Recycled Sewing

I’ve been making these pouches for years from all my scrap fabric.   I have a huge ten gallon grab bag full of beautiful sewing remenants waiting for a project.  This project is fast and easy to make.  You can find several of these pouches in my etsy shop.

A fellow Sacramentan recycles vintage hand bags, luggage and shoes by adding handpainted motifs to her items.  You can find Roundtrip on etsy.  Making something plain and old into something new and hip rocks!

This messenger bag has great colors.  I love that w3bch1ck protected the burlap part with clear vinyl.

An iPod case recycled from another leather handbag.  Geoffgn did the ultimate recycle, an old bag into a new bag.

Article 4 of 5 for using Evernote when shopping at Antique Faires

The ‘purchases’ note page in Evernote handles two things.  First, use this section for noting purchased items which you will pick up later from the booth owner.  If you need to leave an item at a booth until you are ready to leave, take a photo of the item with your iPhone, post the photo on the ‘purchases’ note page, and note the booth number.  Now you will never forget where to pick up your purchases.  If you need more than one note page, use the tagging system for easy searching.  For example, tag all these pages with ‘purchases’, one or two word description and maybe the date.

Post 3 of 5 on using Evernote for trips to the Antique Faire.

Reference material is anything information you’ve collected about what you are shopping for.  For some of you the information may be about personal collection items you are looking to purchase, for example, 1960s lunch boxes.  Or reference material or magazine photos on decor items you are looking to decorate with in your home.  

2 of 5 Articles, see here for the first article.

Tips for setting up your shopping list in Evernote.

1.  Sit down and brainstorm everything that you wish to purchase.  Or if you have an existing list, I recommend transferring it to your shopping list in Evernote.  Start your list about 2 weeks before your shopping trip and each day add any new items to the list.  Photos can also be added to the list as a great reference point.

2.  Two days before the antique faire, review your list and prioritize it.  I prioritized my list A, B, and C.  ”A” is top priority and “C” is lowest priority.  Use a priority system that fits you.

I started using Evernote about a month ago and it’s become one of my favorite applications.  Evernote is a note-taking application which can sync with your personal computer, the web and your PDA (which I will call iPhone in this article).  There are two versions of Evernote, free and premium.  The free version is great for giving the application a test drive.  

Next article is about setting up your shopping list.

This denim skirt by blossomnbird is the funnest skirt I’ve seen.  I love all the little details (pockets) and how everything flows together.  Got a hole or a stain?  Add a pocket, even with the fabric showing on the wrong side!

Skirt made using Blue Scraps

First off, this skirt took me forever to finish.  Too may interruptions, with sick kids, then I’m sick, then school ending for the year.  But it is finally done and I am super happy with it.

Second off, I recently joined Twitter and am having a blast connecting with other artists, vintage clothing collectors, etc.  On twitter I hooked up with Solsisters Handbags and on her blog was a tutorial for Flip and Sew handbag.  It was exactly the technique I was looking for to make this skirt.

Laying out the Sew Lines

 Normally I fully line all my skirts.  I decided to use my lining as the base for sewing the strips of fabric.  Using my taylor’s chalk, I marked where my sew lines would be and created a sunburst pattern.  I then created the same pattern on the back of my skirt to match the front.

Just remember the strips are sewn to the opposite side of what is shown above.  Therefore, the design will be on the opposite side from your chalk marks.

Front after sewing

 I’ve wanted to make this skirt for awhile using the increasing stash of vintage fabrics hanging around my studio with no where to go.   Above is the front of the skirt with the strips sewn to the wrong side of the lining.

Sunburst Hippie Chic Skirt

 Here is the front of the skirt.  I decided not go too far up the top side of the skirt with sunburst.  The reason was not to have seam bulk across the waist and hips.  This style is a-line and it hugs the waist and hips.

Skirt Back

 Here is the backside.  There is a seam down the middle and I was a little off on matching my lines up.  Next skirt I will work to clean that up.

Side View

 Side view.  You can see that the front and back meet up.

Close up

 Close up.

Inside of skirt

Here is the inside of the skirt.  I have the fun pattern from the lining showing on the inside.  If you look carefully, you can see where I’ve sewn the strips to the lining.

Pennant Banner Red

Finding new uses for scraps is always fun.  All these vintage fabrics are beautiful and I hate to throw away the scraps.  Here is one of my newest ways to use up the scraps.  Above I made a bunting garland or pennant banner from vintage tablecloth fabrics in reds. 

Pennant Back Vintage Chenille

Then on the back side, I used my scraps of vintage white chenille.  When flapping in the wind, the chenille helps give each pennant some weight and texture.  I am now working on a blue banner, then a pink banner.

Vintage Tablecloth Fabric Pennant Banner

These banners would be fun for weddings, baby’s room (out of reach of course), birthday party or any party.  For next year’s Cinco de Mayo, I am going to put together a vintage tablecloth southwest theme!

Wedding Pennant