Before & After Projects

 Before: Inexpensive sweaters from the second hand store. Both of these sweaters are 100% wool and felted up very nicely. Curious how to felt sweaters? Check out my previous post.

 


The green one I have yet to do anything with. The pink one is from Old Navy, who seem to put out a batch of fun bright striped sweaters every year. I've bought a few and also some great ones made by The Gap.  The pink and brown one was so pretty that I decided it would make some nice spring stuffed bunnies. The pink and the brown are both soft subtle colors.  I have been putting little pockets on the front of all my stuffies for a while now and they have been a huge hit. All kids need a place to keep their secret treasures! I made these like siblings - similar but slightly different so they could be distinguished if bought together.  


After:  Sweet little spring bunny rabbits. Hand embroidered faces with felt scrap eyes.   Nice and plump and squishy soft.






Before: Some fantastic fabric I bought on a whim with no project in mind (shame on me, you should see all the fabric I have!!).  The woodgrain or Faux Bois (from the French for false wood) in bark brown by Joel Dewberry for Free Spirit Fabric.  


The other fabric is a fantastic print called Heath in chocolate brown by Alexander Henry. It has a hand printed look with just enough variation to make it interesting. It's even better up close. Just love it. Actually been looking for other projects to use it one.

After:
A page for my most recent fabric baby book. These little books are all fabric so they are soft and quiet and great for those times when you need to keep baby entertained.





Here is one last project. I purchased a linen skirt at the 2nd hand store last summer. It was an Eileen Fisher so it was super long. I hemmed it to knee length and it fits great. I was left with a large scrap piece of linen which I have used in several different projects.

This wee little house is just tiny - about 4 1/2" tall and 2" wide. I hand sewed the entire thing, trimmed it with blanket stitch along the edges, used some scrap wool for the roof and bottom and then hand embroidered windows, a front door and tons of flowers. It was actually too sunny in my studio today when I took these. I haven't decided yet if this will go in my Etsy Shop or to work with me this week to sit with the array of little plants I have growing. I was actually considering making an entire little village.  

Thanks for stopping by!
Jennifer -

The creation of a new baby bunny rattle from an Upcycled Wool Sweater

I just posted a new pale blue baby bunny rattle in my Etsy Shop and here is the story of his creation.


A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go, to Good Will that is, for 100% wool sweaters to felt. Second hand stores (and your friends closets) are great locations to find wool sweaters to felt. On my last trip I found a beautiful blue and tan woven wool skirt, and two super soft sweaters. One is a pale blue cable knit sweater, 100% lambswool, and the other is a gray cardigan with a pretty knit pattern along the edges.

Once I got the items home, I got them ready to felt. For the cardigan sweater, I removed the buttons and set them aside for another project. I could have left them on, but it was easier to remove them before the wool was shrunk. Other than that, I just removed the store price tags. See my earlier blog post for instructions and tips on how to machine felt sweaters.

I took some pictures first and you can see how large they are by the how much space they take up on the top of my washing machine and dryer. Also note the fabric contents. Sometimes items with mixed content (not 100% wool), will shrink a little less than 100% wool. And sometimes, even 100% wool won't felt, which is what happened to the skirt I attempted to felt.



These two sweaters were both womens size medium but once they were machine felted and then dried on hot in the dryer, they are roughly sized for a small child, but with longer arms. They feel different too - thicker and more dense with the fibers locked together and matted.


Here are some closeups. You can see that the cable knit is not as definitive and that the fibers looks softer and fuzzier. You can even see some little fuzzies on the sweater that fluff off in the wash.


For whatever reason, the woven wool skirt I bought and washed along with the sweaters, did not felt. I'm guessing it's because of the way it's woven and not knitted. Also, some knit wool is pretreated to make it easy care, and no amount of heat or agitation will result in felting, even if it's 100 percent wool. No worries, though as you can use those pieces in other creative ways, as I did here. Since, the colors of the skirt went together nicely, I decided to use some of it to create the ears and belly patch on the bunny rattle.

