Google+ House Revivals: felted wool
Showing posts with label felted wool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label felted wool. Show all posts

Monday, June 16, 2014

17 Pretty Projects to Make With Granny Squares

When I was a little girl, I always looked forward to visits from my grandmother. People rarely flew in those days -- going to see your grandkids meant taking a long road trip! My grandmother didn't drive, so she contented herself with crochet projects while Grandpa drove.


Grandma made afghans and slippers and crocheted pretty edges on washcloths. She always made her granddaughters ponchos with matching hats. My cousin Sonia had this exquisite pale complexion, with rosy cheeks and a pink lips, and very dark hair, so Grandma always made her a bright pink poncho that emphasized her pretty coloring.  I had yellow hair, and brown eyes and freckles, and Grandma always made me a blue poncho, because she thought blonde hair looked pretty with blue outfits.

When I find old afghans and stacks of granny squares in thrift stores, I am always thinking about ways to up-cycle them. Do you do that? After seeing the many hours that my grandmother put into her crochet projects, I can't bear to see these colorful squares discarded.

I thought I would round up some of the best granny square projects from around the web for inspiration.


If you find an afghan in a thrift store, you can always just use it as an afghan!  Isn't this afghan from My Cakies, pretty?


This Etsy store sells vintage crochet patterns.  How about whipping up a cute little bikini from leftover bits?


Another Etsy store sell boot cuffs made from granny squares!

Magd van der Vloed

I smile every time I see this granny square trophy!


These granny square upholstered stools are from Wood Wool Stool.


Go retro, with a flounce sleeved granny square cardigan!


How about whipping up some tiny bird houses, like these from Anthropologie?


Sonja Cay Wood used an old afghan to recover the seats in her car!


This Etsy shop up-cycles vintage afghans into pillows!


Another Etsy shop makes these beautiful bags with granny squares.





All four fun projects shown above were from the Sannaochsania blog.


I found these sweet slippers at Purl Bee.


You can always whip up a little purse!


Or make a fun garland, like this one from Homemade at My Place.

Are you inspired to look at old afghans and orphan granny squares differently?

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Cool Stuff Made From Reclaimed and Recycled Materials

Just for fun, I've been going through the archives here at House Revivals.  Here are a few fun projects made from reclaimed and re-purposed materials, in honor of our upcoming Earth Day!


(This post is participating in the Blogging from A to Z Challenge. M is for Made. See the link in my sidebar.)

This burnt edge peony is perfect for spring!  It was one of my first tutorials, and has been especially popular with readers who are planning weddings.  It was created using recycled textiles.


This oval wreath made from vintage book pages, jute webbing, and felt roses was made as a gift for a friend. The wreath form was cut from cardboard in the  recycling bin, the book was rescued from the Goodwill Outlet (often the last stop for Goodwill merchandise before the landfill). The roses were made from an old felted wool sweater.


This decoupaged Union Jack with these faux tin letters -- made from recycled newspapers -- spelling LOVE, is one of the most popular projects on House Revivals. The Union Jack was cut from old shirts.


This square wreath is one of my very favorite projects -- in fact, it still hangs on my front door.  Although I glittered the leaves and made it specifically to hang over the holidays, I think it looks great all year long. and it makes me happy. Learn how to make your own wreath using all reclaimed and vintage materials!


Another "early blog" project was this Wild Pants Lamp! It was a little crazy, and I'm pretty sure my husband hated it, but I loved it. It was made using..................... wait for it............................ Wild Pants!


The lamp didn't last too long, however, after our daughter's sweet pup, Dexter, arrived in our home!


His mommy tried to fix it.... with duct tape. We actually used it like this for several more months, while our household goods were in storage!  Lately, it has been stashed in a closet awaiting a proper repair.


Who can stay mad at a face like that?


Do you like to make things?  Do you enjoy working with reclaimed materials?  Be sure to leave a comment, so I know you stopped by!

Monday, November 28, 2011

Felted Wool Mittens

I was looking for a nice way to package gift cards this Christmas.  Gift cards can feel a little impersonal, so I created these felted wool mitten ornaments to slip the cards into.  Long after the cards are spent, the recipients will have these sweet handmade ornaments.


You can string several together to create a homespun Christmas garland to hang across your mantel for Santa to fill.  Or hang it anywhere, for that matter!  Here in the Pacific Northwest, winters at the beach can get a little chilly, so a few warm fuzzy mittens hanging across a beach house porch seems totally appropriate.


These mittens are super easy to make.  Start with some old or thrifted wool sweaters.


The green sweater, above, has already been felted.  To felt your sweaters, just toss them into a hot/cold wash cycle, with a little detergent.  Dry on high.  Repeat until you are happy with the felted material.  Ideally, felted wool will not unravel when you cut into it, making it perfect for crafting and sewing projects.  If your sweater has some pilling, like the green sweater here, just hit it with a soft brush.

Next, you will want to create a mitten pattern.  Here, I just used a magazine insert to sketch out the mitten shape.  Junk mail works great, too!  Why waste good paper, right?  Once you are happy with your mitten shape, cut it out and use it as a template to trace onto your felted wool.  Cut two pieces for each mitten.  I hand stitched mine together using a simple blanket stitch (it takes about 10 minutes to blanket stitch one mitten).  A whip stitch would have looked very charming, and a bit more primitive, and would "whip up" much more quickly.  You can also stitch it on your machine -- or forget stitching altogether, and just use glue :)
Decorate your mittens by gluing or stitching embellishments.  I used a simple lazy daisy stitch for girls' mittens, and glued on some thrifted greenery, yarn, and mini-candy canes.  Slip in a gift card, or other small gift, and you're done! 
Enjoy!
Thanks for stopping by!
Amanda