Our craft n chat group were given a large bag of denim by Annie and we then needed to find something to do with it. I previously made two denim cushions, which only put a small dint in the haul. I found a woven denim mat on Pinterest and decided to have a go.
It was to be a bathroom sized mat about 24 by 18 inches. I used 4 pairs of jeans and cut them into 2 inch strips. Mick found a 1 inch wide Bias Binding tool to make the strips, on the internet. We were lucky that when it arrived, with only a little manipulation, we managed to thread the denim through the tool. Then every strip was ironed to keep its shape.
I pinned 18 dark strips to a foam board. Then wove the 24 lighter strips across. As you can imagine, this was not straight forward. Much pinning and re-pinning needed to be done to keep the whole thing squared off. I am a fuss pot and a wavy weave would not do.
Many more pins were attached to enable me to lift the piece off the mat. While it was pinned I also tacked across and down the strips to make sure it did not move once lifted.
Once the mat was lifted, I machine sewed around the edge twice to stabilise it.
I then added a border and finally hand sewed the backing fabric on.
After using it for a few weeks we realised that it needed some padding. So I unpicked one end of the lining fabric and inserted a 1 cm thick piece of foam. Then hand sewed the edge again.
It looks very smart in our bathroom. The pictures do not do it justice. Will be interesting how long it lasts.
Having cut off the excess strips I could not throw them away as they were a lot of effort to make. So I decided to make a cushion with the denim weave as a detail in the centre.
Lots of pins
Added the side pieces.
Used three legs pieces to make the back. Added a zip.
I am so pleased with how this turned out. Totally re-cycled.
So it is going in the W.I. show this summer in the re-cycled section.
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