From Tablecloth to Travel: A Handmade Top for Morocco

I have been sewing again with an old embroidered tablecloth. This one was not a family heirloom, but I must have bought it from a charity shop, I think. So long ago I can't remember where, and like lots of other pieces of fabric it has been tucked away in a box, awaiting its turn. 

 

For this project I have used my go-to pattern: the Ethel Ruffle Blouse, from Tiana's Closet. Once again I put seams down the centre front and back to give the top some symmetry. My favourite section is the back, and after all it is good to look stunning as you walk away. 

 

Again I had to use the last bits of my plain tablecloth for the bottom section, and have not put any gathers, as that is what my daughter prefered.

 

 

Same v-neck, and this time I made it without sleeves, and improvised some facing pieces to finish the armholes neatly. Below is a corner of the original tablecloth. 

The top is already in the post to my daughter, who is off on holiday to Morocco next week. I am hoping she may send me a photograph of herself wearing it, but that may not happen. 

And no, the fez perched on top of my dressmaking model isn't because of the Moroccan theme. It's lived there ever since a New Year’s Eve a few years back, when—after watching Squeeze on a Hootenanny—we thought it’d be hilarious to order a fez as our first act of the year. Possibly too much champagne was involved.

Embroidered Tablecloth Blouse

This is a project I've been thinking about for a long time. I have a collections of embroidered tablecloths - some inherited from my mother, and others I've picked up over the years. I've always planning to sew with them, but the idea of cutting into these precious fabrics - and possibly getting it wrong - kept holding me back.

At last, though, I have got sewing, and I'm really happy with the result. I used the Ethel Blouse pattern, which I had sewn a few weeks ago from some old curtain fabric. I particularly like this pattern, as no tricky buttonholes or zips.

I made a few alterations to accommodate the embroidery layout, and the limited amount of fabric I had. So there is now a central seam at the front and back panels. This meant I could position the embroidery symmetrically. I also decided not to gather the peplum. A few reasons for this: first, I didn't want the gathering to obscure the embroidery, which is the highlight of the piece; second, I really was short of fabric; and finally, a peplum apparently makes me look like I may be pregnant, according to my husband! Cheeky.

I was a little nervous about cutting into the embroidery. Might it come unravelled? But by carefully placing the pattern pieces, I managed to avoid cutting through most of the embroidered sections. And by french seaming throughout, I managed to enclose all the raw edges. I really do love a french seam. 

The sleeves were made from a second tablecloth, which I bought in a charity shop for £2. I did consider using a contrasting colour fabric, but in the end, I stuck with white to keep the blouse cohesive—and true to the tablecloth theme. I love the sleeve design in this pattern, so I was glad I could keep that detail.

I think my mum would be really pleased to see her embroidery given a new life like this. And now, after seeing my blouse, my daughter has asked me to make her a sleeveless version. Luckily, I have another tablecloth in mind that I think will be perfect.

Ethel Blouse

I have been busy sewing again, and used my first ever downloadable pattern. This is the Ethel Ruffle Peplum Blouse from Tiana's Closet. This was a bit of an experiment, as I am still planning to make a blouse from an old embroidered tablecloth, but decided it was best to have a go with another fabric first. 

Possibly my favourite thing about the blouse is the fabric, which is an old curtain that came from a friend's mother. I would use it as a tablecover when I used to do craft fairs, and love the fact that it is old, a bit worn and has such soft colours. My new pasttime is looking in charity shops for interesting fabrics.

The peplum blouse was fairly easy to sew. Downloading and sticking together the many sheets of paper took a while, but probably not as long as a trip to the shops. I really like the sleeves on this pattern, which have a lovely shape. Although I like a long sleeve the elastic cuffs mean you can push these up if you need. I sewed the side seams of the body and arms with french seams, and then used bias tape to enclose the peplum seam on the inside so it would not fray. The blouse just slips on over the head, so no need for zips or fastenings. 

Very happy with the result, and I am now thinking do I go for the tablecloth blouse, or perhaps a skirt that will compliment this blouse. Perhaps faded denim. So many decisions to make.

 

Puppy Dream Cushions

  
I can't believe that it was back in 2014 that I wrote a post about some cushions I made with fabric from sample books that a shop near me was discarding. I showed pictures of some of the other fabrics, with my plans for more projects. But just typical, I didn't get round to any of my great plans.

But recently I noticed my knitted cushion covers have got very tatty, so I have finally used my free fabric to sew some new cushion covers. 

This material is so velvety, and what I like is I would have never thought to combine the colours and patterns in this way, if I had not got these sample pieces. I did have to buy some zips (thank you Fabricland), and some backing material.

So although I know this is not the way to keep your new cushions in good order, they are clearly soft enough to let a puppy have sweet dreams.

Troll Makeover

On our recent holiday we found this sad little creature washed up on the beach.  How long had she been in the sea? What adventures had she been through? Little One decided to adopt her, but she definitely needed a bit of a makeover.

It is amazing what can be done with a bit of pink fluff, some glue and an indeliable pen.  And a bit of pink wool for her new outfit. Her name is Dune.

Now she is ready to meet the other little trolls, and be part of the gang.  But she will always retain the marks of her adventures. (Can you see her smooth hands, feet and ears?)

And the bigger trolls. (Some of these trolls are nearly as old as me, which is why they are so wise.)  I just love trolls.

The Rubberband Years - Is This Fibre Art?

I have been really busy this week, partly with craft fairs and also my son fell and broke his wrist, and so we had a long visit to the hospital. I have not been very creative, so I thought I would post about an object that you can always find somewhere around my house: The Giant Rubberband Ball.  I think it is a bit of a testament to my family's love of the slightly offbeam and perhaps misdirected efforts. 

Although you can't tell from this photo, but it is almost entirely made of red rubberbands picked up from the pavement. These are the ones that the postmen throw away. We started making it when my son started walking to nursery school, so it has been a very long term project. It was great fun looking for the rubberbands, and we also felt we were helping tidy up the neighbourhood. I am a bit embarrassed to admit though that sometimes my husband would go on a special trip to the postal sorting office, where he would find a bumper crop of bands for the ball.

But progress has slowed a bit lately, as it has got to the stage where it is so big the rubberbands won't stretch to go around. Someone gave us a packet of larger bands, which is the outer layer.

I have weighed it on my bathroom scales, and it weighs 10.5 kg, or 1stone 9.2lbs. Actually I was a bit surprised it wasn't more, as it is very, very heavy to pick up.

And what is the point? Well there isn't one, although me and my husband do sometimes refer to those walks to and from school as "the rubberband years".