Fashioned4You: repurpose

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Creating a Cute Purse from a Hem Tutorial

After cutting 3 inches off a cute little dress for a cute little 3 year old....I decided to fashion her a coordinating bag out of the excess fabric. This is how I did it...

I cut the excess fabric into four 15 inch x 3 inch strips

I sewed the strips together to make a square that was approximately 12 x 15.

I then cut it into a 12 inch circle and sewed two 1/2 inch button holes one on opposites of the circle an inch from the edge. As well, I cut a 12-inch circle out of a coordinating piece of fabric and sewed them with right sides together...

I left a 1.5 cm opening thru which to turn the bag.

After turning the bag, I sewed 1/4 inch from the edge of the bag.

And then sewed around it again, 1/2 inch from the first seam. I slip stitched the turning hole closed.

Then, I ran 2 separate cording systems...starting and ending in the same button hole. I cut the cords and there you have it...a coordinating bag for the dress you just hemmed. :)

Monday, May 7, 2012

Another Upcycled Sweater

Repurposing old into new seems to be my favorite thing to do as of late. Here is another project that my mother-in-law and I created for my daughter. We felted a wool sweater that we purchased at a second-hand store. You can find the instructions for felting wool here. To find step-by-step instructions on creating the bag, click here.

We used remnants from the sweater to create rosettes and hand hand stitched them onto the bag to add some embellishment. I thought it turned out so cute!

We had chosen a smaller sweater to create this bag...since it was for an 8 year old. The neck of the sweater, in its shrunken state, was now the perfect size for an 18-inch doll. We added some sleeves to create a dress for her American Girl and used the cuffs for the skirt.

To further utilize all the scraps, we also created a bag for her doll to match her own.

All in all, we created 2 bags and a dress from an upcycled sweater. The best part was my daughter's smile rewarding our efforts!

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Felting Wool -- Upcycle Sweater Tutorial

Do you have an old wool sweater that you just can't bear to part with? Maybe for sentimental reasons, or maybe you just love the pattern/colors? Don't despair! There are so many fun things you can do with that sweater to repurpose it...bring it back to life! Today I will show you how I felt old sweaters. I use sweaters from my own collection or those I have purchased at the second-hand store. Felting is fusing the fibers of the wool together so they don't unravel when cut (sweater must be 100% wool).

Step #1 ~~ Select the sweater you wish to felt. Below is the one I chose.

Step #2 ~~ Wash the sweater in HOT water. I use detergent as well, just to ensure it is nice and clean.

Step #3 ~~ Dry the sweater on high heat in the dryer.

Step #4 ~~ Wash in hot water again.

Step #5 ~~ Dry again.

Here is the end result!

Your wool sweater is now felted and ready for a new purpose! I will be posting some fun, cute ways to use felted sweaters in the coming days here on my blog. Be sure to check back!!!

A few points to remember:
1. I have found at second hand stores that most of the wool sweaters have already been accidentally tossed in the washer and/or dyer....thus shrinking it and resulting in its arrival at the resale shop. If this is the case, you may only have to wash/dry one time.

2. As you can see below, these sweaters will shrink considerably! I put a recorder in the picture to depict how much smaller it does get after washing and drying. Depending on the intended purpose...be sure to choose sizing carefully! I almost always go for at least a women's large or extra large.

3. You must use a 100% wool sweater in order for the fibers to fuse properly to prevent unraveling when cut.

4. If your sweater has a musty smell or smells of moth balls (I had one of these recently that smelled up the whole house!!) just pour 1/2 cup of vinegar in with the washing. That should take care of that!

Before Felting