On Sunday I spent the day with my mum at the Mostyn store of Abakhan. I went with a specific list of what I needed, as previous visits have resulted in impulse buying and mounds of fabric not being used. My main inspiration for the trip was the Great British Sewing Bee book. I bought the book after seeing the first episode and after a quick flick through, I couldn’t wait to start trying the projects!
This week I’d like to welcome Meltco to my blog, they have kindly offered to write a guest post on upcycling.
We all have items lying around our homes that we don’t use. Our natural sentimental brains always find a reason to keep hold of them in case they come in handy in the future.
This often leads to hoarding – but it doesn’t have to. Using your creative flair, you can upcycle almost anything, from your old scented candles, to an un-used suitcase.
I have decided that my passion in sewing lies within free motion embroidery. I am wanting to steer my sewing towards this style and I have been experimenting with a few different ideas.
For all free motion embroidery you need a darning or free motion foot for your machine
Combine that with an embroidery hoop and some scraps of fabric and you’re away!
My recent project has been this tooth fairy pouch
I’ve got lots more ideas to try, I just need to find the time to do them!
Sarah x
I bought some wooden beads a while ago as I have been meaning for ages to try making a knotted fabric necklace using wooden beads. I had a spare couple of hours today, so it was the perfect opportunity to give it a go. Here’s how I made this lovely necklace
Last weeks Handmade Monday was about cobweb scarves, so this week I thought I would share with you the process of making one. Read the rest of this entry
At the craft fair I had a request to make a ‘snack pack’ for a customers 6 year old child. They are designed for kids to use to take carrots, fruit, sandwiches etc into school, saving on using the freezer style bags. This was something I had seen on Etsy but hadn’t made before. However it all looked straight forward, the brief was – waterproof lining with a Velcro closure. I also decided to use some special wadding which will help keep the contents cool. I thought I would share with you how I made it. You will need some basic sewing experience to complete this project.
With the craft fair taking over this week (see my last post for some photos!), I allowed today to be a day of sewing and relaxation, admittedly it was to make more products for the next craft fair! After making the snap coin purses, I have fallen in love with using the metal hardware to give more of a substantial bag or purse. I had bought some different purse frames from u-handbag so today was the day to try them out! Read the rest of this entry
When I was thinking of what items I would lilke to make and sell, I decided on ‘things to put things in’ therefore trying to stick with bags and cosies. My next makes were therefore tea cosies. I think every house should have a tea cosy! I love making them as they follow the same ‘rules’ as any bag with a lining and are quite quick to make.
As you all know I have been beavering away making items for my craft stall. However I have also been spending quite a bit of time getting the look of my stall right. I think how it looks is just as important as the things you are selling, after all if you don’t entice your customers in to browse then it doesn’t matter what your products are like! So with this in mind I decided I wanted to have a striking sign with my stall name, tied in with my logo from my business cards and Etsy/Folksy site.
Read the rest of this entry
Just a short post to show you another tote bag I have made, this time with a flower design
I think it has come out quite well. I like using buttons to add the finishing details such as the centre for the flowers on this design.
The bags from Hobbycraft are ideal for small projects and for 99p it doesn’t matter if it doesn’t go to plan!
Sarah x
