Today I'm posting about my very first crafty project! Not only is it a recycling project which is fantastic, but it's also functional - and who doesn't like that?
Best of all, it's simple and can be made in under half an hour assuming that your sewing skills are up to scratch.
So how many times have we bought disposable things, used them and then thought gee, what a waste of money? Must I throw it out? Then you think of little ways you can salvage/reused/remake etc. But nothing cute and functional comes to mind. Well do I have a cool idea for you!
Take the humble plastic shower cap. They come in so many lovely designs (or at least they do where I live) and I find it difficult to throw them out. The idea hit me like a brick and I do not know why or how. I just had to make a small basket cover.
Note: You'll see a 3 different shower cap styles in the photos, just for kicks!
Let's begin the tutorial.
Choose a pretty design, because you'll have to look at it often. If you are one of those people prone to making sewing mistakes, then of course choose one that you won't mind ruining. It's always a good idea to experiment first anyway.
It will also be a good idea to wash it first, seeing that it probably have a soap residue on it. I popped mine in a little water with about half a teaspoon of bleach and it did the trick at removing the soap scum.
Now you'll cut the elastic on the inside. Don't sit there and cut for hours... just every inch or so will do. Be very careful not to accidentally cut through the plastic and don't pull out the elastic too roughly causing the plastic to rip. I did this once and I wasn't too pleased with myself. :(
Now that you've pulled off the elastic successfully, neatly cut off the yukky edge. The neater the better, so take your time here.
Here she is all nice, neat and flat.
Go grab your basket. Does it look small enough for the plastic to cover? My basket seen in the last 2 photos is about 12 inches long and 3 inches high.
To check, place your plastic on top and as centered as possible on the basket.
Then while holding the plastic firmly in the center of the basket with one hand, flip it over to see how much overlap you have. Mine was a little too long for this particular basket; you really don't need that much covering because you still want to see your pretty basket. Although if you have an ugly basket, then go right ahead and leave it at that length. But in my case, I want it reaching about half way down the side of the basket. With a pen or pin, mark where you'd like to cut the plastic.
So as mine was too long for that green basket, I folded the plastic in half, then in half again, then again until it resembled what you see in the photo below.
The basket in the last two photos was the perfect size so I didn't end up cutting anything on that shower cap.
Assuming you have a smaller basket, cut nice and neatly where you've marked it and cut with a very slight curve so when you unfold it, it's still nice and round when you unfold it. After you unfold it and see that you haven't quite cut round enough and have little pointy ends here and there, just cut them off nice and round.
You'll now pin the entire edge down for a neat finish and please make sure you pin down on the wrong side! If you think you can get away with not doing this step (and the step below) if you are experienced in sewing, then go right ahead. Pinning down about 2cm should be enough, depending on how thin or thick your elastic is.
I'm a somewhat perfectionist, so I actually tacked it down with cotton and thread as well just to be safe. I think it's some kind of phobia.... lol.
You'll now sew the edge down with the sewing machine. I used a cotton thread and my longest stitch on the machine because there really isn't much of a point or need for a small stitch for this. Before you reach the end of your circle, remember to leave about an inch for an opening for sliding in your elastic.
You will find that because the edge isn't straight, you'll need to overlap the plastic a teeny bit once in a while, as you can see in the photo above. Don't worry too much about neatness here, because it will be on the inside of your work and won't show on the outside.
As you guessed, next comes the sliding in of the elastic. ;) Grab a safety pin and thread it through the elastic and most importantly, close your safety. That tip was obviously for the sewing newbies out there! You'll notice my elastic is fairly thin, but feel free to use something thicker.
Thread the elastic through the seam but keep an eye on the other loose end of the elastic every so often, otherwise you might find that the whole thing will thread through because of the constant pulling with the safety pin and then you'll need to start again. You don't want to create more work for yourself so just to be safe before you start threading, wrap the end of the elastic around your pinky holding it as securely as possible. When you've completely thread it through, either tie a knot or if it's thick elastic you'll have to hand (or machine) sew the elastic edges together, making sure that it's not twisted. Your aim is to keep the elastic nice and flat so there aren't any obvious small bumps in the seam. Lastly, sew down your opening with your sewing machine.
And here we have the final product! Cute, yes? Functional, right?
Pop in some goodies like chips, nuts, fruit, sewing supplies, your knitting, bits and bobs, whatever tickles your fancy. :)
Well, crafty me!
No comments:
Post a Comment