Upcycling Old Jumpers

Many of us have, at some point, ended up with a jumper that is no longer useful. Either it will have worn out or been ruined through washing etc.

There are numerous ideas and projects that can be done to repurpose, upcycle or adapt the jumper into something unique, useful, new and even stylish!

Old jumpers are also easily accessible via donations from friends and family or by raiding the rails at the local charity shop (unless I am looking for something specific I rarely spend more than £1 on a jumper!)

I find that the jumpers acquired often dictate the project as different fibres lend themselves to different ways of working with them.

For example if I want to work with felted fabric I will need to select 100% wool fabrics and boil wash them in order to create the suitable material (of course this washing procedure may be what prompts the need to re-purpose the jumper in the first place!) Felting woollen jumpers can be a bit hit-and-miss as some woollen jumpers have been specifically treated to prevent them being unintentionally shrunken in the wash. However many will shrink.

The beauty of working with felted jumpers is that they require little or no  hemming etc. as the fibres will not unravel due to the felting procedure. The fabric can often be used in the same projects that regular felt would be used and as such many decorative projects can result from these. The material may still retain some of its flexibility, however, and can be made into extra warm clothing: outerwear, hats and shoes etc.

Cotton knit jumpers tend to be the most likely to unravel when cut due to the smoothness of the fibres. As such it is important that the cutting stage is done as closely to the sewing stage as possible. Cotton knit is great for repurposing into clothing as it has a good structure and is less likely to misshape. It is also good at retaining body heat in the colder months as well as keeping cool in the summer.

Acrylic knits are, by far, the easiest fabric types to get hold of. They are often the jumpers relegated to the special offer rails in the charity shops. They should not be discredited however as they are likely to be the best source of colour and pattern into any project. Any seams and hems will need to be carefully sealed in the creation process to prevent unraveling of the fabric.

When cutting and sewing old jumpers there are a number of ways to seal the seams and hems.

The most common way involves using an overlocker or serger which will sew and bind the edges of the fabric at the same time. These are becoming more econimic to buy and can cost little more than a sewing machine. Another way to seal in any raw edges is to sew all the seams as “french seams” as explained in the following diagram:

Another seam type which would seal in the raw edges is a felled seam, however this may be trickier to do as the knit fabrics are harder to press flat:

Raw edges can also be sewn in by hand which although takes time may actually be easier!

When upcycling and repurposing old jumpers it is important to experiment and have fun and remember every item you make is unique!

 

Giving new life to a pair of Jeans

As a fabric upcycler I am often given old clothing to use. One of the most frequent items of clothing I receive is a pair of old/worn jeans.

There are many different ways to upcycle a pair of jeans. I wanted to maximise the use of just one pair, using as much of the fabric as possible and retaining the look of the jeans.

My initial idea was to use the seat of the trousers to make a bag, retaining the front and back pockets and using the front button in the bag closure.

To do this I carefully cut off the legs and straightened the area around the crotch of the jeans. I then used the basic shape to cut out lining fabric (I have lots of off-cuts of fabric and various old curtains/bedlinen etc..) I sewed the side seams of the lining together on the machine.

To shape the bottom of the bag I gathered both the denim fabric and the lining fabric to make the bag have more of a 3D shape at the base. I then sewed the bottom seams up and tacked them together to help with the final assembly.

I then moved on to making the straps for the bag by cutting strips from the legs and folding the raw edges in, these were sewn up by hand using blanket stitch.

I also made a small loop to close the bag at the front and sewed up the fly to prevent the zip from unfastening.

I then pinned all the pieces in place, tucking the raw ends of the straps and the loop in between the lining and the outer of the bag.

I carefully hand-sewed blanket stitch around the top of the bag sealing all the parts together. This completed the bag.

Here are some of the samples I made whilst developing the design:

 

I then looked at the rest of the denim left over from the pair of jeans.

I was left with two complete leg panels and some off-cuts from the rest of the making process.

