Friday, January 14, 2011

one thing leads to another, thankfully

A year and a half ago I bought a lambswool sweater-coat at the thrift store, took off the buttons and felted it. It's been hanging up in a closet ever since.  Just a few days ago, I saw this on purlbee's website -  felt hot pads - rectangles. The ingredients are: soft, fuzzy felt (which they sell over there), cotton duck and cotton batting. I immediately thought of this sweater, and some nice gingham duck from the stash with barn red and ivory checks. Ideal!

I soon saw that the wool was much thicker than I'd remembered - I cut out the pieces anyway. But my sewing machine wasn't able to sew through all the layers. I changed the needle, but it still wasn't working. So there I was, with all the pieces cut out - what to do??

It dawned on me that these lambswool pieces were so thick - they could be hot pads on their own! My next decision was how to decorate them - I wasn't going to leave them plain. I don't have experience with embroidery, but I've been wanting to learn, so I got out some books and decided on a blanket stitch edging in red.


I used all six strands of floss so it would show on this thick fabric. You can see how uneven my stitching is.


And, see the areas where I either began it or ended it?  On only one layer, I didn't know quite how to keep it neat. But I still like the idea, and it's a good use for the lambswool - I may cut up the whole thing into different shapes and make a bunch of them.
                                                                              
                                                                             

2 comments:

  1. If you think of a neat technique with your friend, please share - my blanket stitch is also always a bit messy. :-) I have more practice, so my stitches are more even, but the beginnings and ends are still a problem!
    And congratulations on trying embroidery. This simple kind of embroidery is quite easy and usually looks good!

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  2. Hana, I saw her on Friday - she said, since it's a thick fabric, I could put the knot (if I use one), or the loose end threads in the inside. If it wasn't thick, I don't know what would be best.

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