Stitch-up and Colourful cushions

Well, it is December already. I know I feel this more and more every passing year, but where 2011 went, I really don’t know. 

Although saying that, one thing I have been waiting for very impatiently, that seemed to make the last few months drag, finally happened – the little sewing and haberdashery shop opened up around the corner yesterday and I was in there buying lots of lovely little bits and pieces. The shop name is Stitch-Up and yes, they are going to host sewing groups and classes so I am really excited! I had a pang of jealousy walking around the shop and hearing all the positive things the other eager patrons had to say, but ‘Shoulda, coulda, woulda’ as they say. 

The shop is called Stitch-up and they have a website at www.stitch-upinfo.co.uk that doesn’t actually appear to be up and running yet, but baby steps. Once it is, I think they will post information about the classes and groups they are running. So if you frequent the Wimbledon area in London, be sure to check it out. I made a suggestion for a little lesson on sewing in zippers because this is something I have attempted and pretty much failed at a few times now. 

In honour of this very sewey occasion, I thought I would share some cushion covers I made recently for a friend. 

I love the pom-pom trim - makes them much more fun!

Hopefully they bring some brightness to this otherwise very dull London Sunday.

More upholstery - drop seats

The summer holidays feel like they have stretched on for eons because I didn't enrol in Upholstery summer school early enough to get a spot this year. But, before I finished up the last term, I began stripping and upholstering the first of four vintage drop seats for a neighbour.  

Old, dusty, brown covers = yuck.

The stripping process was fairly grim, the frame was crammed full of tacks (which are fine) and staples (which AREN'T!)

The frames were in pretty bad shape, so i had a lot of filling to do. 

Strapping (aka webbing) the base. 

All ready for the new school year and a bit of rubberised hair! 

It has been fun learning how to upholster two different types of chairs at the same time. Expect an update soon!

Upholstery update: The loft chair

It has been a while since the last upholstery update. When i last wrote, i had just finished my bed, and was starting on a lovely little arm chair i found in our loft.

Once the chair was stripped and ready to go, i got to work, getting to calico on the arms and back very quickly as i was able to use some more modern techniques and time saving materials like rubberised hair.

Here is how the chair has progressed so far.

1. I think you call this hessian band webbing (I am, as ever, oblivious to the correct 'professional' terms for things - I took up golf a few years ago now and I still refer to my golf clubs as stick, poles or rods!)  but i prefer to refer to it as 'strapping'. 'Strapping' was the first stage, with 3 running vertically down each arm and the back of the chair. The straps support the frame, the subsequent layers, and eventually, me, when I get to sit in the finished chair!

This stage is quite tricky and takes time and lots of hammered fingers to try and get the correct tension in the straps. 

2. Next comes the hessian. This is almost like the first layer of bread, with the final material being the other piece, that the other materials (horse hair, wadding and lots of sewing!) will be sandwiched between.

Again, the hessian needs to be as taut as possible.

3. Once the hessian has been tacked in place and 'hammered home', and trimmed, the rubberised hair is pinned into place with enormous pins...

...before being sewn into place and trimmed down to size. The rubberised hair is a massive time saver, as i didn't have to sew and then stuff loose horse hair into place. This stage can take a long time as it is difficult to get the loose horse hair to the same level across the piece as lumps and bumps are inevitable. The rubberised hair saves you from having to deal with this problem as well as ensuring you have a nice springy stuffing. 

4. After applying a layer of wadding, I cut and tacked the calico into place. I then pinned the 3 sections of calico (2 x arms and 1 x back) together at the joins...    

...before sewing them together with ladder stitch.

I then re-stretched the calico and finally hammered all the tacks home finishing up the calico stage of the chair back.

With the back complete to calico, i am going to start on the seat of the chair. This will take a bit longer than the back as i wont be able to cheat with modern techniques this time. I will also be dealing with springs, which is something new for me, but i have seen from my classmates that they can be troublesome and time consuming. Still, it will be great to learn something new as i have really enjoyed learning some of the modern techniques after two years of traditional ones on my bed. 

It is probably time to start looking for fabric!

Apologies and novel retro

I have been a very bad blogger of late; no updates or any warning! But I am back again now, after a month (or two) off due to family visits and other general change in our household. But despite all that, and being a bad blogger, i have in fact been busily working away on a few projects.

And here is one...

I made this cushion a while ago now for a friend's birthday. We found the fabric in a cool fabric shop on Columbia Road called Beyond Fabrics. To me, the orange, lime and yellow combine to create a very retro looking cushion given a modern spin with clean cotton lines. I have photographed it with another design classic reworked - my Anglepoise Type1228.

You can pick up good quality cushion inserts at John Lewis. I learnt this quick and easy cushion cover pattern at the Make Lounge a few years ago now (i have raved about the Make Lounge on here several times before). Londoners (and just outside Londoners) can learn too here.

Novel retro indeed.

Upholstery update - The finished bed!

No, your eyes aren't deceiving you, it is true!

I have finally finished!

After a good 18 months, i finally hammered in the last tack, glued on my double piping and stood back to admire my handy work.

Although i was pleased to finish, at first, i felt as though i never wanted to look at it ever again, but my husband was so enthusiastic when i bought it home, having waited forever for it, that he put it together that night and his enthusiasm was catching - I LOVE it!

I have already been up to Cologne and Cotton and picked up some special sheets for when we get our new bespoke mattress, complete with curved corners.

I still have another to do yet, but i have decided it can wait while i have a break from french antique beds and work on a little bucket chair instead.

Keep checking in for the little chair's progress. Hopefully some of the bed upholstery skills translate and i can be sitting back reading a book on it before the year is through. Keep your fingers crossed for me!

Upholstery Update: The end is in sight!

Yes, that's right, I am almost there! I have finally reached calico on both sides. The front has been tightened  and i just need to tighten the back before i finish with the fabric. Ah, but before that, i also need to sew about 10 metres worth of double piping and pattern match and sew up both fabric panels. It is actually fairly nerve wracking as i don't have enough fabric to make any mistakes. It is sure to keep me busy this weekend.

Crochet

I have been getting back into crochet over the last couple of years.

Why?

• I blame Cath Kidston. A while ago now, I saw some lovely crocheted blankets in one of her shops. When I looked at the price tag I nearly fell over. I remember saying, slightly outraged, "I could make that!". And so I decided to try and make something akin to the granny square blankets my grandmothers made for me.
• Secondly, I am on a never ending mission to 'soften up' of my husbands very masculine flat and create a 'cosy' atmosphere in the previously Spartan and cold lounge room.
• And finally, it is nice to have something different to do on the tube to work. I love reading, but I have peaks and troughs with it as with anything, and it is lovely to be able to pick up something else. 

My crochet pedigree

My nana taught me the basics of crochet when I was young and I can vividly remember creating long crochet strings with my French Knitting doll. My nana really is amazing with her hands and creating things. I think it is where I have got my crafty bug from. The spare room in my grandparents rooms was jam packed with sewing machines, material, patterns and sewing models. My granny had a similar stash of wool and knitting needles, in fact I can remember my granny breaking a knitting needle in half and sharpening it on the concrete outside to made a pair that were suitable for my size (at the time I remember her saying to call her 'Supergran', and she was). So there was a lot of yarn in my childhood.

How I rekindled my crochet romance

Initially, I bought one book and hopped on YouTube to look at videos but kept getting myself muddled. It was around that time I discovered the Make Lounge and they were just bringing out two crochet courses (their offering has since grown). I enrolled on the Learn to Crochet: Fashion Accessories and the Crochet Amigurumi Toys courses. There were lots of 'Oh, that's right' moments, and before I knew it I was racing ahead creating my own little crochet motifs. The instructors were brilliant as always and it is such a lovely environment. Im sure I have raved on here about the Make Lounge before, but if you live in London and are looking for a crafty outlet, the Make Lounge is just brilliant.

This is my half finished Amigurumi bear. The poor thing has been waiting months for his arms. I must finish those!

But then, the crochet fever dropped off for another few months. It was upon returning to a wintry London earlier this year that I got fired up again, and this time I was determined to make a beautiful blanket.


I found the perfect book on Amazon - Beyond the Square Crochet Motifs and after reading the Patterns entry from Jane Brocket's blog  (she is amazing! And this blanket is so so so gorgeous!) I was inspired.

I still get stuck occasionally and have to unravel and start again, but I have found a simple enough hexagon motif from the Beyond the Square book that I am going to apply to a blanket plan like the one Jane Brocket made. I am going to continue with one hexagon style for a while before I venture on to some others. I will eventually crochet all my little hexagons together, although in true Phoebe style this may not happen for another 2 years.

Here are the beginnings of my blanket hexagons... well hexagon.

Upholstery update - the footboard.

I started in a new upholstery class this week. I loved my old class, but I wasn't getting a whole lot done. I would always arrive late, after I made my way there after work by way of a quick dinner at home (I can't do anything on an empty stomach), then I would have a chat with everyone, working my way around the class, and then before I knew it, I would only have 30 mins of time left to actually work on my bed! Hence the headboard taking me a year to complete.

So I made a decision to join one of the daytime classes on one of my days off. Its a longer class and I figured, if I didn't know anyone, I wouldn't be as inclined to chat. Well the extra length of time is great and the fact its during the day, but not knowing anyone certainly didn't help me keep my mouth shut and work. I have already made friends with half the group and im guessing I will tackle the other half next week. Still, maybe because I wasn't as tired as I would be when I went after work, I was able to talk and work at the same time. In one class (well, 2 if you count the very end of the summer school I attended) I have got the footboard looking like this! I'm pretty pleased with myself.

Maybe, as my teacher jokes, it wont be too long before Stephen and I don't have to sleep on the floor anymore.

For all of my upholstery ramblings, click on the upholstery label in the column to the left.

Upholstery update!

Here is my bed head!

It took me almost exactly a year to finish, although I did miss a term and I did spend most of my class time talking. Hopefully that will be cured as I have enrolled in a different class this semester (the wonders of part time work) so hopefully I wont be as tired as I was getting there after work at the end of the week.

I used all the traditional methods including using horsehair to build it up. I was pretty proud of my stitching, I created a very firm edge by keeping the string very tight and the horse hair nicely packed in. All this said, it wasn't the best stage for me in terms of allergies! Nothing sets off my nose and eyes like Hessian and horse hair.

I finished the bed head by using double-piping, which I made myself. It was fairly easy, the only trouble was when the sewing machine kept running over the cord inside the material (enter the dreaded unstitcher thingamajig) but otherwise I think it has come up a treat and I am pretty pleased considering it is the first piece I have ever upholstered. I posted the completed piece on my Facebook and was very flattered by the response it received - thanks guys!

I have already started on the foot board which should *hopefully* go much quicker. I am already much more confident which takes away a lot of the time wasted hesitating, asking 'is this right?'. Maybe we will be in the bed by the end of the year?! It has taken a bit longer than my initial 3 day estimate to be sure.

I am really looking forward to starting on this small armchair I found when we were clearing out the loft. I have already stripped it in preparation. Will need to get thinking about fabric soon.

Here are some pictures from along the way.

Silk screen printing

A few months ago, i took a short course on silk screen printing at Cockpit Arts in London. It was great fun and i now have my own sillkscreen printing frame, just waiting to finish our extension so i will have my own space to get working on some designs and projects. I thought i would post a few pictures of some of the lovely images my class and I created: