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recycling sweaters from my stash

I’ve had a shift in focus over the past few months. I’ve been slowly moving away from felted wool bags to try new things. I’m not completely abandoning them, but I need room for my new adventures. This hit me over the head on Saturday when I found some really nice things at a local church garage sale. I have a small amount of storage space, so whenever new stash comes in, other stash must go. I packed up three bags of sweaters, which I’m putting up on freecycle today if you are interested. Some are already felted!

recycled yarn

I’m spending most of the long weekend sewing and last night I needed something to help me unwind. Ha! I’ve always wanted to unravel a sweater, so I grabbed one from the giveaway pile and went to it. It was very relaxing. I find desconstructing  just as exciting as making. My mind starts racing with the possibilities: a baby blanket? matching scarf and hat? thick, wooly socks?

I have no idea what I am going to with this yarn. I certainly don’t need any more in my stash. There are knots at the end of every color change. I was thinking it would be cool to work them into the design. Something in seed stitch might be nice. What do you think?

recycle: There are so many beautiful wool sweaters that have been discarded. Try unraveling one for your next project. Where else can you get yarn to make an entire sweater for just a few bucks?

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my faux burberry scarf

flannel

Remember when I mentioned that some of that stash flannel was going to become a faux Burberry scarf? It was a really easy project and great for some instant sewing gratification.

  • The original piece was about 14 x 43 inches. I cut it in half and joined the 7 inch ends with a french seam.
  • I sewed the edges just as you would for a napkin or tea towel: fold all four sides 1/4 inch and press, then fold over again, press and pin.
  • Then I top-stitched the edges down. I mitered my corners, but don’t think it was necessary.

That’s it! Here are some online tutorials for a french seam (via Hoppo Bumpo) and mitered corners (via CraftStylish).

recycle: This would be a great way to save a flannel shirt from the landfill. If you have smaller scraps of flannel, just add a few more french seams.

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coffee sleeve of the month giveaway:
spring flowers

I must have been really tired when I wrote my last post because when I came home from my weekend away the coffee sleeve looked totally fine. Sometimes we just need a little distance from our work to give it some perspective.

felted wool coffee sleeve

I know April is all about showers, but I lately I have been obsessed with flowers, especially little crocheted ones. I’ve tried a few different patterns, but keep coming back to this one by Mimi. The stem is a simple chain stitch.

crochet flower applique

Would you like these little flowers for your cup of java?

How to enter: Mention this giveaway along with a link back here in a blog post, twitter update or facebook status and then leave a comment telling me you did so. If you don’t have any of the above (really? are you serious?), then leave a comment here and tell me what’s your favorite spring flower.

Since I didn’t get this post up until late on Monday, I’ll give everyone until Thursday, midnight CT to enter. Cool? Good luck and Happy Spring!

recycle: thrifted wool sweater sleeve, thrifted yarn

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stash enhancement: fabric

A few weeks ago, I went through and did a massive declutter of my fabric stash. I’m so glad that I did. I know exactly what I have and what I need. When Christy mentioned that she had 18 (!) boxes of free fabric to giveaway, it was easy for me to stay focused when going through all of them.

Swapping fabric with friends is a great way to enhance your stash without buying new. I was surprised how much I found knowing that my crafty friends had already sorted through everything a few days before. Everyone has different tastes and projects on the brain. Here’s what came home with me:

floral

These will resurface in tote bags and clothes for Bella and me.

fun

Most likely these will show up in tote bags or maybe some aprons.

flannel

I’m planning pj bottoms for Bella and me.
The smaller pieces will be for blankets.
I see a faux Burberry scarf in that top piece!

holiday

Look for re-usable gift bags next holiday season!

I think I was pretty restrained for the most part, except for bringing home the entire box of flannel. What can I say? I love flannel. I even wear it in the summertime (I’m always cold!).

I’m going to have to destash again to make room for all of this. When I’m finished, I’ll have some fabric to share!

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pinquitos change purse

bean bag zipper pouch

I love how these little purses turned out. They weren’t at all what I was thinking, but I really wanted to show off the flowers and mountains. A square zipper pouch was the best way to do just that.

bean bag zipper pouch

I didn’t want to wash them because I was afraid that the color might fade, but I had to because they were kind of dirty. I was worried that they might unravel, so I sewed a basting stitch around the edges before I put them in the wash. Good thing, too! The edges totally frayed up to the stitches.

