Another placemat purse; crocheted fingerless gloves, crocheted wrist cuffs

Got the packages out in the mail to my older daughter and her family.  Pictures of the tote/purse I made for her; again using placemats and napkins for the interior pockets. 

  I adapted the many patterns I found on blogs, to make some simple channel pockets for the interior of the purse. 

  I crocheted 2 pairs of wrist cuffs (above) using fun fur yarn for my two teenage granddaughters. 

 

And I crocheted each of them a pair of fingerless gloves (below)

Two placemats turn nicely into a hanging organizer

Enjoying the crafty ideas I've seen in crafting blogs for using placemats - or better said - for upcyling placemats.  I finished up this one in a jiffy, an organizer, using two placemats, sewing up the channels and well, I sewed it directly onto a plastic hanger.  Quick as that, I have a pretty little fabric bathroom organizer, or a cosmetic organizer or perhaps a child's room organizer.

I hope to make more of these.  A variation I did make, again using placemat, was to fold it in half along the long side and sew up four channels, making a roll up organizer which I am using in my purse. 

An impromptu chair cover with matching covered pillow

Helpful hints from bloggers prompts me to try new ideas. This is a recycle, refashion idea. Using a pillow case that I picked up at thrift store, it becomes a chair cover with enough left over to cover a small pillow.

Placemat to Purse; made for a nice gift to daughter

Didn't do so great in keeping up with adding my completed projects to this blog. So a bit of catch up if I may. In fascination with working placements and napkins into purses or totes, I made this one for one of my daughters. Intended it for her birthday in February, and the trip she was taking to Hawaii to reunite with her husband returning hone from his second Iraq deployment.

I had some nice gray linen placemats with matching napkins, and following many photos on the blogs, I made this purse.











  

Mesmerizing Image - How a bobbin works

How a bobbin catches thread in sewing machines from Candace at Crafty Daisies

Project; diy Duct Tape Dress Form

Found at ReadyMade blog
Custom dress forms be damned. Why spend an arm and a leg on one of the limbless de Milos when, in less than two hours, you can make one from duct tape for about $15 (instead of the $300—or more—a custom form would cost you)? The folks behind Threads magazine have put together a great primer on how to make a duct tape double.

Perhaps because of its irresistible body armor allure, the duct tape doppelgänger is also oddly popular among Lord of the Rings costume makers, and historical reenactors. The process requires a partner (who will mummify your t-shirted torso with tape), so invite your stitch-savvy friends over for drinks and a duct-tape dummy-making party à la The Bookish Girl. Spilling wine on your shirt isn’t a problem when you’re wrapped in duct tape!

A duct-tape dress form is quick, cheap, and simple. You'll need a couple of 60-ft. rolls of duct tape, a long tee shirt, and a little plastic wrap. Oh, yes, and someone to wrap you in tape.

Project; little girl circle skirt and top - refashioned from bed sheet and Auntie's capris

Now this woman is 'repurposing' purposely. See her blog, Consumption Rebellion, for outline of how she re-used materials that went into making this outfit for her little girl.



excerpt from her blog - how to:

The skirt was constructed as follows:

- waistband - cut from my Great Aunt's pair of denim capris.
- circle skirt (and its really a circle this time!) - from fabric offcut at an op shop - cost $1
- lining - made from an old bedsheet found at an op shop - cost 50c.

- Top - cut from the leg of my Great Aunt's capris and turned upside down so the tapered end went towards the neck and the wider end towards the waist.

Projects: Three projects: Skirt redesign; Postcard Wallart; Skirt conversts to Halter

how to




See this and more at Creative Kismet. She posted this refashion to Wardrobe Refashion but she has her own blog, with photos and how to's and she shares some of her creative ideas.

Like this one.



quick tutorial




Her blog has neatly arranged categories, and from her recycled craft category, below is one nifty idea she created, inspired by something she saw on HGTV in the show Design Remix.
Instead of using matchbook covers as they did on the show, she used old postcards she had and I like the effect. Plus I like old postcards and see them often at thrift stores, and tell myself not to buy because what would I do with them. Well here is what I could do with them.

