Home Decor: June 2011 Archives
Summer is iconic for sprinklers, running outside until dark and playing in the grass but it gets so stinking hot outside some days that I just can't bring myself to bear it after 11 am. So since a good part of these days are set inside, I get to looking around and redecorating in my mind. I love to bring my 2 loves of sewing and knitting together whenever possible but it can be tricky when dealing in Home Décor. Knitting is most often shawls, sweaters and mittens. Clearly it is apparel heavy but just a little bit here and there and knitting lends itself very well to Home décor.
Yes, I am familiar with knitted afghans and pillows but those are so definitely winter items and not a good fit for summer decorations. Flowers, however, are just what we need to bring knitting into our living rooms, dining rooms, and bedrooms. Knitted and crocheted flowers are quick, fun and challenging (if you want them to be) and with a few swipes of the hand needle can be applied to pillows, duvets, table cloths, and chair covers to bring the outside in. Should you like wildflower bouquets, you can choose several flower patterns and mix them up together either in one color or complimentary colors. For those who prefer a huge monospecific bouquet might, instead, choose a favorite flower pattern and knit up as many as you need in either one or multi colors. Some patterns are meant to be felted, others are not and I would suggest an acrylic blend yarn to make them washable.
Since my Burlap Transfer Pillow was such a success, I decided to make a complimentary pillow out of the rest of my burlap with one huge, magnificent flower in the center. I used Berroco Weekend in Orchid and #154 from Vogue Lace Stitchionary but I recommend any of these great free flower patterns on Ravelry. You can adjust the size of your flower by your yarn gauge, needle size, doubling your strands and continuing a pattern. Be sure you take into consideration where this knitted piece will be used. Mine is strictly decoration (not too many want to lay their heads on burlap) but given that I have a toddler, it is all washable. I followed the same instructions as for my previous burlap pillow but I left the edges raw to contrast with the neat, precise lace flower in the center. I do not suggest fabric glue for joining knits to Home Décor pieces, hand sew when possible. The amount of use these items are likely to see coupled with the weight of the home décor fabric is not a good combo for glue.
Check back tomorrow for an exciting blog post. Here's a hint: June Weddings!
While Christmas is not around the corner for most of the Christmas shoppers, for those of us who love to give the gift of handmade, we need to get started soon. But it doesn't just stop with giving gifts; we also love to make everything Christmas-y, from tree skirts to garland. Sometimes I just get it into my head to make something for Christmas and while I may not complete the thought enough to see the end product, I know that I can get it out of my system by making appliqués. I make appliqués because they are small and fun plus I can add them wherever I want to sprinkle the Christmas spirit. Christmas Appliqués can be sewn onto long sleeved t-shirts, skirt hems, and jacket pockets. But appliqués can be more: by adding some Peltex to the back of an appliqué or sandwiching it between 2 appliqués, you can create ornament, garland and advent tokens. A simple Christmas appliqué doesn't have to be one thing. You only need to steal time here and there to create this fun, universal Christmas decoration.
To recreate my Christmas Appliqué, download the Linen Snowflake Christmas Applique pattern and cut it out. You can lay your fabric over the snowflake pattern to trace the embroidery design. You will need approx ¼ yd of hanky weight linen for 5 appliqués and ½ yd for 12. Trace your circles onto your linen and then embroider them before you cut them out. You can embroider the circle too and then trimming around it with pinking shears. Try off-traditional colors to give a vintage look. I used Copper for my snowflake which really blends well with the natural linen color. I recommend trying turquoise, navy, coral or silver. You can make a dozen and string them on a bias tape length for some garland or stitching some embroidery thread through the top for an ornament. You can also sew several onto your tree skirt or holiday banner.
Mine will be finding its final destination at the end of this month in a Special Holiday Poject. Stay tuned and follow me on Twitter (@tdangermiller) for sneak peeks!
