Day: 10 May 2020

chenille, patchwork, sewing

Lap blankets

It really does feel like a lifetime ago that I cut out a whole lot of chenille and fabric five inch square to sew lap blankets with.  I have had two sets cut out ready to sew for about ten years.  It was time to get that project done!

Chenille and fabric knee rugs finally done

Clare gave me a hand figuring out the placement of the squares. There were more chenille squares than fabric ones for this lap rug. Mixing fabric of such different thicknesses and textures meant that it was very unlikely that I could do perfect matching where seams met, but I gave it a red hot go. I chose to sew the squares together on the overlocker – gasp! – because those chenille squares drop fluff all over the place and the edges really did need to be finished.

Chenille and fabric knee rugs finally done

It was surprisingly fast to sew the squares together, and before I knew it I had two finished tops. The chenille is vintage, repurposed fabric that I believe came from bedspreads. The fabric squares are often from scraps left over from clothes that I sewed for the girls when they were little, so they contain quite a few memories.

Chenille and fabric knee rugs finally done

These colourways and fabrics really do reflect where things were in the world of craft blogs 10+ years ago! Fortunately, they still really appeal to me, and to the girls. The next thing that I needed to do was back them. I wasn’t planning on them become proper quilts with batting in the centre and stitching; just simple lap blankets. Because of the stay-at-home rules I jumped online and found some plush velour/microfleecwe backing at Spotlight. It was delivered suprisingly quickly! I then just laid the rug on top of the batting, right sides together, sewed around them leave a small opening to turn the blanket to the right side, and then topstitched around the edge.

Chenille and fabric knee rugs finally done

Chenille and fabric knee rugs finally done

They’re just the right size for draping across your knees. And I’m so glad to have them finished!

Chenille and fabric knee rugs finally done

sewing

Pouf!

I bet that many of you have projects that you plan to make or finish ‘one day’, when you have time.  That day finally arrived for me.  Fairly early in the stay-at-home I decided it was time to complete some of those projects that had been on my mental list for a long, long time.

Closet Case Patterns Pouf

The first one to show you is the free Closet Case Patterns scrap-busting pouf. I saw plenty of these pop up on Instagram on the same weekend as mine was made, so it was clearly in many people’s minds!

Closet Case Patterns Pouf

This one was sewn from denim leftovers that were in my stash. I was pretty pleased with the range of colours that I had in there! I tend to hold on to small pieces of denim, as they come in handy for all sorts of things. This pouf didn’t use up much at all, surprisingly! I also used a heavyweight stash zip, which probably wasn’t the prescribed length but I made it work just fine.

Closet Case Patterns Pouf

The pouf is designed to hold your fabric scraps. I have to admit that I tend to either keep larger scraps to use in other projects, and send the smaller scraps to landfill as I go. This meant that I didn’t have any scraps on hand to fill the pouf with – but I certainly had plenty of unused squishy objects in the linen cupboard! It was surprising how much could be jammed into the pouf.

Closet Case Patterns Pouf

Since this photo was taken I found a few more things to squish in, but the pouf is a bit weirdly shaped with it’s current stuffing. I didn’t add the piping that the pattern suggests, but that would have given it more structure. I quite like the way that the side panels curve into the top panels. I paid a fair bit of attention to getting the seams to line up properly, and even that bulky centre point is adequate.

Closet Case Patterns Pouf

The pouf has turned out to be handy both for feet and as a seat when doing jigsaw puzzles on the coffee table.

Closet Case Patterns Pouf

I am now considering making another one that I will actually keep in the sewing room and gradually fill with my sewing scraps.