Spitsbergen stars

Paper stars out of an old brochure about Spitsbergen. I had planned on spraying them with gold, but I liked them more as they are.

My third grade English teacher told us she'd travelled to Spitsbergen once and since then I wanted to go there (too). I think she even saw polar bears, but that might just be my imagination. I was only 9 years back then..

Inside out

Some envelopes are more beautiful on the inside 

and deserve second life turned inside out, 

like this one.

And, again, I went a bit overboard with the tape..

Ps. it snowed again today :)

Balloon hem dress

Available on my Etsy shop.

Gifts for neighbours

These gifts were made for little miss Neighbour and little mister Neighbour in the fairytale house in Sweden. Hope they will be as much used as the previous gift dress which was still in use after 2 years!

Hat trick

New baby/toddler hats on my Etsy shop!

A genuine 70's pattern.

All hats are made of recycled fabrics from years gone by.

My lovely, lively model was kind enough to pose during his busy play in the sand box.

So in return he got a new yellow hat to change for when the old green one feels.. well, too green.

 Yellow hat

100% cotton

Pattern: my own

Hoot-hoot!

These owls have flown into my Etsy shop. 

Hoot-hoot! Go get one for yourself!

A few new experiments:
Above:
A lace bracelet. I made double yarn out of used fruit bags - the ones you get for free when you by fruit or weggies, they are the see-through type, thin plastic. I crocheted it, melted and let it cool in shape around a tube. It turned out pretty much like what I'd hoped for. The plastic turns white when melted.

Below:
A bag out of an old shirt. Cut off the sleeves, armholes serve as handles.  Cut off the collar. Seam the bottom. That's it!

Zebra stripes and vintage spools

Spaghetti yarn is turning into a (shapeless) rug. I didn't expect it to be so straining to crochet super bulky yarn. It's really hard work! 

While resting my wrist, I finally executed my idea for the wooden, vintage thread spools. I screwed them on a board and brushed some glue on the threads to attach them to the spools. I wanted to leave the thread ends on to give the rack some colour. It's not on the wall yet, as I'm doing some changes in my sewing room and the rack will be hung on the wall a bit later.

Also, I made a necklace using a few meters of the spaghetti yarn, which is, in fact, sustainable yarn made from offcuts of new fashion garments!

There's also a few new items on my Etsy shop.

Melting...

... Not due to the weather. Not even close. I had to wear a thick pullover today to manage a couple of hours out. But that's Finnish summer! At least the snow is gone by now. But that's not why I'm writing this post.

I've been asked to run a workshop of 2 evenings. The first one is tomorrow. It's about using recycled materials for crafts and sewing. That's why I've been melting stuff.

 Little basket for little things that usually lie around in drawers, desktops etc.

Made out of 2 plastic bags: green and yellow.

2 small bags for make-up, jewellery, camera etc...

Made out of several colorful plastic bags and a zipper.

Both have 2 layers of plastic. 

Ta-daa!

From this..

to this:

This what I've been working on since last September: Patchwork coat (with the dress I made last year).


The coat is mainly made of recycled materials and old fabrics: skirts, pants, grandma's leftover fabric.. Only the lining (windproof) and buttons are bought new. 


In September I started with a sketch, then measuring, then drawing the pattern from a base pattern made last year. During that time I went countless times to flea markets and secondhand shops, asked around if anyone had old men's jackets that I could use. It turned out that women's skirts and large size pants were my best finds, though. I carried two bagfuls of old clothes every Tuesday to sewing course and started taking the seams apart accompanied with sneezes and running nose. Boy, it was a dusty job! 


Slowly I could see my coat taking shape. Almost all seams have been done, undone and re-done at least 3 times, and at times it was very frustrating. But the people at our pattern course are just wonderful, and every time I was waiting the time of week to leave the house and go to the pattern course. 


Now, that the coat is finally in use, I am most proud of what's hidden inside the jacket. There's so much detailed work between the outer fabric and lining, that it certainly gives a perspective to quality clothing and why they cost so much.


This week we had a wonderful fashion show and it's just amazing what we all have achieved!


And I still have two bags full of those same fabrics..

The finish line

Last autumn I started a new project at sewing/pattern course. On Tuesday we're having a "fashion show"with our group to show what we have done, not just this year, but over the time that we've been going to this course. I only started about 2 years ago, and have finished this dress and now I've been working on this coat (which felt like a never ending job), which is almost there, but not quite..

I've been trying to use as much recycled materials as possible. I've only bought new fabric for the lining and new buttons, because I didn't have enough similar buttons. Now I need to sew on the buttons, but need clear under buttons. So tonight, 2 days prior the fashion show I rummaged through my jars for 7 clear buttons which would be about the same size and shape, but was not able to find more than 2 that would be suitable. That was a good excuse to stop for the day. I'm quite excited, though, because I'm so close to finishing it. When I started making the pattern for the coat, I hoped to have the finished garment by the end of spring, but seeing how much there was to do I decided that my goal needs to be postponed for 6 months. If I'd have it ready for next Christmas, I'd be more than happy. But now it seems my first goal is in fact quite possible! Yay!

Mad as a hatter

Today the snow has been falling down from the roofs.

And I have been falling behind with my homework for a course, 

because I've been "mad as a hatter" instead.. trying to find the perfect form for a hat.

You'd think there's nothing easier than a simple hat!

  Hat #1: Too long, too loose, too colourful.

All of those easily fixed, but didn't bother..

Material: Recycled shirt

Hat #2 A bit too short 

(didn't have enough fabric, 

hence the band on different shade of red in the hem), 

a tiny bit too wide on top, but getting there. Wearable.

The next one will be perfect.

Material: some scrap fabrics

As if I didn't already have enough hats..

Japanese - Danish

Danish(?) retro fabric

plus

Japanese overall dress pattern

by Yoshiko Tsukiori

equals...

a stay at home dress?

Hmm... The fabric is very cute, 

but is it something to wear in public..?

Materials:

Recycled curtains,

lace from a thrift shop

New!!

A lovely surprise from Anja arrived a couple of days ago. 

Thank you! 

You can find these rings and loads more on Ladushki shop. 

Also something new in my shop. 

See details and more photos there!