Sofa so good*

27 August 2013.

According to the internet, it’s the day an Australian journalist, a Chinese director and a Welsh golfer died. It’s also the day that I posted this picture on Twitter (yes, Twitter. These were pre-Instagram days as far as I was concerned)

image

(Yes, I was blonde then)

I’d just bought (more than) enough fabric to cover the sofa in my flat.

9 October 2016.

I finally did something about it.

What is it?

A sofa cover; more accurately, a cover for a base, and two covers for back cushions.

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So proud of this!

Is it blue?

No, it’s green. This was a conscious decision for a flat two homes ago, but remarkably still works in the place we live in now.

What’s the fabric and where’s it from?

The fabric is green corduroy that I bought from Fancy Silk Store. I’m fairly certain that they couldn’t believe I wanted to buy as much as I did (if memory serves, I predicted I’d need about 7 metres. I didn’t).

What’s the pattern?

It’s a DIY / self-draft, based on a net for the base and two sausage shapes with pillow case closures for the back cushion.

imageBefore and after. The difference is amazing.

What was good about making this?

It has made such a difference to the living room to put a new cover on the sofa, I really underestimated the impact it would have. I’m also amazed at both how quickly it came together (4 hours from measuring out pieces to being finished) and at how little fabric I actually needed (I reckon about 4m in total).

Well, these things, but mainly the fact that the boy will stop nagging me to make the sofa cover now)

What was bad about making this?

That it took me so long to get around to doing something so simple. I could have made one a year and had three different sofa covers in between times if I’d just pulled my finger out.

Would you make it again?

Now I know how easy it is, I think I would, although it’ll be at least a year or two before I do as these things are designed to be long lasting.

As an additional plus, all those extra metres of fabric mean that I might finally get around to making the dungaree dress I’ve been dreaming of all autumn (although, I hasten to add, I’m planning to dye it first so that I don’t disappear when I sit down!)

x

*I’m so sorry for how bad this pun is. It was literally the best I could come up with. If I had a school report for pun writing, right now it would say “must try harder”. Except the teacher would have come up with a punnier way to express that.

Plotting and planning

This weekend has been one of plotting and planning for my next couple of projects. So, in a cryptic, not so cryptic way, here’s what I’ve been up to…

1) Green thread

3-threadMANY moons ago I measured up my sofa to make a new sofa cover and bought a load of fabric to make the sofa cover. This is what I looked like when I’d just bought all the fabric. To give you an idea of how long ago it was, this wasn’t taken in our old flat, it was taken in my old flat (i.e. over two years ago….).
sofa whoopsAnd since then it’s just sat in a bag. However, yesterday I finally bought some thread that matches the fabric. So maybe, just maybe there’ll be a sofa cover somewhere in the future

2) Orla

1-orlaI fell in love with Orla pretty much as soon as Tilly published it, and I’m pretty convinced it’s going to be perfect for some gorgeous Nani Iro double guaze I picked up in Japan over the summer. In a strange move for me, I’m going to make a muslin this time around.as I’m terrified about cutting into the fabric and want to make sure I have it absolutely right before I make the first scary cut.

3) Super secret secretness

blurryI had a planning brunch about this today. All I can say about this is it’s very secret, I’m excited about making it, and think it will be pretty darned amazing if I manage to pull it off!

4) Toiletry bags

2-filled toiletry bagsSo these are a bit different. A local group has been collecting a whole heap of items to send to those needing aid in Calais, Kos, Lesbos and Syria. Rather than just send the toiletries in huge boxes, they decided to make them into individual packs, each in a reusable drawstring bag containing a message of hope and peace. I volunteered to help make some of the bags, so this afternoon went along to take those I’d made so far and sew up another batch of 14 over the course of a couple of hours. Whilst we were sewing, other people were filling those bags already made and it was amazing at the end of the session to see just how generous people had been with their time and their resources (253 are being sent off this week!).

If you’re in the Birmingham area and would like to help, this is the group I’m helping with: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Kingsheathcollects/
Rosie (who is co-ordinating the work) may be able to help you find a collection nearer to you if you aren’t able to make it to the Kings Heath area

If you’re in the wider world and would like to help, I’d recommend using facebook as a way to find a grassroots collection near you, or alternatively take a look at the website of any of the many charities and organisations working in these areas, including the UN Refugee Agency, Save the Children and Oxfam