This included the side seams from the legs which I carefully cut off and using plenty of PVA glue I coiled the seams up together to make a coaster:

 

From the remaining fabric I made a hairband but making a flower by gathering one strip of fabric and then making the band from another strip of fabric which I hand-stitched the edges of. I added some elastic to make it fit.

 

I also made a “Beastie” (along the lines of the crochet beasties I had made previously) which I stuffed with all the tiny off cuts that were too small to do anything else with.

 

 

I was then left with a few long thin strips of denim fabric which I plaited together and tied off to make very simple raw bracelets

 

 

Apart from a few remaining scraps I had now used all of the denim fabric from a single pair of jeans and upcycled it into new, unusual and unique items.

 

Many of the fabric bags are still available to purchase.

I am also available to come and teach you how to upcycle like this…

Please contact me on rachel@pixiecreations.co.uk for more details

Making Ballgowns from what we had.

When preparing for National Wear a Ballgown Day the main thing that we needed to sort out and that was what to wear! Neither of us had a ballgown or the budget to buy anything so we needed to make two dresses from things we already had.

I had already decided that this was a fantastic opportunity to re-invent the blue fabric (you can read about it here)

I began by making an underskirt. This was made from a very stiff fabric and was a semi-circle. To the waist of this I attached one piece of the blue fabric with the added decoration (holographic ice floes, lines of silver sequins and blue lace strands) to the outside.

 

The width of the fabric was far longer than the skirt so I took tucks to create a “poofy” look, added volume and texture.

 

For the bodice of my gown I already owned a top that was suitable both in colour and style. I had bought it many years ago. It had a velvet body with floaty voile sleeves in the same blue as the skirt fabric

         

I used the other piece of the blue fabric to make an apron/bustle/waistband piece. This added more layers and created a train for the dress.

 

The finished ensemble gave the overall impression of being a complete ballgown in blue!

   

 

All the outfit needed was a tiara and accessories. The tiara was made from a piece of a coat-hanger bent into shape with various beads added for decoration. I also made a pair of dangly earrings and a charm-style bracelet.

 

Catherine’s dress was based on a black skirt she already owned. I added an underskirt with plenty of net to help it stick out. I also added a trim in red and netting to lengthen the skirt to floor length.

 

She wanted a train so I added an extra piece of red fabric to the back hem and trimmed it with lace.

 

The bodice of the dress was a top in a very dark green velvet.

 

I then cut up a lace blouse to create a bolero top to cover her shoulders.

 

Put together this created a ballgown in black and red with lace trims.

 

For her tiara Catherine used a plastic toy tiara belonging to her daughter!! She also wore a black velvet crushed velvet cloak on the day.

 

For details of what we got up to on the day check out the blog post here

How to make an Upcycled Magazine Bowl

Step-by-Step instructions for making a bowl from magazines. (Magazine print is likely to rub off onto your fingers making them black but washes off quite easily!)

You will need:

Magazines/catalogues/junk mail etc (make sure you’ve finished reading them!) Sticky tape Scissors Varnish and paintbrush (or PVA glue or similar) Paper slicer (optional)

Step 1 Slice up the magazines into workable strips  (I make 9cm widths the length of the page)

Step 2 Fold each strip lengthways in half

Step 3 Open flat and fold one side into the centre crease

Step 4 Fold the new edge into the centre again.

Step 5 Turn page around and fold the edge in to the middle again.

Step 6 Fold the final edge in to the middle.

Step 7 Fold back along the centre line

Step 8 Repeat this for the rest of your magazine strips.  To make a 17cm diameter bowl I used approximately 150 strips of magazine.

(I kept them up together in a large plastic jug.)

Now to start rolling!

Step 9 Carefully start to make the roll. Curl the first paper around itself don’t worry if its not tight enough you can pull it tighter later.

Step 10 When you come to the end of the first piece carefully line up the next piece slightly overlapping the first and stick together with clear sticky tape. Continue rolling, adding pieces one at a time, sticking them together as you go.

