Friday 23 February 2007

Something New from Something Old




Here are a couple of projects I recently made using either fabric scraps or recycled clothing. The red table runner was sewn from the leftovers I had from sewing my oldest son a log cabin quilt for his bed. This meant the red fabric was already cut into strips, so all I needed to do is add the center white squares and then get sewing! The tote bag is made from two pairs of worn out men's jeans along with using a printed cotton skirt for the lining. The straps of the tote are the waistbands (including the button and button holes) from the jeans. I sewed half inch seams and then snipped the seam allowances in intervals of a half inch so that I could get the raggy effect after washing and drying the tote when it was completed. The tote was quilted with a cotton batting between the fabric layers - with the batting not extending into the seam allowances (you don't want the batting in the raggy part). The inspiration behind both these projects is from the book A Passion for Patchwork by Lise Bergene.

4 comments:

Heather said...

Beautiful! You always think up such neat things. I can't believe you turned those manky old jeans and skirt into such a useful, funky bag. Love it! W thinks it would be good for carrying food - of course that is the first thing he thinks of - I better have a look in person and see if it is big enough to carry his lunch before I try making one. ;-)
I love that "raggy" seam look.

Katherine said...

Thanks Heather! It was a fun project and yes, it would carry groceries, W. Funny, how boys are always thinking of food. Well, with all the worn out jeans I got in my collection, I could be making a lot of these totes. At least they're easy to make!

Nicola said...

When I see you, Katherine, you must give me some tips on sewing through old denim jeans. Having made a couple of jeans bags out of the top part of old jeans, I know it can be a struggle!

Samantha said...

Katherine, those project are beautiful. As always, you amaze me with your creations! Now I really want one of those bags... but first I had better finish my raggy quilt (which would be done by now if my husband hadn't requested it to be bigger)