...decant your washing up liquid into it, add a pouring spout from Ikea and ta-dah!!
I'm sure I have loads of other stuff which needs decanting. Better finish another bottle!
Showing posts with label upcycle. Show all posts
Showing posts with label upcycle. Show all posts
Monday, 5 March 2012
Sunday, 12 February 2012
It's mine, all mine!
(Sometimes you make something, which is supposed to be for someone else, and you are quite pleased you went a little bit wobbly around the edges, because you really want to keep it for yourself.)
I had a custom request for a make up bag, so I made this.
I love the cherry fabric. It has a layer of polyester wadding (my new favourite thing!!) to give the bag some structure, and the spotty lining is upcycled from an old dress of Poppy's.
Why am I so afraid of zips? (And buttonholes - perhaps I have developing a fastening-phobia.) They always turn out fine when I pluck up the courage to put one in.
Anyway, I'm keeping this, and I promise to make a better one for my customer :)
Saturday, 4 February 2012
Loving my new bag
It's the bestest bag ever!
My sister bought me some packs of small fabric pieces for my birthday. I've done a little bit of patchwork but I'm definitely no expert.
I chose 12 of the fabrics, and cut out 2 squares from each - 12 squares for each side.
And I stitched them together - remembering to reverse the pattern so that nothing was upside down. I felt very clever for thinking of that!
I decided to put a layer of wadding and used some turquoise fabric for the other side.
So this project became my first attempt at proper quilting. It was rather awkward doing the middle stitching - not sure how you'd manage on a piece much bigger.
Here's the inside; I made the trim and handles from some old jeans. This is why the handles are quite short - I have pretty short legs!!
And I even made a tab with a buttonhole. I still have a completely ungrounded fear of buttonholing and avoid them wherever possible.
So, there it is - my new bag, it's not perfect but it's mine, and I made it all by myself without a pattern or even a proper plan.
Ready to be filled with sweet wrappers, old raisins, a biro which doesn't work, old receipts and an odd glove...
Monday, 2 January 2012
Another bag :)
I've just listed this in my etsy shop here.
It is similar in construction to the Cath Kidston bag but with slightly different dimensions and shape.
The fabric is a cotton mix, a remnant of curtaining.
I put a lining in this one, which I think finishes it off nicely. The lining is upcycled from an old shirt of mine.
Monday, 12 December 2011
Pillowcase rescue; the mission continues...
I loved this lonely pillowcase when I saw it in the charity shop.
I just knew it could have a happy new life as a reusable carrier bag.
It folds up teeny weeny to sleep in the bottom of your handbag.
And I even made it a little pouch to keep it warm and snug ;)
(I am thinking setting up a pillowcase refuge in my sewing box, rehabilitating the prettiest and funkiest so that they can once again lead useful, appreciated lives!!)
Here is my tutorial so you too can rescue a pillowcase.
Saturday, 12 November 2011
Fabric upcycling
Now I love a beautiful fabric shop with lovely rolls of brand new fabric as much as the next woman, but I think I love upcycled fabrics even more. I love the rummaging, the searching, the bargain hunting!
| School dress; lots of lovely gingham! |
| Ladies cotton blouses |
| Little girl clothes |
| Men's shirts; sensible and lairy! |
Tuesday, 8 November 2011
More machine stitching on card!
For a new baby; the letters are made from felt, and the gingham fabric is upcycled from a school dress.
Sunday, 6 November 2011
How to make a bag out of a pillowcase
This is one of my favourite upcycling projects. I'm sure there are lots of tutorials on t'internet about how to make a bag from a pillowcase. I'm not saying this is the best way, but this is the way I do it!
First you need a pillowcase; they are really easy to pick up in charity shops and I love the chintzy floral prints.
Then you need to chop it into pieces.
The bottom piece is the main part of your bag - I measured this to be 18 inches deep.
The two smaller pieces will be the handles; mine are 3 inches deep.
(The top part is leftover; ideal scrap for applique and patchwork projects.)
Take your two handles and turn the ends under and pin.
I top stitch these together, rather than sewing it inside out then struggling to turn them back again.
| Here they are all stitched, ready to attach onto the bag part. |
Turn the bag part inside out (hopefully you've realised by this point that the beauty of using a pillow case is that it is almost a bag anyway!!) and turn over and iron the top edge down, slipping your handles under in the right place.
Stitch all around near the raw edge. (I cut mine with pinking shears to avoid fraying but you might need to do a double hem here.)
Then turn your bag the right way out and topstitch all around the top, making sure you go over the handles. This will give them extra strength and stop the top of your bag flopping over.
Ta-dah!
(And it folds up all teeny tiny so it's fab for popping in your handbag when out shopping.)
Saturday, 10 September 2011
Blog Post 201; you can win this upcycled cushion!!
I thought it would be nice to have a giveaway to celebrate 201 entries on my blog.
So this morning I made this cushion...
...which used to be a very large man's shirt.
The great thing about upcycling a shirt is that the button band is a ready made opening for the back of your cushion.
Just needed a little bit of applique made from fabric scraps and buttons.
Would you like to have this very cute cushion all for your very own?
All you have to do is leave a comment on this post before Saturday 17th September.
I will put all of the names into a hat and draw out the winner :)
Happy commenting!
Friday, 11 February 2011
Stripey bag
I bought a load of pieces of fabric from the local curtain shop - pages from a sample book.
Of course I didn't know what to do with them at first, but today I cut them into wide strips and sewed them into a large rectangle. I folded this large piece over to make a flap over bag and lined it with some yellow fabric.
The handle is made in a similar way - stitching 3 pieces into a long rectangle.
I'm pretty pleased with how it has turned out, although it took longer than I expected it to. Didn't get any housework done this morning. Shame.
And now it's for sale in my misi shop.
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