtain

vintage novelty print kitchen curtain fabric with irons, wagons, fabric and spinning wheels

vintage 1950s mid century novelty home decor curtain fabric

The Barkcloth- oh the barkcloth!! These pieces are only big enough to make a purse or pillow or something very small. I kind of like hanging on to them and lusting over the prints. This first one is speckled in gold

vintage 1950s mid century novelty metallic floral tiki barkcloth pink, blue, yellow

vintage mid century 1950s tiki floral pink grey olive print barkcloth curtain fabric

vintage 1940s 50s mid century novelty print scenery barkcloth curtain fabric


The table cloths-I bought these to use as tablecloths. Some of them had small holes or light stains, which is perfect for a daily-use thing for me anyway!

vintage 1940s 50s table cloth burgundy green pink plaid


I also found some vintage craft books while I was there. I don't drive to the city often but for this, I may need to make an exception! The original St Louis location is at:

3206 South Grand Boulevard
St. Louis, MO 63118



*Va-Voom Vintage is not an affiliate of The Upcycle Exchange or its sister stores. I just love this place!!*