You can see on the little belly patch that the fibers are roughed up along the edges were I sewed them to the the wool. If the fabric had felted, it would not fray. That's part of the beauty of working with felted wool. The fabric can be cut and sewn and won't come unraveled.


A word of caution however though - the felting process makes the wool thick and dense and it can be really difficult to machine sew. That is why there are a lot of handsewn felted projects out there. If you do use your machine, you probably won't be able to go through more than 2 layers of fabric. So attaching limbs to stuffed animals can be really tricky. You can always hand crank the wheel of your sewing machine, but that works best for small areas.


First I cut and sewed up the little ears. Then I cut out the shape for the body of the bunny and sewed it up and attached the ears. Next, I turn it right side out, insert the rattle, and stuffed it with bamboo fill. Next I create the neck and cut and attach the bottom, which is sewn by hand with a classic blanket stitch.

With the hand embroidery on the face complete, he's done! Here is a picture of the little bunny all finished (except for the little content tag I have to sew onto the backside). How cute!

Upcycled Recycled Felted Sweater Plush Stuffed Animals

Here are some of the latest felted wool sweater projects I've been working on. These little pocket pals fit inside the pocket of their bigger counterpart. I made some extras too.

This sweater critter is pocket-less, but still just as sweet.

Upcycling Wool Sweaters into Plush Animals

Have you ever accidentally shrink one of your favorite wool sweaters? It's so disappointing to ruin something so nice. But wait, don't toss it out! You can 'upcycle' it - that means turning it into something new and different. Not just reused, but repurposed. I love the idea of upcycling. Me, personally am drawn to all things small and cute, so I use old sweaters to create cute plush animals.

Don't know how to felt a sweater you no longer use? Ignore all the labels that say to handwash or dryclean only! Instead, just pop it in the washing machine with a little detergent and hot water. Some sweaters will shed A LOT, so first put the sweater in a mesh lingerie bag or pillow case (close with rubber band). Too many little fuzzies in your washing machine can cause damage to your machine. Choose the longest wash cycle. Check it once or twice during the wash to see if the fibers are getting tighter. You'll know if it's working, if you can no longer see the rows of knitting, and the sweater has shrunk. As the fibers shrink, they lock together. Heat and agitation are key. When it's done washing, check to make sure it's shrunk and then put it right into a hot dryer which will shrink it up even more. When it's dry, you are ready to work with your fabric.


I bought this sweater at a second hand store for less than a $1 because it had holes on the elbows.



Depending on what you plan to make, you may need to cut the sweater apart to create one large piece of fabric. To do that, cut up the side seams and carefully cut the arms off. The ribbing at the bottom and cuffs is handy and can add a nice detail to finished pieces. The fabric is wonderful to work with. Not only is it soft and fluffy, but the now felted fabric won't fray or come apart and it's thick and will hold it's shape.

I am thrilled with how this crazy Orge came out and I even made him a little buggy friend. This sold in my Etsy Shop a few weeks ago. This sweater had a zip up neck and a zip chest pocket. I carefully cut so that I could use the chest pocket as the critters mouth. I still have the long zipper that was part of the neck, but haven't decided what critter is waiting to be made from it.

I love the zipper mouth and the little bug friend!


If you have a sweater that is a mix of wool and another fiber, like cotton, you may still be able to felt the sweater. It just won't be as tight as 100% wool.

You can make pillows, a small case for your IPod or cell phone, purse, or a plush animal (my favorite). The felted wool also lends itself very well to hand embroidery and applique.




Here are some simple sweater blocks I made for a friend's baby.



I just finished making these totally cute baby rattles. I've also made this plush cat, plush mouse, a funny bunny, and another critter monster.

One of my favorite Etsy Shops is Pogo - so many adorable little animals all made from upcycled sweaters.








I found this really cute brown bunny plushie, from ChurchMouseStudio. It even comes with a little skirt.












This is the latest little critter I made, also with some silly hair and a rattle inside.




I love Owls and this stuffy from BlackBirdFashion is just adorable.












You can also create tons of other items like wallets, purses, handbags, etc. Here is a fun Halloween Frankenstein Monster Handbag from SnowOwl.etsy.com