Despite making numerous cushions and clothes and bits and pieces for a while now to practice my sewing skills, it wasn’t until I moved into a new flat the weekend that I realised quite how many different sewing opportunities that presents!
While there’s the obvious things like making curtains and blinds, as well as sewing some cushions of course…
…not that I think I really need any more, I’ve also found myself trying one or two new and perhaps more interesting things with fabric.
First up, I knew I needed a laundry bag. Originally I was looking at buying one from the likes of John Lewis or Debenhams but then I got thinking…why not make one instead?
I decided to keep it simple and go for a straight forward drawstring bag design and after a quick google, found this quick and easy pattern.
I adapted it a little so I could have a drawstring at each side allowing me to use two ribbons in different colours so I could match my bedroom colours a bit better.
And after just half an hour’s work here is the end result:
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All I needed to make this was two lengths of ribbon, a rectangle of a heavy weight cotton (so the bag itself is machine washable) and matching thread.
The beauty of this sewing pattern is that you can pick up all these sewing materials from your local haberdashery without any trouble. You don’t need any more specialised bits and pieces.
Better still, you can adapt the size of this pattern really easily so you can make drawstring bags that are nice and big like mine for laundry, or you can shrink down the pattern to make drawstring bags for things like keeping shoes dust free in your wardrobe or storing jewellery to stop things getting tangled. The possibilities are endless!
I think some of my next sewing projects around the flat will be things like: making an ironing board cover, sewing some cushion pads for my patio furniture (twenty minutes sat out on the balcony and you’re guaranteed a numb bum at the moment) and finally maybe tackling a quilt.
Thanks to the white walls throughout the flat, I think a quilt could be an ideal way to inject lots of colour, perhaps using fabrics like this cute strawberry pattern:
If you have taken on any sewing projects around your home please leave some pictures or details about them in the comments below.
Is there anything you recommend making?