Make Do and Mend

hmkn

I'm definitely not up to replacing zips or covering sofas when it comes to sewing!

I haven't bought any envelopes for years though. I save and reuse old ones, especially large (A4) ones or make my own-

I got shown this a couple of years ago, and is much simpler than the way I'd tried before, which involved cutting paper into a proper envelope template. My 9 year old makes envelopes out of her own magazines now, and the 7 and 5 year olds can do it with a bit of help.
Use magazine pages with nice pictures and not much writing on, preferably ones with the interesting bit of the picture in the middle third of the page as this will be the front. When you've done a few, you can see how you can adjust the folding to suit individual pictures, but to start with

Take (A4) page, good side down and fold both long sides inwards, approx one finger width.

Fold bottom third up and crease in a straight line. To make measuring simple, this should leave about a handwidth at the top where you can see the wrong side. Open up and apply prittstick type glue along initial long folds, but only from horizontal crease down (ie the one that will be the bottom of the envelope). This forms a pocket. Obviously don't glue on the wrong side of the paper or you won't get anything in the envelope!

Now take the top and either leave to fold over as it is, especially if you have some writing to cover up that was at the botoom of the original picture (now the back of the envelope) or fold the corners over into a point. Again to make measuring easy leave about a finger space between the top of the back of the envelope and where you fold in. Open up the folds, glue and stick down.

Voila! One envelope complete with pointy fold over, with no cutting or tracing!! You may need to use a sticker or piece of white paper to write the address on if you post it, but not normally necessary for hand delivered letters/cards.
As well as magazine pages, you could reuse old map pages, music, old wrapping paper, any nice A4 paper.

I have Christmassy ones, map/nice view ones for the boys, flowery ones for the girls, pink ones from magazines with princesses and My Little Ponies on for DD2's friends, animals for older children...

I've found good pics in Country Living, Country File magazine (we bought a subscription for FIL for Xmas and he passes them on when he's finished), some weekend supplements, gardening magazines, Camping and Caravan club magazine, childrens comics...

I hope this makes sense, but I can't find instructions anywhere to link to. All I can find is the ones where you have to cut out a template. Let me know if it sounds wrong!

I also try not to buy wrapping paper- reuse other stuff, use brown paper (on a roll), cheap lining paper (on sale when local DIY store closed) which children might decorate first, old map/road atlas pages (good with matching envelope!) even childrens comic pages.

Last Xmas I had to do 18 party bags for girls, so I scrounged pink financial newspapers from a friends DH, folded them into bags with a base, taped them and punched holes for string handles.

HMK

ZoeGirl_3

ZoeGirl wrote: »

Ohhh, I just went and did this to my son's shoes!! His winter school shoes were looking very scruffy, and I was making do, because we only have 4 more weeks of winter uniform and then next term he is back in sandels and we can get new winter shoes next year when he goes up a size!! But they look much better now with the vivid, I wonder how long it lasts guess I will find out

Well, its a week later almost and they still look great. So anyone else considering this, and it is winter here lol, it seems to be a great solution :j

exlibris

Not sure if this has appeared before. I have been away for most of August childminding the grandchildren.

We decided that some pillows and cushion pads needed replacing. I have been through the bedrooms and identified which can be kept and replaced the manky ones. I carefully removed the covering from the old pillows and soaked and washed them. The better ones have gone straight back onto DH's new pillows as an extra layer against the brown stain he produces. The next best ones saved for cushion liners and the manky ones to the rag bag.

The pillow innards which were a reasonable shape were used to stuff cushion liners and the better cushion pads doubled up with BIG stitches to keep them together. All the liners were sealed with largish hand stitching to make them easier to remove if I remember to wash them in future.

I am now left with a large bag of bits of the pads which I am sure will just ball up if I try to use it for fillings. The MSE side of me thinks there ought to be a use for it but I can't think of one so regretfully it went into the bin.

Steel_2

Any moneysaving sewers of bedding? I need your help.

I currently trying to figure out how to turn some surplus bedding I never use into double flat or fitted sheets and would appreciate some advice. I don't have enough knowledge of single, double and king sizes to know what combinations can go together or what to cut from where, and I don't want to ruin them. I know that I'd like - if possible - the seams to sit at the edge of my bed rather than the middle.

I have :

1xbrown double valance, so without the frill only the immediate top is useful.Percale

1xbright pink single fitted sheet. Percale

1xwhite single fitted sheet.Percale

1xsingle duvet cover, pink/red/green rose patterned one side and gingham check on the other (the old cath kidston-esque ones that IKEA did a few years ago). 100% cotton but more like a worn, brushed sort of cotton

1xblue double duvet cover, blue patterned one side and plain the other.
Percale

1xwhite double duvet cover with a few horizontal lines of silk embroidery. Percale

1xking-size red flat sheet with - oddly - a 25 inch square piece taken from one corner. Don't remember doing it, but may have had a crafty patchwork moment and needed red for something. 100% cotton.


