My bag of socks: making of - Хотела ковер, вышла сумка

Hi all! Привет!

Из носков и вяжут коврики и сумки, делают игрушки (особенно обезьян и змей). Вязать я умею, а вот ткать... Надо было попробовать. Взялась  я за коврик, такой деревенский, чтоб подходил к одеялам.  Нарезала нитей из старого хлопкового трикотажа, натянула долевые нити на архаичную раму (ширму) и взялась за ткачество, точнее за плетение. 
После недель работы в жарком летнем ателье в тени дровяного сарая, когда я сняла работу с рамы, выяснилось, что нитки так стянулись (трикотаж, ведь), что вместо ковра, получился ... кусочек полотна. Собственно, который я и утилизировала на сумку....

    There is a thousand and a one way of upcycling socks. Just search on Inet and you will see a zillion of toys (monkeys and snakes are at the top), knitted rags and bags and mittens.

I got infected by the upcycling fever and decided to use the old jersey clothing to make a village rag to fit the village covers. Since knitting and crocheting is something I have already plenty done, I opted for weaving.

Please, do not think I have a loom! At least not yet.  I went for rather a prehistoric approach instead, using a frame (an old folding screen). I cut socks and pyjamas into (kilo-)meters of yarn and set the yarn onto the frame.




The weaving/pleating started, slowly, by hand: in front, behind, in front, behind....




My weaving workshop was set in the village. So I could work during holidays and weekends only. The fun lasted almost the whole hot summer.

The surprise waited me after I have dismounted the "rag" - it has badly shrunk!
Of course!   of course...... I should have thought about it before.... of course. It shrunk like a sock or any other type of jersey.
It has transformed itself into a tiny piece of "textile", which, given the sunny days I invested into it, just could not be thrown away.

The question was: how to upcycle the upcycled socks???
 ... this is how the bag was made

My +30 C workshop. Hey, summer, where are you?

Your
Kukliki

Bag made of socks - Сумка из носков

Hi all! Привет!

 Еще один проект с прошлого лета, о котором я очень давно хочу рассказать - сумка. Сделана из носков, пижам и футболок. Соткана руками, но не на станке. Созерцайте пока изделие, а я займусь рассказом о том, как она сделана :) 

   I made this bag last summer. It is made of old socks, pyjamas and t-shirts. Woven by hands without any loom.

And, gosh! it is comfortable!

Back side

The making-of story will follow.
Kukliki

Pyjama about Russian tradition - Пижама о традициях

Hi all! Привет!

 Эта пижама, вообще-то, ничего из себя не представляет, но я о ней пишу потому, что я ее сшила для сына из старой мягкой пижамы мужа, как и полагается по старой русской традиции. Пусть сын питается папиной энергией, и пусть сон его будет защищен и спокоен, и пусть он вырастет и станет "как папа :) 
Кстати, уж если совсем по-традиции, то сразу после рождения его надо было завернуть в папину одежду, халат, наример, что мы и сделали... так как скорая опоздала ... 

    Lets be frank, this pyjama is a fairly mediocre sewing work and it would not be worth writing about it BUT

FIRST: except the Russian costumes, these are my first sewn pieces - even if it is not too neat (so no close-ups :), I am proud for daring. And more, I made the patter myself.

SECOND:  I made this pyjama for my boy out of the old husband's one. This is a good reason to acquaint you with an ancient Russian tradition of making the children clothes out of parent's worn clothing.

Just after the birth, a baby was wrapped in the father's or mother's clothes (not washed!) to give the energy and the protection to the newborn. Sometimes, they would wrap him in the parent's working clothes, to give the first initiation to the parent's job, which most probably would become the kid's one too.

The children would wear the "kids" gender-less clothes till twelve, the age of adolescence and readiness to the marriage. As of this time, the child would be dressed, especially for feasts, in most attractive clothes... of cours.

It is often with traditions that its esoteric meaning neighbours closely with simple practical gain: home made textile was expensive, so it was used and re-used and up-cycled and re-cycled. Also, the new materials, such as linen, are just not soft enough for just born babies.

After babies, the clothes would serve to....  make dolls, like those that I tell you about in this blog :)

It is almost not realistic to follow this tradition today: people became lazy of doing plenty of things our ancestors did for the necessity, our kids not dress the same, and what we dress is well accessible in a decent quality.  So, guys, do not make a wrong opinion that all Russians reuse parent's clothes for kids. This pyjama is rather an exception.

