Boat Upholstery

 

We decided to recover the bench cushion on the boat as one of the corners was just showing some age.  As we were going to use the boat all summer we thought it would be better to cover it before it got worse.  The small leather repair had been tried and was 95% successful, in that it was repaired but a perfect colour match was very hard to achieve and it showed a little.

We bought several metres of Upholstery fabric from Immanuel Fabrics at Burnley for £1 a metre.  They specialise in ends of rolls or discontinued lines so you can buy really good quality fabric at tiny prices if you are not bothered that it is not this year’s colour/design.

This internet clip was a great help.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C7m0No1tUHo

The first one was quite straightforward as it was almost rectangular.  The issue with boat cushions and I suspect this applies to caravans etc is that the back of the cushions are thinner so that they fit snuggly under the seat back cushions.  Therefore all the angles you are dealing with are odd.  You are in fact covering wedge shapes.  Anyway the first one went quite well so we rushed back to Burnley to buy the rest of the roll of material before someone else snapped it up.

The fabric is a short napped plush with a flame proof backing, which is kind of rubbery.  I was really surprised how easy it was to sew.

The next 3 pieces were much harder shapes as they formed a ‘U’ shape around the table.

First we traced around the front edge of the cushion.  The video suggests taking a pen and drawing around the cushion with the pen pointing slightly under the edge at approx 45 degree angle.  This gives the sewing line and you need, and a cut line to allow approx 2cm extra for your seam allowance.  The stretch fabric needs to be cut so that the finished item is slightly smaller than the cushion and so fits snuggly.  We cut out the shape, leaving the back open for further adjustments.

We then placed that piece face down on the fabric and cut out the bottom of the cushion.

We then cut out a strip for the front of the cushion.  We cut it to the maximum depth so that the narrower side pieces could be shaped as necessary.

We then pinned the top piece to the front piece and sewed around the edge.

**Mistake 1.  We then pinned the top piece to the cushion to ensure we fit the base properly.  At this point we should have turned the fabric inside out and fitted it to the cushion in reverse, as it would have been MUCH easier to get the fit right by pinning the edges, right sides together, with the wrong side showing. 

**Mistake 2.  We drew a line around the bottom edge and then sewed the top and bottom pieces together and then clumsily refit the whole thing and re-sewed some edges until it fit properly.  Phew!!  It took 5 refits which means we had to wrestle the cushion in and out of the fabric 4 times, phew again!

We ended up with two flaps at the back of the seat.  We trimmed and neatened the top and bottom flaps so that they fit nicely with an overlap.

Next, I sewed the velcro along the edges, sewing all the way around the velcro edges to make sure it was secure.

We chose to use Velcro instead of a zip.  1. Because we thought it would be easier and 2. Because as the seats sag a little with wear the velcro can be un-fastened and re-fastened to tighten the fit, and another strip could be added if necessary, as it is underneath the seat and so will not show.

The finished seating in place.

Note the dual purpose collapsible fruit bowl/colander.  Beautiful and Useful.

Bags 3 – Birthday and Holidays Totes

I have been going to my hairdresser for 15 years and she is a terrific lady and never fails to please.  She has a great sense of fun and is a wise and cherished soul.

It is her Fabulous Birthday this month so I thought a nice bag might be in order.  I have been saving this material which I acquired a little while ago.  It is unusual in that the black satiny, right side has gold disks and the wrong side has Gold with Black disks.  Therefore perfect for a reversible bag.  But all the reversing, bagging techniques I normally apply did not show off the fabric fully.  So I first made the outer pieces with a reversed top edge.  

Normally I would put the inner and outer pieces together at the top where the handles are and make sure the handles are well secured by going back and forth a few times over the strap area.  The extra stitching does not show as the bag is turned inside out.  However for this bag I did not want any bulk at the top of the bag so I attached the handles to the inner first, making sure they were secure and then topstitched the bag together.  First I stitched a row approx 1cm from the top edge and then stitched around again with a bear 4mm space from the edge to hopefully give it a more professional finish.  Thank goodness for the Walking Foot on my machine as the topstitching was nerve-wracking and the Walking Foot really helps to prevents puckering.

The equally lovely hairdresser in the business was very excited about a holiday she is going on soon so I thought it would be nice for her to have a bag too.

The owl bag was lined with bag lining fabric to make it more substantial.   The bag lining can be bought as such but curtain lining seems to be pretty similar and more cost effective.

Both ladies seemed pretty pleased with their bags.

Bears 6 – Twin Brown Mohair Bears plus Guest

These two bears were made whilst on our trip on the ‘Oriana’ Cruise ship in January.  Cruise’s have several sea-days and it is useful to have a good book or take a small hobby to fill the gaps between entertainment events and food top-ups.

They are the last items to be made from the dense, short brown Mohair I bought last year.  I think 6 have been made so far. 

These are a 60% reduction of the original pattern.

