The evolution of a backpack

I've taken up cycling - I love the feeling of freedom with the wind in my hair...

But I wanted to be able to wear a t-shirt and trackie bottoms and also carry my phone/keys/spanner/anything else I might need with me.  The little pocket that I added to my trackies wasn't up to the job.  So another solution was in order...

I spotted a redundant backpack in my wardrobe.  But it was a bit, um, plain. 

Ever conscious of safety (well, ok, sometimes!) I thought it might be a good idea to add some reflective material to the backpack so that at least I would be visible in the gloomy autumnal mornings.

Then I remembered that I had a school jacket of my daughter's that no longer fit - and that had little reflectors on it.  So I cut them off and added them to the backpack.

As it looked like a face, I scoured my oddments box and came across some of the wool that I had felted and cut that up to add to the picture a little.

Before I decided on the final placing for the felt I had a play to see what would look best.

Eyebrows and pupils?  It didn't feel quite right.

So how about a moustache and pupils?  It is Movember after all.

Nope.  That didn't feel quite right either.

So the moustache went and I moved the pupils.  It was starting to feel right.

Maybe catlike?

So I added whiskers...

But they were a bit on the long side so I gave them a trim.

At last - I was happy!

This is what it looked like after my first excursion through the muddy lanes.

But people could still see me!

Next...

Watch out - there's a monster about

My daughter wanted a furry phone holder so here he is...

I had fun trying to get just the right size for the phone, but it all worked out well in the end!

 

He's lined with felt to protect the phone. 

This next picture makes me think that he's in need of a good haircut too!  Which is a bonus :)

 

I have lots of oddments of fur - I think I might just make some more!

 

Somebody's asked if I could make them into little bags - hmmm, I think I might be able to do that!

 

Next...

 

 

 

 



Felt cakes

My 11 year old daughter sees me making things left, right and centre and so she wanted to have a go too.  Why should I be the only one to have all the fun?

After receiving a sewing book for Christmas last year, she has been busily making felt cakes to sell on a stall next month.

Swiss roll or jam tart anyone?

How to make felt

Felt - you just buy it in, don't you?  Surely it's far too difficult to make??

Well, that's what I thought until I read about a way to make it.  Here's how:

- make sure you have 100% wool fabric (or jumper or beanie hat)

- put it in the washing machine at its highest setting

- let the washing machine do all the hard work!

That's it!!!!

So I had to have a go and see if it really was that easy.

I had some preloved woollen tweed so experimented with that.  Here's a before picture. 

And here's what it looked like when it came out.  Unsurprisingly it had shrunk and seemed to be extra thick felt.

I put both together because I was gobsmacked at the difference between the two!

If you have a look at a picture of the cut end of the felt, you can still see the original tweed weave.

 

So when you have your felt, you can make anything you choose in the knowledge that it won't unravel and you don't have to hem it.  Perfect!

I am always excited about discovering a new method!  I'll put '100% wool' on my charity shop shopping list now!

Next...

Felt bag - the creative process in action

I discovered a great way to make your own felt recently which I'll share in a future post.

I wanted to make a bag out of the felt I'd made.  The original idea was to make a completely vertical bag with a handle at the top.  But it was a little bit plain for my liking.

Because I didn't have a set idea of what the bag would look like, I thought I'd share the process that I went through to make the final bag.

So I tapered the sides and shaped the top.  But it looked too deep for me.

I added a lining of not-made-by-me contrasting felt which helped to strengthen the handles.

And then I thought, well, it's a bit plain, why not add a felt flower to the bag?

It was supposed to be a corsage that you could unpin and use separately.  But because the felt I'd made was so bloomin' thick, it just flopped and there was no way I would want to wear it like that on my coat!

 

I added a Sew Selena label, but because of the chunky felt it wouldn't stay straight so I removed it.  I had shortened the bag by that point though - it seems so much more proportionate now.

And then I wondered what the 'corsage' would look like on the front of the bag - not bad.  But not quite right.

But would it be better if it was on the side of the bag?  This didn't look quite right to me.

But when I added it to the other side I was happy.  That was it!

A close up picture of the extra-thick felted tweed - you can just see the original tweed in the middle of the felt.

It even has a straight label!



I'm happy now!

Next...

Tablecloth or strawberry?

I found a rather nice tablecloth 'fabric'.  I say 'fabric' because it was made from PVC and I'd not sewn with it before so wasn't sure that it was entirely possible! 

But, why not have a go and see what happens?

So I made a small child's bag with it.  It was easy peasy to work with as long as I didn't use pins to hold it together (pesky hole marks!)

I originally thought about lining it with green felt, as you do, but my daughter suggested making it into a strawberry bag instead! 

So I did!

Of course, as it's made from PVC, it's waterproof so if a child takes it out in a torrential downpour it will be safe and soggy-less.

It was lined with some leftover fabric that I had originally used to make a shift dress.

I'm not quite sure how but it's now been commandeered by my daughter to take along to her pantomime performance tonight.

Ah well, at least I know how to make them and have a feeling that I might be making a few more like this!!

Sunglasses cosy

You know the story - forever ferreting in my bag for a pair of glasses; getting sunglasses scratched - argh!!

So I decided to make a case/pouch for my glasses.  I had a quick look online and didn't find anything I liked.  Then I spotted a pattern in a magazine that looked promising.  I tried it and um, it wasn't to be.

So I set about creating a pattern for myself.  It had to be lined, it had to be padded and it had to be something that I was happy to pull out of my bag. 

Two teeny weeny prototypes later and here it is:

I love felt so it had to have a felt flower on it too!