I am delighted to be taking part in this tour. Having never sewn a cardigan I am pleased to be trying something new. I have to admit to deliberately picking cardigans I thought a) would look good but b) would be easy to sew! My first cardigan pattern is Womens Draped Cardigan from Seamingly Smitten. My fabric is quality stretch jersey fabric from John Kaldor purchased from Minerva Crafts.
Sizing wise I am a 14/16 uk which equated to a M cardigan or this pattern. I would describe my body shape as pear shaped.
I’m pleased with the drape of the cardigan.
and with the sleeve length – the pattern comes with three sleeve lengths:) It is a super easy sew, with great directions for sewing up with a regular sewing machine (I did use an overlocker but you don’t need to). The cardigan is quick to sew, I made it in an evening:)
The second cardigan is the Cocoon Cardigan Sewing Pattern. This can be sewn with a wooly knit to give a super cosy feel. To my surprise I chose a bright pink knit…????
The pattern comes with an optional hood. The sleeves are much wider than the first pattern.
The pattern comes in short, medium and long lengths – it’s great having the right length of sleeve:)
Would you like to make one of these cardigans yourself? I am delighted to offer you a giveaway for the cardigan pattern of your choice. Enter below and good luck:)
a Rafflecopter giveaway
Please do visit the other bloggers taking part and find some cardigan sewing inspiration.
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Do you have a small toilet? Ours received a lick of paint six years ago – I’m rather embarrassed to admit the kids had nicknamed it the minging toilet. It really needed a revamp. So I was delighted to be offered some tools by Ryobi – the perfect motivation to tackle the room. It’s small, that’s not going to change, but the feel of it had to go!
Do you have a similar problem? Choose a theme and work with what you have. What resources do you already have? Most people have left over tins of paint in the shed. Pick a colour theme, paint items you already have to create a cohesive look.
For our bathroom the first job was stripping the textured wallpaper and sorting the boxing in (the original was removed for a plumbing repair and just wasn’t going to go back). As the sink and toilet worked fine they stayed. Replacing the boxing in cost £40.
The walls and woodwork were redecorated with paint left over from other projects.
So the fun bit, adding personality by changing the decor touches, on a budget. The curtain was replaced with a blind. I found a curtain at a carboot to make a Roman blind with. It set the colour theme for the room. A few internet searches later I had learnt how to make the blind.
To make your own thrifty blind think about using what you have. I used some bias binding to make an encasing for the rods.
The rods were made from garden canes. I bought the hoops on the back.
As I am never going to pull the blind down I was happy using garden twine to pull it up. Cost £6
With the colour theme set I gathered a few supplies from the garden and shed.
I used left over paint from previous Rustoleum projects (remember the shabby chique mismatched dining room chairs?). I mixed two colours together to gain a shade which tied in with the Roman blind. Using one paint on a variety of objects brings a cohesive touch to your thrifty makeover.
Over the summer we have collected shells, sea glass and pebbles with holes. The bathroom is a perfect showcase. It has become a beach themed room.
You can use an old frame and freshen it up with paint. I used a quilting ruler to measure out a grid format.
A glue gun works well for holding shells and glass to paper. £-
To create a holey pebble art work find a plank of wood. Apply paint with a knife, layering it up and capturing some of the not quite mixed bits of paint to create a textured piece.
On the back add picture fittings before adding nails on the front to hang you holey pebbles.
Tin cans were painted and filled with plants. Keeping the air fresh in a bathroom is always a good thing! I’m hoping the plants will help. The plants cost £6.
Lastly I created a homemade reed diffuser, I followed the direction from this blog post (Moral Fibres). Hopefully the combination of a reed diffuser and plants will help help keep the air fresh.
We are yet to source/make a towel rail, plus I’m secretly coveting a old wooden window to transforming into a mirror. The toilet upgrade has cost less than a £100 and has been referred to as the poshest room in the house!!
Thanks to Ryobi for supplying the tools – new tools were just the motivation my husband and I needed to transform the room. I’m wondering why it took us six years!
