Apron from Recycled Materials

Today I thought I would get to work making an apron and make use of my new binding foot. Oh dear what a waste of time that was, it was supposed to be compatible with my Toyota machine, well I cannot get it to sew with that thing on.  I followed the online instructions I saw but no way, it sticks up and just won't feed through with it on.  So I put my regular foot back on and had the binding stitched on and nice and neat in no time, so much for time saving devices eh?  It was a pound so what did I expect.

I had a look at a few ideas on pinterest and got some fabric out and had a play around with it, here is my idea...

I made my own binding from one of my husbands old shirts, I just used the sleeves leaving plenty of fabric for another project.  I later moved the pocket on the image and put it to one side, I also added an applique bird for a bit of colour on the front.  The little images at the bottom are aprons I found on pinterest. So gorgeous and I think good enough to go out in but my son said no mum they are not, so that is me told!

Making the binding was therapeutic if time consuming and I did keep getting my fingers too close to the iron when pressing, I may do another post on this if anyone is interested.  It is a good way to use up fabric and would also make a nice gift for friends who sew.

Here is my messy process of deciding what to do with what...

All pieces  were then pressed, folded etc, ready to use.

I quite enjoyed making this and wonder if my friends are in need of aprons for baking.

I did realise after I took this Photo that my bird was in fact blind, so I hastily sewed on a sequin for an eye.

That little dart in the middle of the top of the apron was a remainder from when the fabric was originally trousers.  Here the bird is still waiting for me to cotton on and give her an eye. (Cotton on, ha, oh never mind)

Lovely binding I think without the aid of the special foot.

I didn't do a tie behind the neck as it is for me, I just measured and then stitched it so it would just slip over my head.

Pocket was trimmed off the trouser leg of the fabric I used then stitched on with a feather stitch in pink in the new location which you can't quite see here.

 I thought I would add an outdoor shot while it is still fine enough to do so.

It feels good to have reused some items to create something I will use, as always I also enjoy looking at what others have made to gain some inspiration but like to put my own twist on things and of course where possible try to use some recycled fabric.  The chambray was a pair of trousers a friend gave to me quite some time ago, knowing I would find a use for the fabric.

Here is a little shot of the binding all wound up and neat...

How useful is that? So don't throw those old shirts away.

A New Sewing Tool and Improving on a Project

A little goody arrived in the post this morning in the shape of a new sewing machine foot.  I ordered it a while ago and I was starting to wonder where it had got to, then as if by magic it dropped through the letter box. It is a binding foot and after watching a little demonstration of one I thought I would try it as it was inexpensive from ebay. 

In the past I have never really bought myself these time saving tools and often look on as fellow dressmakers whip out an array of sewing feet that I can't even name. Although it has never held me back I would like to start and become more familiar with these items.

So the first thing I am going to do after playing around with it for a  while is make an apron, not too exciting I know but as I keep splashing myself every time I cook or bake it is the obvious choice, plus lots of binding needed on one of those.  I will be repurposing an old shirt to cut my strips of binding.

I finally got around to a little job that has been bothering me for a while. In 2014 I made a black denim jacket that I love you can see it here, and although I have worn it lots each time I do I think I really should change the lining.  You see when I made the jacket I had the idea of lining it with Paul Smith shirting, which is lovely but if you wear anything with sleeves it grabs as you pull the jacket on.  Of course this is why we have lovely silky linings.  So while it looked lovely in the jacket it wasn't altogether practical.  So while I was shopping a couple of weeks ago I bought some lining fabric in a lovely blue and set to work.

Of course it took longer than I thought, the jacket pieces were many and I had to unpick all the stitching of the original lining where it meets the outer jacket, but I did opt to leave it in as an extra layer.

Some time later and here it is finished, it slides on and off easily now so no need to worry about those sleeves.  But I really should make sure things are hanging correctly on the hanger before I take the photographs.

Organising, Reusing and Books

This past month I read 'The life changing magic of tidying up' by Marie Kondo, it must be popular as I have had it on order for ages at the library.  I thought I would give it a go even though I find it difficult to see magic in that subject.

I sat and read the whole book early one Saturday morning, not because I was so riveted but rather I was busy looking for the magic.  For me sadly there wasn't any but I did pick up a few tips which is always good.

The books goes through Marie's life from  early childhood and how she has always loved organising and tidying for all of her family. I have to say I am impressed that she has made such a huge success from something that she loves,  for it to have taken root in her childhood and she has built on that enjoyment with a business and a writing career.  If you watch any of her organising videos she is big on rolling clothes and items to maximise storage space, this is something I have taken on board as I was having issues with finding tights and t-shirts in my wardrobe because I kept them stacked on a hanging shelf unit. 

In this case it has made life easier if not exactly magic.

The good thing about the book is that Marie admits over the years  she has tried may methods of storage but the best thing to use is boxes, shoe boxes if you have them.  I loved that as so often we are told that if we want to get on top of things we just need to buy a certain object to solve all our problems.  When all you really need to do is utilise what you already have on hand.  So with that in mind I went my wardrobe pulled out all of my tops and tights and grabbed a few boxes.. A couple would not fit back on the shelf unit without a bit of a snip so I  cut them down and taped them back together.. Long sleeved t-shirts were rolled and put on one box, tights rolled and placed in two others and strappy tops in the last, and they al fit neatly back on the hanging shelf.

Bobbly tights!

If I need these items now I just slide the box out to get what I need and I can see clearly what is there, whereas when you stack items you have to hunt through the pile.  Marie does have some slightly odd ideas about thanking your clothes for their service as you put them away, I wont be doing that but it doesn't hurt to feel gratitude when so many have so little.

Overall there are some common sense ideas that we just fail to see or use sometimes and it is a nice little reminder that freeing the clutter does make your mind more peaceful, again all respect to Marie for finding her passion and calling but is it magic?   I really feel that we are always learning something and I did learn some new strategies here.

My next book 'Mindset Matters Most' I read over the last few days, I felt this promised a lot more than it delivered.  After reading the reviews for this book and some saying it was the best book they had ever read I felt excited when it arrived.

I love books on mind matters and positivity and while many present the same ideas  they are often in a new way with new little gems thrown in.  I thought this was going to be like that, it wasn't.  The first half of the book keeps repeating what it is not going to tell you to do, how it is not self hypnosis, thinking good things into being etc. Right near the end you are given the tips on what you should do each day to reach your potential and they are exactly that, visualising, writing a script, self talk  and so on, all the stuff the book claimed it wasn't.  The only disclaimer being that of course you need to take action, you can't just will success your way.  Not wanting to be negative though,  if this is the first book of this style that you are going to read then you will probably find lots of useful insights, it is just that I have read a few that are almost identical.