The only different between them is the colour of their paws.  One is taupe suede, the other is peachy coloured. 

Their faces look different because the eyes are closer together on the top one.  

I had cut out 3 bears to sew on the cruise.  However, I met this lady called Margaret who was an avid embroiderer, but had not brought anything with her.  I offered her a bear to make and she was eager to try.  After each session I would suggest sewing to be done for next time and she was a wizard quick sewer.  I acquired more bear stuffing in Cadiz and we were sorted.  Thank goodness there are potty crafters in Spain too.

The following photo is Margaret with her finished bear ‘Teddy Oriana’, which she was rightly delighted with. 

He has cinnamon coloured plush paws.

Margaret insisted on paying for the materials she used and gave me a lovely gift on our last day together, which will help me remember a lovely lady.

Bears 5 –Two Tone Bear Twins

I was asked to make a bear for a friends Niece who is expecting. 

I thought I might as well make two at the same time and finally use up the fabric.

I really love this fabric as when the noses are trimmed the underneath colour is a lovely contrast.  I use the same fur turned inside out for the paws and pads, which means it matches perfectly.

Katie’s bear required a Pink Bow, which when tied just did not look right, so I made a Bow Tie out of two types of ribbon with a press-stud fastener.  Bows have to be secured with a few stitches for small children.

You have to be very careful making bears for children.  Jointed bears need to remain on a shelf until the child is at least 3.  These bears have safety eyes and plastic safety joints.

Rag Doll

I saw this doll pattern in a craft magazine years ago and stashed it.

Last year a friend from work and his wife had their first baby, Alessandra.

She was about 18 inches tall when complete (the doll not the baby).

Again I had the base body material in my stash as I had intended to make this for a long time.

The WI show had a rag doll in it and that spurred me on even though I would not be able to enter it.

The legs and arms are very thin and I employed small bear techniques to get the stuffing just right, she could not have lumpy legs.  The trick is to roll the stuffing into 1cm balls (a good TV watching activity).

I enjoyed making the clothes more than I thought I would.  She is wearing cropped pants, a long top and a jacket.  Deciding which fabric to use took me ages.

The shoes are the cutest bit and were quite easy.  Two pieces of felt, blanket stitched together with a bow to tie them.

The hair took a long time too.  But it covered my biggest mistake.  I am used to making bear noses, but delicate doll features were a trial.  After 3 attempts I turned her over and used the other side of her head for the face.  Her hair is quite secure, but if you are determined, you can see she is two-faced.

I liked all the detail on the cloths and the tiny bows, which all had to be secured so that they would not come un-done.

This was a labour of love and she will be an only child.

Baby Blankets

About 2 years ago at work we had a rush of babies.  Apprentices, growing up, meeting girls and having babies and lady employees having babies.

The first blanket I made was for Dave and Catherine and had a Disney design for Erica and then a Pooh Bear design for Sam.  Sadly I did not take a picture.

Feedback was positive and I thought I would make a few more.  Apparently really useful when visiting people to have something to put on the floor.

Elisa’s blanket was inspired by the fabric which I could not resist.  It was simply the same material both sides with wadding in between.

As you can see they make really nice gifts.

Carl and Brad’s

Carl and Brads were all quite similar, they had Quilted Broderie Anglaise (which is hard to find and not cheap) on one side and fleece with children’s designs on the other side, for extra snuggly-ness.  These also had tapes at one end so that they could be wrapped up and carried more easily.

Emma and Claire’s

Cody’s

It is was very hard to get Fleece with designs more suitable for boys.  It is easier now and I have seen some really lovely ones.  Including a bear driving a John Deer tractor, tooo cute.  Please someone have a baby.

I was asked to make the ‘Taggie’ blanket for a friend who Fosters children.  It is fleece on both sides, approx. 1 foot square and has 20 ribbon tags of different types and textures around the edges, which apparently babies love.  It worked OK, but was very hard to line up all the tags.

Bags 2 – Vinyl Satchel

I made this Satchel from the Bag making book I bought for 50p this summer ‘A Bag for All Reasons’ by Lisa Lam (author of the Bag Making Bible).

The Vinyl arrived as the packing for an item Mick had purchased on-line.  It seemed to good to throw away so I stashed it.

I wanted to try the pattern out, but did not want to waste good fabric as I knew the corners were going to be tricky.

The pattern is made up of double side pieces with stiffener between the layers to make it strong and stand up.

The vinyl is a bit floppy which caused no end of trouble when I was trying to put the magnetic fasteners on and position them correctly.

When using Vinyl you cannot use pins, but you can buy very small bulldog clips which do the same job.  Sadly I did not have any so used Mick’s masking tape instead.  The beauty of which was that I could sew over it and remove it later.

The worst part is that the reverse side of the vinyl is white so the out-facing seems show the colour.

