Re-purposed sewing

December 9, 2009

Three crafty posts in a row (with more on the way). What's going on here? Must be Christmas! But it's not just that. There is definitely a creative groove in our home right now and I'm just running with it.

Inspiration

Sewing with re-purposed fabrics is nothing new to many of you but I just wanted to share a few projects we've made in the last month or so with worn out clothing and leftover project materials. Firstly, I've been inspired by a couple blogging friends, most notably Nicola at which name? and Lisa at 5 Orange Potatoes to experiment and play with "old things" to make "new things". Other sources of inspiration have been these excellent books:

• Handmade Home. A very popular book for families with kiddos since many projects are kid friendly or kid inspired.
• Sewing Green: Projects and Ideas for Stitching with Organic, Repurposed, and Recycled Fabrics. I was able to get this book through inter-library loan. Have I mentioned yet how much I love inter-library loan?
• Sweater Surgery: How to Make New Things with Old Sweaters. Ditto on inter-library loan.

Projects

~ Knee-socks sewn from the arms of a sweater. This was a collaborative project for Celine and I. We found the idea in Sweater Surgery and located the perfect sweater at goodwill, having nothing suitable in our own "worn-out clothing" bin.

~ Denim purse made from Celine's favorite pair of jeans. Celine tackled this project all on her own and from her own inspiration.

~ Bernie, the Hippy Chick, handstitched by Brienne and I using the pattern found in Sweater Surgery. The original instructions call for felted sweaters, we just used new crafting felt. But we found the fabric at our local reusable resources center which collects excess materials, both used and new, from business and industry to re-distribute to schools, educators and non-profit organizations. I have a yearly membership and this is where I get most of the kid's crafting supplies; fabrics, papers, etc...

Bernie's current home as tree topper

~ Yarn & button stuffed vinyl tree decoration made by me with leftover vinyl from a kitchen chair upholstery project. A bit of funky fun for our Christmas tree. What re-purposed crafting have you been doing? Can you recommend other books or resources?