Face-lifts for clothes and wrist furniture

I've made an exciting discovery, two, actually three if you're being literal.
I can:
• embroider
• applique
• make a bracelet

Now, for those of you who are already versed in these skills it won't seem that exciting, but to little ol' me it's thrilling! (I seem to write this a lot, that's what comes of learning skills that have been around for donkeys but which I didn't apply myself to before.)

Armed with encouragement from my pal Kirsty and an ancient book of embroidery stitches (price: threepence) from my mum, I had a stab at running, back and blanket stitches as well as french knots. Once I stitched a few random shapes on my practice hankie (the humble hankie has a multitude of uses) I thought I'd try out my new skill on a proper piece of clothing. That's where the applique came in.

I fancied jazzing up a plain black cardigan with a cheerful butterfly cut out of yellow flowery fabric. The most secure way to fasten on the butterfly would be to sew it, which is where appliquéing came in! I used some bondaweb to help hold the yellow fabric on my cardigan and then embroidered blanket stitch around the butterfly’s outline. Using backstitch for the tail (is that what that little sticky out bit’s called?) and the same again with French knots for the antenna my cardie was complete! Only drawback was that I had pulled the jersey material of the cardigan too tight so the butterfly is a bit puckered, but hey, you live and learn.

What about the bracelet I hear you cry?

Having spent a v fun hour in The Bead Shop in Covent Garden, London, I had a stab at making jewellery. I threaded beads on to jewellery wire (found at John Lewis or haberdasheries) and then knotted the ends around a fastening (magnetic ones are the easiest to get on and off yourself). It’s a bit of a fiddly job as I kept measuring it against my own wrist while trying not to let the beads fall off, and it’s harder than you’d think to get the size/colour/style of beads right. Beads that look great on a table can look too big or garish on your wrist.

Anyhow, the results of my efforts, all both of them, are here, let me know what you think!

All in all I am quite pleased with my new craftiness. I gave an old piece of clothing a facelift and made myself wrist furniture for a bargain price.

Next step is to use vintage fabric my mum has passed down and pieces recycled to me by Kirsty rather than newly shop-bought cuts. And if I can find beads made from recycled materials I’ll be even happier. Perhaps I can take fastenings off old bracelets and reuse them…

The mental cogs are a-whirring!

Comments

[Kirsty]

Love, love the bracelets, especially the colours in the green/aqua/amber version, and can't believe that's the first time you've tried blanket stitch + French knots- so neat!

Re. vintage fabrics, I found this - http://www.flickr.com/photos/dottieangel/3834166339/ - yesterday. New curtain made from vintage linens (which you wouldn't need to cut up and/or harm in any way). Hmmm...ideas, ideas.

:)

[the green gal]

Oh wow, that curtain is fantastic! What a brilliant idea and so beautifully done.
Thanks v much for the big tick on my sewing, high praise indeed coming from you, Kirsty! Hope you like my stitchy card!

[SarahLP]

I love your appliqued butterflies, they look fantastic! Lovely fabric and super-neat stitches!! And your bracelets are beautiful too. :-)

[the green gal]

Thanks for your comments, SarahLP, much appreciated!