Step 11 As the coil grows you will find it easier to work pushing the disc onto the table. pull the end as you go keeping the coil tight.

Step 12 If you need to stop coiling (either to cut more tape or for any other reason) use elastic bands to secure the loose end. Wrap the disc well to stop it unrolling!

Step 13 Continue rolling adding all the pieces until you have reached the size you want. (the outer edge will make the rim of the bowl)

Step 14 Choose the last 2 or 3 pieces carefully to get the colours you want for the rim of the bowl.

Step 15 Cut a small piece of tape and stick the last end back to the rim of the bowl.

Step 16 You now have a flat disc.

Step 17 Carefully shape the bowl by pushing the sides up and the center down. Take care with this so you don’t loose the whole structure of the disc!

Step 18 Once you have the shape you want coat the bowl in varnish (or PVA or similar) The paper will soak up lots of the varnish/glue. Use plenty!

Step 19 Leave to dry. It will take a while and you may want to add more coats of glue/varnish to make the bowl stronger.

You now have a lovely recycled bowl! 

Cloaks and Upcycled Pixiecoats in Wasdale

Over the Easter Weekend it was such wonderful weather here in the Lake District that we decided to go into the national park and take some photos of our cloaks and coats.

Wasdale was chosen as a location because of its natural beauty and lovely backdrop of the fells leading up towards ScaFell, Englands highest peak.

We started with the unlined cloaks

 

The combination of sun and wind made for some atmospheric photos.

 

The corner of the sheep fence lent itself to some “Titanic” inspired images with billowing cloak and dramatic fells in the background.

 

The light helped to pick out the beautiful colours in the crushed velvet.

Next it was the turn of the lined cloaks.

 

The wind helped the cloaks to billow and show off the expanse of fabric used.

 

The contrast between the crushed velvet and the satin lining can be clearly seen.

Upcycled PixieCoats

The location was ideally suited to show off the colours and textures in the upcycled knitwear.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Models courtesy of Two-Headed Sheep Morris Dancers, Herbal Doo-Dahs and Morrigan’s Drawings

Photography by Pixie Creations

Video on Youtube Here

Upcycling Suede Jacket Project

Initially this project started with finding a simple suede jacket.

I wanted to improve the look to create something unique and lavish.

I have a large selection of fabrics and trimmings to use so starting with the base colour of the suede I gathered a collection of fabrics together.

I decided to create a large patchwork skirt to sew onto the bottom of the jacket to add length and make it much more coat-like.

To do this I needed to cut out a template for the skirt from paper (this involved a large amount of geometry!)

I then cut the fabric into rough quadrilaterals and laid them out on the pattern balancing the coloured and patterned fabrics.

The patches then needed sewing together. Initially I tried pinning them but this caused the patches to ruffle and not lie flat. So I improvised and used masking-tape to hold the patches together while I sewed them.

After sewing the seams needed reinforcing. On the front I sewed various pieces of vintage lace, ribbon, braid and other trimmings.

Then I needed to reinforce the back of the seams. I had some bias-binding but it was very bright white. So I toned it down by staining it with tea and then sewed it over the seam joins on the back of the skirt.

Next I made some cuffs for the jacket. I made the crochet lace for these in cream and dusky purple and then gathered them around the wrists of the sleeves and hand stitched them on. This was when I realised that a suede jacket would not make this project easy as I had to hand-sew everything to the suede as it would not go through my sewing machine!

After that I sewed the skirt around the bottom edge and added some more lace to help blend the skirt into the jacket.

I then moved on to embellishing and adding detail to the jacket. I covered the collar with red Chinese brocade and added more crochet lace. I also made a faux corset back from more Chinese brocade with metal rings and ribbon. I covered the pocket flaps with fabric shot with gold thread and trimmed them with red lace.

I then made some lace-trimmed fabric patches onto which I embroidered various motifs to further embellish the coat.

Final trimming involved lining the lapels with purple fabric and trimming the front edges with more lace as well as hemming and trimming the bottom of the skirt section.

Here are some pictures of the finished coat: