Upcycling shirts

 I love a bit of upcycling!!

Recently my Mum gave me a whole load of my dads old work shirts. They are so so soft that I couldn’t resist turning them into pyjama trousers.

I used the Tilly and the buttons pyjama pattern from her books stitch to style and quickly whipped up a pair of summery cropped trousers for sleeping in. I had originally intended to make a patchwork effect out of the shirts but discovered that there was enough material in the back of a shirt for half a leg. So I combined four shirts of similar colours to mark a quirky mismatched design.

I loved them so much that I made another pair a week later…. This time with pockets!!!

   

The Prettiest Gym bag!

AKA the bag that nearly broke me and my machine!

I have wanted to make a duffel bag style gym bag for a while. I got this lovely stripey material from my Mum's stash recently that I thought would be perfect for a bag. So, flushed with the success of my recent backpack making I set out to make one....It nearly broke me. Tis was much trickier than I anticipated, but I really don't know why. It has come out really well but was most definitely a labour of love with at least 4 sewing machine needles sacrificed and  lot of seem ripping!

I used the free safari duffel bag pattern from Sew 4 Home as I really like the detail of the front zipped pocket and the pocket on the end.

Instead of using a contrast fabric for the base as detailed in the instructions I played about with the direction of the stripes on my main fabric. 

The bag is fully lined - I used a bright pink polka dot fabric which I think finishes the bag perfectly and I can't wait to use it at the weekend for our trip away to the seaside!

 Running/cycle shorts

So my other love is running! I came to it relatively recently but now I am completely hooked. Not only is it a way to get out and keep fit, I have made some amazing friends through running too. It has shown me that I am strong and that anything is possible. 

But back to sewing, until recently I would never have considered running in shorts but the hot weather a few weeks ago made me try it. Initially I cut off the legs of some running leggings I didn't really wear much.

Now I have found something else I can enjoy making and then wearing my first try was with some left over jersey I found from when I had been making children's clothes. There wasn't enough of one type  so I put in a contrast panel which works quite well with the design of the shorts.

Most importantly the shorts have side pockets!!! I had a bit of trouble with the pocket binding initially but modified it and now I think it looks really smart. I love the lego brick pattern on these and enjoyed playing about with the bright orange contrast jersey (again left over from something I made for the children.) 

My favourite pair are my purple galaxy print with the hearts contrast.

I made these specifically for my most recent running event - the Birmingham black country half marathon - to wear with my Nots Women Runners purple t-shirt. It was a great event that I ran with my husband, I got a new PB, my family were all at the end cheering and my shorts did not fall apart!! 

 

Bags!!!

I have found  new crafty sewing project that I love! Bag making.

The Arizona Roll top Backpack from Sew Modern Bags

This roll top back pack is really fun to make with all the processes involved. I liked the fact that it wasn't a paper pattern but a measure and cut. I made the first one with a lovely pink striped canvas and had fun with using the stripe directions differently on different pieces

  Fully lined with zip pockets!

Round 2 with a waterproof canvas. Made this as a request for someone. I had lots of fun with placing the pattern to have the animals in interesting places.

 Hi!

That was a long absence!

2023 Cate is now Mum of three lively boys, Runner, Makaton signer, sometimes bell ringer but definitely still knitter and seamstress.

I have a new, beautiful sewing shed (mostly to escape from all the noisy boys) and I wanted to start sharing my makes again. I still love to craft, and now I have loads more people to make things for which is amazing!!! if only they didn't come with so much washing....