Re-use and recycle

Question : What do you do with a gorgeous stripy cardigan that has been sat in your wardrobe waiting for you to wear it?

Answer : Make it into a gorgeous stripy cushion cover!!

In my efforts to revamp our old but perfectly comfortable sofa, I have been making new cushion covers in an assortment of beiges, chocolates, and even a bit of duck egg blue to tie in with the sofa colours.  I love colour and stripes so what better excuse plus it livens it all up a lot.

As I like to keep it simple, I basically bought a  20 inch square duck feather cushion pad (thankyou Dunelm) and cut out a 21 inch square from the cardigan.  I cut through both front and back of cardigan to keep stripe alignment and also made use of what existing seams were left - I did say I like simple!  After turning it wrong side out,  I sewed seams along top and bottom and two short sections on the sides where the cardigan shape tapered out and I lost the existing seams.  

The added beauty of using a cardigan is that I didn't even need to go to the lengths of creating an envelope back as I used the button bands, buttons from the original.  And voila!

I plan on making a couple of round afghan- block style covers using a hexagonal motif - this is also great as I can just sit and hook a motif up in the car on the school run.  Let me know if you've done any great upcycling as I'd love to know..

Something for me...

Having spent the last few months and my precious crochet time making items for sale, I've finally got round to starting something for me.  I have a number of projects lined up, right down to the yarn and buttons but in the anticipation of some spring weather, I've bumped this cardigan to the top of the list.

This looks like a perfect cardigan to slip on over a simple t-shirt or vest top, and by using this gorgeous organic cotton yarn by Ice in a neutral khaki colour, I hope to get plenty of wear out of it.

And I plan on finishing it with these two absolutely gorgeous painted wooden buttons.  Bit pricey but think they will look fabulous.

All I need to do now is to work out some sort of order to what I'll make next.  Mind you, the way my daughter keeps growing, I will have to get my priorities right and make a much needed cardigan for her for the spring weather.   I can see that as usual I will have more than one project on the go - at least it helps to relieve any issues with getting tired of the pattern.


What about you?  Are you someone who focuses solely on one project or do you have a variety to suit your mood?  I do tend to have something a little more challenging and a "hey I can watch this film and still crochet" item.   Oh and probably a sitting in the car waiting on the school run piece.....