The bags were a little delicate and I wanted to make them more substantial so I used some cotton quilt batting to give them their shape. I used the front of the bag for the outside and the back of the bag for the lining. To solve the fraying issue, I enclosed the raw edges in a french seam. There were a few holes from the original stitching that didn’t work themselves out in the wash. They don’t look like they are going to unravel, but I dotted them with some Fray Check just in case. These were super fun to make and I finished them in one evening.

recycle: bean bags purchased at garage sale, leftover batting from stash, one zipper was thrifted, one zipper was reclaimed from a garment

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thrifty yarn ideas

Hey all you knitters and crocheters! Vickie Howell has posted some creative ideas on how to keep those needles and hooks going in this crazy economy. My favorite suggestion is recycling sweaters for the yarn. I tried this once, but had a tough time picking the seams. I wound up giving it away to someone with more patience. Next time, I’ll check out the seams more carefully. You can read her entire list of ideas here.

resource: Vickie has lots of eco-friendly project ideas. I’m saving my Amy’s burrito wrappers to make this cute purse.

Bean bag update: I finished these, but it’s too late for a photo shoot. I wound up making little change purse zipper pouches. They are so cute! Details after I get some pics.

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bean bags

I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with these bean bags. Originally, I thought zipper pouches, but if I do the standard long rectangle orientation, the art will be sideways. Does that matter? I think it would be better to have the zipper on the top. Is that weird?

bean bags

I also thought they might look cool as box bags, but, again, the art would be sideways. I’m thinking of designing a box bag that is wider at the base so it will stand up on its own.

recycle: Bags were an impulse buy at “The Mother of All Garage Sales.” The flowers were too cute to pass up! Stay tuned for the “after” pic.

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siouxsie t-shirt tote bag

Thanks to some artful sewing inspiration, I’ve finished a project that has been sitting in the to-do pile for way too long.

I wanted to turn one of my ’80s Siouxsie shirts into a tote, but didn’t want a typical floppy t-shirt bag. My friend was planning to throw away (yes, throw away!) this black conference tote. You know the kind: plastic-y canvas material covered in screen-printed logos.

siouxsie before

I used the bag to measure my pieces of the t-shirt and boxed the bottom of both; sewing through the canvas was easier than I thought! Then I slid the t-shirt over the canvas bag, folded down the top and stitched all the way around. I stitched in some velvet ribbon for a tie closure.

siouxsie bag after

siouxsie bag after

This was such an easy way to make a t-shirt bag. I’m really happy with the results and can’t wait to start using it!

recycle: t-shirt came from my closet, tote bag saved from the landfill, velvet ribbon ties from thrifted notions in my stash

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recycle plastic easter eggs into music shakers

plastic eggs

A few months ago, I signed Bella up for music class. It was a very basic introduction to different kinds of music and dance. One of the activities was making a shaker egg. The kids had so much fun with them that I decided to make a bunch more with our leftover plastic Easter eggs.

shakers

I dug through the pantry and my craft supplies to get a range of items that would make different sounds: rice, lentils, chick peas, buttons, beads and bells. I put a teaspoon of each item in a separate egg. I applied crazy glue to the inside edge of the egg and snapped it shut. Then I wiped the excess off the outside of the egg and let it dry overnight. I made enough for Bella and her friends and sewed up some cotton bags stamped with each child’s name.

egg bags

I learned the hard way that you really need a super, duper bonding glue for these. My first attempt was a non-toxic plastic model cement. It didn’t keep the eggs shut, so I opted for the heavy duty crazy glue instead.

These are great for kids ages three and up. If they eggs do come open (say, perhaps, if a toddler were to step on one, ahem) the inside items could be a choking hazard.

reuse: Instead of throwing out little containers that aren’t recyclable, turn them into something musical and fun.

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custom wool felted bag :: black and white

I thought it would be fun to start showing some before and after photos of my bags. Let’s just hope I remember to take the before photos. I tend to get all excited and jump right into a project!

I’m calling this my X and O bag. Can you find them?

custom wool messenger bag

custom wool messenger bag

custom wool messenger bag