Tag: upcycling

Sewing box

I found an old sewing box in a second hand shop a while ago. It was a bit battered, and in need of some tlc. The fabric covered top seemed the obvious place to put pins, but it was very hard, and not easy to push pins in. So I took it apart to see what happened.

The fabric turned out to be wrapped round a piece of polystyrene, stuck to some corrigated card, which had been glued and pinned to a bit of plywood, then stuck to the top of the box.

So I could have used the top for pin cushions, but it wouldn’t have been long before the polystyrene disintergrated, so it was no bad think to get it sorted. Anyway, I was past the point of no return.

Having got everything apart, I went off to buy some chalk paint. Actually, that is an oversimplification. There were several occasions when I was in the right sort of shop, buying something sensible, trying to remember what else I needed. But eventually, I got some sage paint.

I wondered about drawing a paper pattern for the new cushions, but I decided that was too hard and fiddly. I used the cardboard, and turned the edges of a piece of calico round the edges to make the base. Then I wrapped another piece round the polysyrene and oversewed the two shapes together round three sides. Then I slipped the polystyrene out, stuffed it with lentils, and oversewed up the last side. That made the cushions the right shape, but a little too small, and the sides curled up a bit, leasving a gap. Probably too much stuffing, but it is better to get it firm.

I don’t know why it is that whenever I need a small piece of fabric I can never find one that is the right thickness, or the right colour, or the pattern is the right scale. Eventually, I found some left over from some old bedroom curtains. Laura Ashley ones from the 90s. I stretched this over the cushions, and stuck the edges down on the original plywood shape, using hot glue.

And here is the result:

A scissor holder

A while ago, I saw a display on a stall selling kits to make scissor pouches and “keepers” for embroidery scissors. You know, the sort that is permanently fixed to the handle of the scissors, so it is always handy.

It is a really difficult to display small items in a crowded space. You need some way of lifting them up from the surface of the table so people see them as they approach the stall, making them more likely to stop and look. This stall holder had a collection of old bobbins of different heights, grouped together, with the scissors  pushed into the top, and the beautifully embroidered case hanging down, high enough to catch the eye of the passer by. Brilliant, and so simple.

I love old textile kit, but I have never bought and old reels and bobbins. They are lovely, but what do you do with them? I’m reminded of my friend, who used to say as we walked to work past gift shops in York “Huh. Dust catchers!”

But now I know better. So I started keeping a look out. The first one I found was on the short side, so long scissors go right through the hole and might scratch the table. Felt seems the obvious solution. Too thin? Yes, the scissors could easily get pushed through that. So I planned to stick a piece of firm vilene, canvas or something similarly tough on first.

While I was rummaging, I found an offcut of a cork tile. Much better. I drew on a circle a bit smaller than reel, stuck it on with PVA glue, weighted down while it dried.

Job done.

So now, I am gradually working through the house. Every room needs a pin cushion, a bits bowl, and a pencil pot. And now a scissor holder. So far, just the living room and the studio are equipped…

Twenty uses for a bulldog clip

I must say that I think the title of this post is rather pushing it.

Some of these “ideas” are only what I thought a bulldog clip was for.

But on the other hand, there has got to be some mileage in the brush holder idea.

And I rather fancy the jam jar lid palette.

I shan’t be trying the idea for hanging the end of a bottle from a nail. With my luck, I would put in just a bit too much weight, and the whole thing would ping off the wall.