Any advice on how to do this?

Steel_2

Ok....put hubby to work on the sizing and he's come up trumps. A double flat sheet is about 230x250cm and a double duvet cover is around 200x200cm, so I can use one of the double duvet covers and the single rose patterned one to make two whole double sheets.

If I split each duvet cover into two pieces and cut up the single cover in the right way, I can add a 15cm piece all the way round the outside, which would give me all my seams around the edge of the bed and enough to tuck under.

I can also use the second duvet cover with the two fitted sheets in the same way.

So now I have four 'new' sheets.

The big red king sheet with corner missing - I'm going to try and cut that straight down the sheet and see if I'm left with a piece big enough for a flat sheet that will tuck in and see if I can make a pillowcase from the bit I cut off.

If not I'm going to raid my wadding collection (various old pillows etc) and sandwich it between the sheet to make a lap quilt (or two) for TV watching.

Which leaves me with the brown valance - I can make pillowcases. most valances are about 140x190cm so I can do three (I think).

ceridwen

Interested in this idea of lap quilts - what exactly are they? And - is there a way for a totally cackhanded sewer (ie me) to convert a double duvet into one?

Steel_2

Lap quilts are smaller, thinner, lighter versions of duvets and can be made in any shape or size you want. They're lovely for huddling under on cold evenings. I made two of them last year, one for my mother and MIL, from a pair of new windowsill length curtains I found at a car boot sale and I posted about that on one of the crafty forums here post 249.

I don't have much in the way of sewing skills but I can sew a straight line with a sewing machine. All you need for the quilts are two pieces of fabric cut to the size you want (a double duvet might be a bit too big so you might have to cut it down) and some filing of some kind that will lie reasonably flat because you sew all three layers together, rather than making a sack and filling it afterwards as you would with cushions.

If I do them this time, it will be the first time I've used pillows instead of sheets of proper wadding and I think I may have to find a way to stop the filling moving around.

carriebradshaw

ZoeGirl wrote: »

Ohhh, I just went and did this to my son's shoes!! His winter school shoes were looking very scruffy, and I was making do, because we only have 4 more weeks of winter uniform and then next term he is back in sandels and we can get new winter shoes next year when he goes up a size!! But they look much better now with the vivid, I wonder how long it lasts guess I will find out

well done you can get kiwi liquid polish that will cover scuffs and make shoes look like new again.I've used this a lot but I only ever wear black shoes or boots,not sure if it comes in other colours

buxtonrabbitgreen

Mellika wrote: »

Let me know how it goes. I might get them anyway and give up on the stool, or make a cover in a similar colour :think:

Hi Melilka
The sofa cover came today and it is going back tomorrow. It was ok to look at but too small. It would be ok if you had a sofa with straight up arms but mine has sort of winged arms if you know what i mean. The material is not stretch it is cut glove like as you were suggesting doing, and has elastic round the bottom.
I pulled it in every direction but it is no good.
I have stuck a bedspread over it for now and will have to think of another plan.

Hepburneyes

Hi Mellika,

This is my 1st ever post on MSE (have been a OS lurker for over a year!) so please bear with me!!!

I made some really simple covers for sofas a few years back. Imade them from a free pattern from prima magazine. Sadly i don't have it anymore, but I can recall how to make them & hope I can explain it for you!!!

I tbasically resembled an oversized sheet that was fitted to the sofa with ties on the corners, at the back & at the arms just above where the seat cushions are.

Thet were made from 3 pieces of fabric seamed together. measure your sofa from left/right side at bottom of arm, over the arm down towards seat cushion, tuck t/measure down in between arm and cushion as if tucking in a blanket, leave tucked in part there and carryon measuring across cushions (tucking in between them as necessary) measure over other arm and down to the floor. This is your width measurement (A) allow extra for hem allowance either side.

Next measure front fo sofa from floor over to the back toback fo seat cushion and tuck in. this s (B) A x B = Piece 1

Next measue from tuck inup back cushion to just over the back beyond where eye will see seam. this is(C) A x C= piece2

Measure from top of back to floor at back of sofa (D)

a x d = piece 3.

Remember to add seam and hem allowance to your measurements!

Now sew 1 to 2 @ A then 3 to 2 at opposite side and hem all the way around. Place cover on sofa with ! @ front on seats 2 @ back and3 on back of sofa and tuck into cushions etc. now use either ties made from same fabric of matching ribbon(use as wide as poss.) to gather fabric at arm and at back corners of sofa at same level as arms. stitch ties in place!!

Hope this makes sense!! you could also adapt you bedspread to fit in the same way and add ties to that!

Hope that helps x