So just to remind myself what the challenge was: -
I made my lap top case using a lovely mustard coloured cashmere fabric, with some quilted turquoise fabric on the inside. I followed Say Yes to Hoboken's pattern but added in the lining. It worked well though the turquoise fabric was really slidey and hard to work with.
My repurpose was refashioning the green and white flower dress for a wedding. This worked really well, I love the dress now and will get loads of wear out of it whereas before I was ready to give it to the charity shop.
I fixed all my jackets - attaching buttons (properly this time - so finger's crossed they all stay on longer than my previous attempts!). I also used Shelley's great tutorial for darning holes in the lining of two of them.
Things I've learned -
- I'm seriously addicted to sewing. When I first started reading sewing blogs I'd read about sewers dreaming about their next projects, obsessing over fabric, and think 'they must be exaggerating, surely!' Hah! Now I know exactly what they're all talking about, it kind of takes over at first, now I think I've got it under control, but I'm off to a vintage kilo sale followed by fabric shopping tomorrow so maybe I'm just kidding myself!
- How to mend tears and holes in lining - could now apply this to any darning needing done
- How to do shirring - I loved this, really loved it, it was so much fun to do! Definitely want to do some more shirring.
- Quilting - well kind of, this was a bit of a 'just give it a go and see what happens' rather than following any guidelines but I think it worked out pretty well.
- Attaching buttons properly? - I'll see how the newly fixed buttons hold up and get back to you on this one!
- That altering the hem on a circle skirt takes a loong time!
- I need to learn about more about what types of fabric to use as I think it would make things a bit easier. Also I need a new iron so I can have it turned down low. At the moment it only works if up full, not so good for non-cotton fabric, as I realised when the turquoise fabric turned from a square to a diamond after ironing it on full heat.
- I really, really need to spend time just practising basic techniques like sewing in a straight line, doing hems and seams etc.
- I need to be more careful with my belongings. I made a camera case to match my laptop case. It was fantastic (even if I do say so myself) as my camera fitted snugly inside. I'd quilted it just the same as the laptop case too so it had lots of padding to protect the camera. Then I went to see Pulp at Hyde Park (fantastic!) and on the way home trying to get my cardigan out my bag I must have dropped the camera case. I was so upset at losing it but tried to console myself with the thought that maybe, just maybe, rather than getting ground up in the mud from thousands of feet, it will be found by someone with a camera of a similar size and provide care and happiness to someone else, maybe?! Of course it was also great consolation that I only lost the case and not the camera!
- I LOVE CHALLENGES! Yes indeedy, it's just what I need for those nights when I get home from work and don't feel particularly creative. If I know that there's other people also involved in similar projects, and I know I have a deadline I'd like to meet, then most nights the motivation comes back. Of course some nights I still give in and spend three hours watching CSI instead, or reading a book, or reading sewing blogs, but many nights the challenge worked to restore my creativity!
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| All my newly mended clothes |
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