Heather's Handbag

My niece visited last weekend and asked me to make her a bag.  She liked my iPad bag, but needs something bigger as she has three little ones and is always hauling around extra diapers, snacks, baby wipes, etc.  Her favorite color is pink, so she selected a hot pink wool sweater (it was a Forenza from the 80's, anyone remember those?).  She also liked this gray cableknit.  It was pretty loose and stretchy, as it was a blend, so the bag doesn't have the same stiff structure that my bag has.  I even had to sew in some pieces of leather inside in order to add support.  She also wanted a zipper on top rather than a flap, so I purchased a heavy duty jacket style zipper.  That way it completely zips apart so she can even overstuff it with the kids' clothes, diapers, etc, since the fabric will stretch somewhat.  I had some gray angora scraps, so I felted those into the already existing sweater pocket for a monogram.  We'll see what she thinks!

Doggie Poncho



Doggie Poncho

 This wool sweater had seen better days, but after I felted it in the washing machine and dryer, it looked much better.  Because of the design and the neckline, I thought it would make an excellent poncho for a dog.  Since it is 100% wool, there was no reason for any machine stitching.  I cut the neckline out in a circular pattern.  I then cut through the radius of the circle to the neckline.  I added a cute, decorative button and cut a button hole.  How perfect!

IPad bag

I found this great wool sweater at a thrift store for $2.50. I loved the bright colors and stripes, so I knew it would make a fun purse. The first thing that I did was wash it in HOT water in the washing machine, along with several other bargain sweaters I had just found. Then it was into the dryer for more felting. This had the "Jenny Craig" effect on the sweater, as it dropped several sizes, which was exactly what I wanted. Now I had a thick, heavy wool that could withstand weight as a purse. I decided it would be a satchel-type with a flap. I used scraps from another felted wool sweater to make solid color sides. I cut the bottom black and red stripes off of the striped sweater, cut the piece in half, and sewed the two pieces together to make the strap. I stitched wih the smaller red stripes together to look like one larger red strip. After finishing this, I realized it is the perfect size for my iPad. Since it is felted wool, it is water repellant and nicely padded to protect my precious "best friend.". Upcycling old sweaters is truly an emergent process, as I never know where a sweater will take me!