Patriotic appliqued cushion cover

I love it when I get inspired!

I was looking through my fabric stash the other day wondering what I could make next - don't worry, there are a million and one projects that I *plan* to make, it really just depends on the order!

So I find a preloved denim skirt to upcycle.  Then I spotted a red shirt with the dinkiest little daisies all over it.  Hmmm.  It's looking rather British to me.  So I add a preloved tablecloth and the idea is beginning to form.

I have enough denim to make a cushion cover, thinks I, and I haven't appliqued anything in a while.

Yes, I will make a cushion cover with the Union Jack on it.

It was great fun seeing it all come together, even though the tablecloth fabric did begin to look like an octopus before I had appliqued it to the denim - there were 'arms' everywhere!

The back was made with a tuck-in design.  I did consider adding Velcro (not quite the look I was after) and/or a button, but thought that that might be a bit uncomfortable in the middle of the back!

And this is the skirt that the main fabric came from.  Just so you know!

I do love a fun project!!

Next...

A journal cover for Samuel

I was asked to make a journal cover for Samuel.

Denim and green were to be the colours.  With his name on it.

Now, preloved denim I already had.  But 'Samuel' is quite a long name to put on the front of a journal.  So, how to make it work *taps chin thoughtfully*...

Easy peasy - write 'Samuel', hand sew over the top of it with a contrasting colour and then applique it to the front of the journal cover.  Result!

All beautifully top-stitched with lime green thread!

I do hope Samuel likes it!

Next...

Denim jacket to satchel refashion

I absolutely adore refashioning items with a history (or should that be story?) into something wonderful and new.

So when I was asked to refashion an original Levi's denim jacket which had been embroidered by the owner's wife-to-be half a century ago, I jumped at the chance.  Sure, it was a little tentative - what if it went wrong?  You certainly can't get another one of these! 

And that is the beauty of sewing for me - to produce unique items which capture a moment in time for somebody else. 

We agreed that it would be made into a satchel.

The front of the jacket was embroidered with a rainbow and had a branch on the lapel.

While the back had a ram emblazoned on it.

I looked for some fabric to line the soon-to-be satchel.  Nothing seemed 'right' to me.  Then I remembered that I had a denim shirt from the same lady that I could use - and it would tone really well.

Before even thinking about cutting into the jacket, I had to plan where each part was going to go.  I figured that the ram from the back panel was to go on the back and along the top of the satchel.

The front of the satchel was created from part of the sleeve - I thought it looked good with the seam running down it.

Try as I might, there was not enough 'satchel' to incorporate the rainbow.  So I placed it in the front pocket.  Well, the best things in life are hidden until you realise they are there, aren't they?

And of course that meant that the pot of gold was in there too using applique.

I had a bit of luck with the side of the front pocket - it appeared that the waistband of the jacket was the precise width that I needed.  So that was incorporated too; press studs and all - I do so love retaining as much of the original item as possible.

The Ralph Lauren shirt was used for the interior, the interior pocket and the strap and side-release buckle tabs.

The strap itself together with the satchel gusset was made from a pair of jeans.

And the branch was appliqued onto the top of the satchel.

One embroidered denim jacket satchel!

One fabric memory :)

Next...

Denim joy

I was asked to make a journal cover in blue with a yellow 'joy' similar to the Razzmatazz applique cover that I had made previously.

What immediately sprang to mind was using preloved denim and sunshine yellow.

So I had a play.  Discovered some preloved jeans; added some yellow fabric and voila - another journal cover was created!!

The thread I used to top stitch the cover with was the same orange colour that I'd used to change a jeans zip.  I thought I would use it again because it was in keeping with the jeans theme.

This cover was born to keep the Your Body Speaks journal cosy!

Next...

Embroidered denim bag - or is it a skirt?

I came across a delicious embroidered denim skirt in a charity shop one day - it was too nice to leave there so I brought it home.  I spotted its potential from a mile off!

Of course I immediately thought - bag - but I wasn't quite sure where to start - what with all those thick seams between the gores and everything.

Those roses are quite something, aren't they?

After much humming and harring I eventually figured out that I could cut the skirt between two gores and keep the design relatively straightforward.  I just had to go with what I'd been given on this one!

What I hadn't banked on was that each of those gores not only had a different hem length but they also were different widths!  That had me scratching my head as to how to do that, but I finally identified two sets of mildly equal gores and began cutting the skirt up.

 

The front of the bag lent itself more to a label so I used the three rose panel for the front and the four rose panel for the back.  Sure I could have made two bags (I have enough roses left over to open a florists!) but I wanted this bag to be special.

 

Initially the bottom corners of the bag were pointy but I curved the edges slightly to give it a better shape while still making sure that the rose embroidery wasn't cut into.

While on a different foray into a charity shop I discovered a teal coloured sheet.  It virtually begged me to be used as the lining for a bag.  I love the denim and teal together - must be my new favourite colour combination!

There's even a pocket in there too!

I chose not to add a magnetic snap fastener as the top of the bag is quite narrow anyway due to the constraints of the gores.

Oh, and I needn't have worried about the thick seams on the gores - my needle was fine with them and they virtually disappeared in the end result.

Next...

Brightening up a denim skirt

We all have denim skirts that we love, right?

Well, I loved this one but I wanted to brighten it up a little, to give it a new look. 

So I added some satin ribbon to the bottom.  The handkerchief hem seemed to go on forever and I was surprised at the quantity of ribbon it took!

I really like the way it turned out and am much more inclined to wear it now.

Ok, back to curtain making...LOL!