Remaking Shoes - part 1

Two pairs of shoes weren't working for me. Instead of getting rid of them, I made alterations and kept wearing them.

My feet are hard to fit. I've worn a wide width since my son was born (and a few even before then), so finding my size in a wide width that I can afford can be a challenge. 

I've noticed, however, a problem with a couple of pairs of shoes I have. Both have a back strap that attaches to the side of the shoe. Not to the front part, like a slingback, but to the sole. And this back strap keeps sliding off my heel. 

I like these shoes and want to wear them - heck, I've paid for them so I want to get to use them. Then I realized - why not remove the back strap and wear them as slides? Since the strap was falling off anyway, they tended to be "slides" by default. 

I got a pair of utility scissors, and a minute later, I had re-made the shoes to make them more wearable! 

My challenge to you - what items do you have that you never wear? Could you do a similar alteration to make them wearable? 

Duvet Cover to Pillow Cases

Not I remake is to be worn - by a person anyway. This remake is for my bed!

The backstory - in 1998, I bought a duvet cover for about $25 (on sale, of course!). It has served me well through the years, but a few years ago, I noticed it was faded and beginning to get some tears. I patched it as best I could, but it really needed to be replaced. However, I had trouble finding anything less than $50, and most of them I didn't like. So---I kept looking.

In March, while hitting the thrift stores to look for wardrobe for a movie I was helping with, I found one! In excellent condition, it was the right size, and - best of all - the place sold by the pound. So, my new-to-me duvet cover was under $5! YES!!!

The old cover, however, wasn't completely trashed. There was a lot of good fabric still in it, and I couldn't bring myself to throw it away. But what to do with it? It so happened that I also had a set of pillowcases that were getting threadbare and torn. So - make new pillowcases from the old cover!

It was a rather simple remake. Here's the steps:

•  I laid the old pillowcases on the duvet cover, and used them as a pattern, cutting extra to make them a bit larger and to allow for seams. 
• I stitched up the sides, zig-zagged the ope, then end turned it up and sewed a double seam to make it more decorative. 

I've been using them for several weeks now, and I am very pleased with the results.

There is still a lot of the fabric left, and I'm not sure what to do with it yet, but I'm hanging on to it for now. Surely inspiration will strike.

Dont worry,  the old pillowcases were not thrown away. Taking my pinking shears, I cut them into squares to use to remove my eye makeup and nail polish. 

My point is that before throwing something away, take the time to think of any alternate uses for the item - or the materials that make the item. I spent under $5 to buy the new-to-me duvet cover, and in the process got new pillowcases and new make-up remover pads.

If you like to sew, check out my tutorial How To Upcycle a Sweater to a Purse. Don't throw out that
old pullover sweater - upcycle it to a new purse. Step-by-step illustrated instructions are available on Etsy and Gumroad.

ZoMBiEz

Filming has begun!! Last Friday and Sunday a few of the scenes were filmed. I sort of knew this anyway, but there is a lot of hurry up and wait on a film set! No problem - at least I'm getting to do something with it.

Most of what I did was run around and help with whatever needed to be done - which I'm fine with. I did get to add some dark dirt stains to the "prom guy" outfit at the last minute - hello potting soil and water! The director was happy with his look, so I'm glad I could add something of value. I didn't have to do much in the way of wardrobe on Sunday, but I was there and willing to help - and it is fun to watch the process. I did realize that I need to take something to the set to work on while I'm sitting around - something that is easy to drop and pick up again. So, I think I'm going to take some crochet with me this weekend. The shoot is going to be MUCH longer, with more people involved, but if there is time to sit around, I can get something made - and hopefully someone will ask about buying it! (Yes, there is an ulterior motive besides just having something to do).

For this weekend, I am more or less in charge of getting the zombie horde in costume and ready! I'm excited to have the responsibility given to me, and hope everything works our. Since I have to make sure they are all dressed and ready to go, I may not have much time for crocheting - which is fine with me! The crocheting is simply to fill time if there is nothing else to do - otherwise, keep me busy!

I'm off again to thrift stores to find the last few pieces we need. I've added a few pieces of my jewelry for finishing touches, and I need to think and see if there is anything else I might be able to take to add to the overall look of the zombies.

Stills were taken last weekend, and will be again, so if any are posted, I'll put up a link here.

How Not To Felt a Wool Sweater

Attempting to felt a wool sweater did not go as planned. Hopefully you can learn from my mistakes.

What Is Felting?

Felting is when you wash a wool garment and the fibers meld together. It can produce a really cool look for knitted or crocheted items. I had thought about trying it for awhile, and had read some articles on it. It seemed simple enough. 

What I Did

When I decided to remake my Aran-style wool pullover into a purse, I thought about how it would look felted. Unfortunately, I thought about this AFTER I had cut the sweater in to. My "brilliant" plan was to try felting the sleeves to see if I liked the look of the wool. If I did, then I'd do the part I was using for the purse. Let me remind you that this sweater was machine made, not hand knitted. Which means that it is made up of many small pieces of yarn, not one continuous one as in hand knitting. So I throw the piece in the washer with some towels and go do other stuff. 

The Results

Return when load has finished to find-----a mess!!!! Bits of yarn were all through the washer, and what didn't come apart, was wadded up. No, I didn't take a picture. Fortunately, the trash can was nearby, and it was chucked in there. If I had any sense (which is doubtful, sometimes), I could have tried sewing around the cut edge to better hold it together. Or, put it in a pillowcase, again to help keep it together. But no, I just threw it in. Oh well. Lesson learned.

Next time, I'm going to follow these directions to felt a wool sweater and hope for better results.