PS  I like traditions, I take the cream out of them to enrich today's life. I mean, I would not take big, old, not washed husband's bathrobe to the hospital to wrap the baby. But it seems that traditions are after me - the ambulance arrived just after the baby was already born and wrapped, together with me, in the big, old, not-washed father's bathrobe ;)

Your
Kukliki

How to make economies with your husband - Как сэкономить на своем муже

Hey all!   Привет!

Резюме  Этот плед из старых шерстяных пижаков мужа я начала за месяц до рождения сына, а закончила три месяца - после. Полтора месяца сшивания + два месяца стежки (часто ночами, новоиспеченные мамы меня поймут)  и мой плед, наконец закончен ! На фото - моя гордость в разных ракурсах и идея из журнала, которая меня вдохновила. Из такой ткани могло бы получиться отличное пальто, но старых пиджаков  больше нет - придется подождать несколько лет :)  

    I have to show off :)
I think, this was a major project this year.
It got started in February with a pile of scraps. The scraps are in their turn coming from my husband's old jackets. You know those business people, wearing good quality woollen jackets to office and producing holes after a couple of years in the arm elbows ;)

In my mood of upcycling, no way I could throw away such a nice and good quality textile. So I washed the jackets on a hot program to felt the wool a bit and to give it an antic noble look.

I used some scraps for my Loukerias (you can try to recognise it :) sarafans and for my Russian dress embellishment but still many pieces were left.
 
Around that time I discovered the whole concept of scrap quilting and Russian patchwork. The essence of both is that authentic things come from real scraps and not from specially cut new fabrics. I made a colourful playmat and after seeing this nice picture in a deco magazine somewhere in a waiting room, the idea of a plaid for cottage was born.




Now, four months later I have finally finished my project.

The pieces are sewn together with a machine but the quilting with a thick cotton threads, a la Japanese, was all done by hand. This was of course the longest part requiring patience.

The work started well, but then, half-way through, I discovered that ... I do not have enough pieces. I could have made it shorter, but my husband's special wish was to have it as long as possible (he is on a tall side :).  So that is why on both sides of plaid there are lines made with especially small pieces :)

For the reverse side i used a fabric bought for a couple of euro, because it was damaged. Another 6 euro - for the cotton to quilt. My beast costs me small 10 euro + few months of work :)

These are more pictures of the face and reverse sides.

I also thought that it could make a nice coat (this is btw, the picture with most real colours). But I do not have old jackets anymore... should wait for few years...

And btw, next time we buy a new jacket for my husband, I should keep in mind if its colour fits my patchwork ideas :)

Your
Kukliki

Participating in:

Patchwork playmat - Лоскуты! Лоскутки! Лоскуточки!

Резюме В этом покрывале намешаны поколения, люди, деятельность. На английском квилтовом жаргоне такое покрывало называется "Памятное". Каждый кусочек - история и часть жизни. Я сделаю из этого коврик, и садись-ка ты, Мирок, на все эти истории своей голой попой! Они для этого, в общем-то, и случились.

    I have prepared a colour explosion for you!

This is my so-called Memory quilt, a quilt made of pieces that each has a story to tell, at least to the maker. It has scraps pieces of new and old clothes: shirts, skirts, mine (of all ages, as of childhood), husband's, grandmother's, mother-in-law's, aunt's ...  just to name few :)

Such cover a fantastic icebreaker for women of all generations and families to talk together:

- Oh! This is a shirt I bought in Paris fourty years ago just after meeing your father

- Ah! This is a piece of your dress when you were two year's old cute baby

- Sweet! You husband wore this shorts when he went for a school for the first time. He was so lovely!

- Mmmm, i think this is a working dress of you aunt, when she found her first job

- I remember this curtain in my child room!

- Ah! Oh! Wow! Hey! A! Yes! Eh?

Myron, this will be a playmat for you, my dear.
Because all THESE STORIES has happened just for you to BE HERE ... and to sit on them with your naked bottom. Enjoy!

Yours
Kukliki

Submitted to:

Patchwork pot-holders

Sun is still in Brussels!

After grey winter this sparkling air outside gives ideas and makes me doing something new.

The latest weeks I was into patchwork. But not that accurate and well-thought creation that is growing from aesthetics but the one inspired by my grand mother and that comes from economy and is a bit irrational from design point of view.
This fits perfectly the principles of traditional Russian dolls, btw :)

I will tell you later about a cover we did with grandma.
But inspired by her work, I do the spring cleaning in my tissue left-overs. I take tiniest shapeless pieces and try to attach them together. Often to throw the result away.

This week I tried to make pot-holders.  I made two pairs.

The one for a friend of mine to give her a bit of primary colours in life :)

     

And this one is for myself to fit the cottage style:

   

So, now it is cooking time ;)

Your Kukliki