Mick thought it was a shame that so much effort was put into something I won’t use, as the colour shows, but I learned a heck of a lot and the next one will be better.

I did not have enough material to make a long handle so improvised with a short one.  The machine had to go through 5 thicknesses of fabric to do this and managed it.

I used the walking foot on my machine as the vinyl has a tendency to stick.

It’s not pretty but it does look like a satchel.

Christmas Crafts 1–Wreaths, Table Mat and Christmas Tree Wall Hanging

Table Mat

Having made this bunting out of ‘Scandi’ fabric, which is a one-way design I was left with more upside down triangles (see Bunting previous).

Due to the linear design it lent itself to being matched up into a Pentagon shape.  So I sewed the pieces together, making sure (at the second attempt) that the triangles met perfectly in the middle and the lines matched up-ish.

I then cut out some red spotty fabric for the back and some thin-ish wadding for the middle in the same shape using the top piece as a template.  I sewed these together by ‘quilitng-in-the-ditch’ which means topstitching along the dividing lines of the pieces to keep them together and slightly quilt the table mat.

Finally I edged the mat with inch wide ribbon.  First by sewing the ribbon and the top design side, right sides together with the sewing machine.  Then hand sewing, with a small hemming stitch, the ribbon to the back of the mat, after folding it over the edge and ironing it straight-ish.  Ribbon is very forgiving due to it’s finished edges.

I used a walking foot on my sewing machine which is a recent, very useful and much used addition to my sewing machine.  It prevents the multiple layers of fabric from bunching together. 

Pam’s Table Mat

Wreaths

I made the wreath above (in the centre of the bunting) last year 2013, out of the remains of the bunting fabric in the same picture.

It was a polystyrene ring which I covered by knotting strips of fabric (approx. 1 inch by 5 inch) with a double knot. 

NB.  Cover the white polystyrene ring first, as it takes a lot of hiding.

Then, I threaded some leftover Caribou string feathers through it and finally added some very small baubles I bought in Sainsbury’s for £1.

2014 Wreath

Another Polystyrene ring (only £1 from The Range).  This time I covered it with fine ribbon first!

Then I made approx. 30 bows out of red and green ribbon.

Using pearl headed pins I placed the ribbons around the wreath in alternate colours.

I made larger bow for the bottom out of the same ribbon.

Liz’s made me a bobby-dazzler of a bow for the top, with her new Bow Maker.  Thank You.

The bow topped it off a treat, and it managed to survive the winter weather outside on my back door..

Christmas Tree Wall Hanging

I saw this pattern made up at the Harrogate ‘Knit and Stitch Show’ (great day out) in 2012 and thought I would have a go.

The pattern was sold for charity by a ladies group.

It consists of 75 squares of fabric, painstakingly cut out and ironed, in half and half again, to made a thick edged point.  These are then sewn to a backing fabric and the ‘felt pot’ and edging is sewn on afterwards.

My symmetry OCD meant that I did not randomly place the different fabrics, but I think it would have looked better.

Small brass bells were added at the end for additional decoration.

Never again, it anyone likes it they can have the pattern. 

Lace Making 1–Beginner

Liz from Craft n Chat is a keen and expert lace-maker.  She said I should have a go and I liked the idea, as it has always appeared to be so baffling.

She kindly lent me a Pad and lots of other essential items.

First she taught me how to thread the beads onto the bobbins.  The beads identify the bobbins in pairs as all the work involves a pair of bobbins.

Then the bobbins need to be wound with thread.  There is a worker pair which does all the work and crosses the work on each row.  In the example below there are 5 passive pairs, shown in the middle at the top.

At the end of each row you place a pin in the cardboard ‘pricking’ (which is like a pattern) to keep the finished row in place and tension the work.

The workers are passed over and under each other in a sequence to create each stitch.

Stitches are varied by using different sequences and twisting the bobbins as you work across a line.

It is very much like weaving at this simple stage.

Pins are added into the centre of the ‘pricking’ to make loops and structured holes in more advanced work.

I was advised to use different coloured thread to make it easier and my worker thread was yellow which made it stand out.

This piece took about 4 hours all told.

Draft Excluders

After making one draft excluder for a friend, who had recently moved house and had a very wide door, for which a normal draft excluder would be useless, it cascaded into several.  As every time I mentioned draft excluders the person i told said ‘Ooh, I could do with some of those’.

Tip

After the first lot where I sewed down a short edge and one long side, I realised that it was so much easier to sew down the long side, then pull the stuffing through and seal the ends afterwards.  Yeah!!

I used thick wadding to stuff them as it can be rolled and easily pulled through the centre.  It also gives a much smoother appearance to the finished item.  Using stuffing makes them lumpy and look like Nora Batty’s stockings.

Each takes half a metre of fabric, preferably curtain weight or heavier and 1 metre of thick wadding rolled up.

Hannah’s

Yaz’s

Ella’s

Ssshhh, don’t tell anyone else!!