The tools were supplied by Ryobi. All opinions are my own.
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Do you follow Makery? Are you aware of Portia’s fabulous refashioning competition she hosts each August/September? This year the theme is refashioning denim trousers. It is all about having fun, trying something new, having a go. I don’t think for a minute I will win but I will have lots fun trying.
Last year the theme was shirts, I made my niece a dress.
The standard was extremely high with some amazing transformations – see the pinterest board. Its truly amazing what can be made from shirts.
I have a hunch that a tailored fitted garment will win this year. But I have to play to my strengths – upcycled bags. For a while I have thinking about creating a sashiko denim bag. I have lots of denim trouser off cuts in my stash left over from making this denim quilt.
(find the tutorial for the quilt here)
The summer holidays are great but they do limit sewing time, not ideal for sewing never mind lots of hand stitching. Normally I pack knitting when away as it is super easy to fit in my bag. This year we went camping, I took my bag of denim scraps, a pile of embroidery floss from a charity shop and off cuts from the Tilda fabric projects.
I enjoyed being creative in our tent – I’m not sure the kids appreciated the camping table being covered in fabric.
The technique sashiko originates from Japan. Centuries ago, Japanese peasants used a running-stitch technique to patch worn clothes. Cloth and thread were scarce and therefore mending highly valuable.
Denim Sashiko Bag Tutorial
Supplies:
Variety of denim
Embroidery Thread
Cotton scraps
Cotton fabric for lining
Annies Soft and Stable, two pieces 42 by 46 cm
Heavy weight Interfacing, two pieces 42 by 46 cm
Leather
Hole punch
Cap rivets
To make:
Lay out pieces of denim and cotton patched in a design pleasing to the eye. Ensure your patchwork design is slightly bigger than 42 by 46 cm.
Hand stitch with running stitch. Be creative. Think about the direction of your stitches. The majority of my stitching runs horizontally however I have emphasised the cotton patches with circular stitching or vertical stitching.
Repeat for the second side of the bag.
Don’t be afraid to change your mind about thread colour choice or direction of stitching. If you follow me on Instagram you will see that I changed the colour of the top right hand section.
Once you have completed your two sides use some craft glue spray to adhere the Annies Soft and Stable to the wrong side of each piece.
Stitch round the sides and the base. Ensure your seam is a centimetre in from the edge of your Soft and Stable to fully secure it in place.
Box the corners. To do this pull the bottom seam to meet the side seam and pin to hold. Using a quilting ruler mark a stitch line at right angles to your base. I created the base of the bag as 18cm wide, 9 cm either side of the bottom seam.
Trim this seam.
This is the main body of the bag finished.
Next you are going to make the lining. Iron the heavy weight interfacing to the back of the lining fabric. Prep two slip pockets, 17 by 16cm. Cut fabric . Turn over twice the top of the pocket and stitch. Fold and press twice the sides and bottom.
Pin centrally on your lining approximately down from the top of the bag, then stitch.
Insert a magnetic snap, centrally from the top.
Follow steps as for main bag – Stitch the side seams and along the bottom. Ensure you leave a gap for turning out along the bottom seam (I forgot and had to unpick!). Box the corners.
Place the lining inside the denim outer bag so the right sides are together. Pin into place and then stitch along the top.
Turn through. Slip stitch the opening in the base seam of the lining.
Top stitch the top of the bag, this will secure the lining and main bag together and strengthen the opening of the bag.
Cut out leather straps measuring 79 cm by 2.5cm.
Place on the bag and hold in place with clover clips. Punch two holes per strap with a hole punch and secure the straps in place with cap rivets.
For a tutorial on using cap rivets visit U-Handbag here.
I LOVE my new bag, far too time intensive to think of a new range for my Etsy shop but perfect for me:)
If you fancy entering Refashioners 2016 (remember the £1,000 worth of prizes up for grabs!) find more information here. If you do I would love to hear what you make.
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