Toile

• Each toile tells a story of sorts in its intricate pattern. Chris Madden notes that she has found toile patterns with images of the founding fathers, for example. There are also country scenes, garden scenes, barnyard scenes and park scenes. When thinking about using toile for crafting, the most important element to consider is its busyness. Toile makes a great accent piece, such as a pillow lampshade or throw.
  
  

Toile Bulletin Board

• You can make several easy crafts using toile. One quick-to-make craft is a toile bulletin board. You need a piece of 3/4-inch thick fiberboard cut to the desired size, toile fabric to fit the size of your board plus 4 inches (in order to wrap it around the back of the board), spray adhesive, a glue gun, upholstery tacks and grosgrain ribbons to match your toile fabric. Iron your fabric to take out any creases. Carefully spray the board with the spray adhesive and carefully lay the fabric onto the board, smoothing it as you adhere it to the board. Turn the board over and secure the fabric to the back with the glue gun. This will make the fabric more secure. Lay ribbons across the fabric in a crisscross pattern, pulling taught. Secure the ends to the back of the board with the glue gun. Stick the upholstery tacks in where ribbons cross over. You can slip photos and memos between the ribbon and fabric.
  
  

Toile Pillow

• Other crafts to make using toile include quilts, pillows and lampshades. If you are adept at quilting and embroidering, you can embellish your quilt or pillow. Embroider along the design to highlight interesting aspects of the toile design before finishing your pillow or quilt. On a quilt, you can quilt aspects of the toile design that you wish to highlight, making that area of the quilt stand out. If you are not adept at embroidery or quilting, you can still use toile to make a simple pillow. Cut a square piece of toile 2 inches wider and 2 inches longer than your desired pillow. Cut a piece of cloth in a complementary color to back your pillow. Place your fabric pieces with good sides facing each other. Measure 1 inch from the edge of your square and draw a faint line on each side. This will help you sew a straight seam around the edges of your square. Sew either on a sewing machine or by hand along the lines you have drawn, leaving about an inch open on the last side. Turn inside out, so the "good" sides are facing out. Fill with cotton batting. Iron the inch-long opening, tucking the fabric inside the pillow. Carefully sew your pillow closed.