Project; Re-use jeans/denim to make assorted quilts

More jean/denim quilt ideas. I really must begin saving jeans for the denim and make these projects.

Link for article and some how to instructions at Backwoods Home Magazine.



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Also, same magazine website - Backwoods Home Magazine, an article that explains how to sew a baby quilt in two days. Sounds like something even I might learn to do since I haven't yet begun the self-teaching of learning to make a quilt.




And another quick make it fast project for woolen mittens using old sweater.

Project; Restyling t-shirts

t-shirt makeovers and I was so impressed I saved the photos, but not the link where I found the photos. I would give credit where it is due with link back, so if it's your t-shirt project let me know.


Refashioning t-shirts by refitting, remaking, stenciling, cutting, restyling seems to be the way to go and I regret, after having seen some of the projects online that I didn't save the links.




She has about 20 more of these kinds of tutorials in how to remake, refashion a tee-shirt or t-shirt surgery.
Visit the tutorials at Omystarts Craft


Prone to Hyperbole has instructions for how she turned a t-shirt into boy-style pajama bottoms

Project; two pairs of too small pants to one pair of capris that fit

Pants too small, adapt them using an idea from Three Cat Night (link to follow her instructions). I'm not sure she is still blogging since the last entry in Dec 06, but I remember seeing this project at her blog before and I thought I might could try something like this. Well, now that many of my old pants don't fit my growing hips and waist, I gotta try something!



Two pair of too small pants to one pair of capris that fit

Project; Four from one; dress and three bags from denim bib overalls

A new dress and three bags all from one pair of denim bib overalls - found at her blog - The Sporadic Packrat and she knows how to refashion something old into something new. She took the Wardrobe Refashion pledge, and I can't believe how creative people can be once they let their creative thoughts flow. Some one day I may take that Wardrobe Refashion pledge.



and



and



oh - and a dress too, all out of one pair of denim bib overalls!

Project; diy Denim Organizer

Now here is something I can do with all those pockets I cut off of old pants. And I'm sure I have a pair of used denim jeans around here. The instructions are real simple, and even I can 'make this project'. See the instructions (such as they are) here

instructions given - (note, I in this is Homespun Heart I - not me I); And, this hanging organizer was born! I cut a leg off of a pair of jeans and cut down one side so that when I opened it flat it was a bigger piece of denim. That formed the backing and is why the backing is not perfectly straight as legs of jeans are tapered. Then I sewed pockets and made "pockets" to hold gloves and hats. Scarves are hanging on a hanger next to this.

Project; kimono style roll; for sewing needles, crochet hooks or...

This is called a kimono needle roll, but I think I will adapt it for other uses as well, depending on how my first go at it turns out. I like the idea of using combinations of fabric to create it, and while I don't really need a sewing or crochet needle roll, I do need to contain some other smaller type objects in a kimono style roll. Besides, I like kimonos. I lived a couple of years in Japan when I was a wee child, and I fondly remember kimonos.

I also don't think I would follow all the steps in the tutorial because I'm basically feeling too lazy to put that much energy into it, but, I may need to follow the tutorial if my free whirling attempt fails.

Project; Envelope pillow or make a slip envelope to recover an old pillow

Link tutorial for making an envelope pillow. In other words, recovering an old, ugly pillow using different fabric. I plan to scour my new 'saved' old clothes for fabric to recover some old pillows I've kept around but don't fit my decor any more.

Project; pants to cute ruffled skirts

Oh, a new site 'find' for diy, refashioning clothes and some tutorials on how to -
Scorpio's Attic DIY. I'll be checking back there often, and adding as one of the links I like to my link list.







Photos below, though, are another peron's project at Wardrobe Refashion, and she kindly links to the tutorial that helped her to make these two cute ruffled skirts.

Project; Extend too short pants/jeans

Clever idea for 'extending' those too short pants or jeans. You have to love those people over at Wardrobe Refashion for some of the clever ideas they come up with in taking the pledge and sharing their projects via photos.