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My fortnight in crafts – upcycling and chicken scratch embroidery

17/07/2015

I do love writing these posts where I try and keep track of what crafting I’ve been doing as it can be so easy to forget. Even just week to week. Maybe it’s a sign of getting old.

Crochet Ripple Blanket crafts Attic24

It goes without saying that the crochet ripple blanket is growing and growing, but in all this heat I have discovered that sitting down and doing it is getting harder and harder, especially during the daytime. What is completely impossible though is taking it with me to swimming lessons. Sat up high in the viewing gallery is hot enough anyway, but with a huge crochet blanket on your knee it’s pretty unbearable.

Make do and Mend. Charity Shop size 20 shirt to pretty summer top. Trash2Treasure

There have been two new projects on the agenda though which I have thoroughly enjoyed. The first was to finally get my sewing machine out and upcycle one of my many charity shop purchases. Whilst I’m really good at buying pieces of clothing I’m not so good at actually following through with my plans to alter them or change them into something wearable – but that all changed when Little Miss C off school ill one day. She didn’t want me to leave her side on the sofa for long so I set my machine up on the kitchen table and made a start at altering a shirt I’d bought. I was delighted with my results and have had some lovely comments from people when wearing it out. Full details are already online here as I blogged about it as part of joining in with the new monthly Trash2Treasure linky that Coombe Mill are hosting.

Secondly I spotted a poster in a local shop window advertising a chicken scratch embroidery evening at the Sandridge Evening WI. Now this is a WI group that I didn’t even know existed before, but the village of Sandridge on the outskirts of St Albans isn’t far from where I live and I managed to round up five of us from the Herts Belles to go along and we had a fantastic time.

Chicken Scratch Embroidery Depression Lace WI Womens Institute crafts Chicken Scratch Embroidery Depression Lace WI Womens Institute crafts

Chicken Scratch Embroidery is basically like cross stitch but done on gingham fabric. Also known as “depression lace”, from when it was done in the 1930s as a cheap way of decorating something practical, the results are stunning. The woman running the session brought along a cushion that her mum had made years ago, and that had been the inspiration for her running the workshop. It was beautiful – and amazing to see how something so simple can give some brilliant results.

Chicken Scratch Embroidery Depression Lace WI Womens Institute crafts

In the workshop we were each given a small square of gingham fabric, white thread and the instructions to sew a heart shape on them. The pattern only uses three different stitches (double cross stitch, running stitch and woven circles) and yet the finished result gives the impression that it was much more complicated to do.

Chicken Scratch Embroidery Depression Lace WI Womens Institute crafts

It was easily possible to finish the heart design in just a couple of hours and had we had embroidery hoops I’m guessing it would have been even quicker. I’m now wondering what I can use it for in the future – maybe Little Miss C will end up with some heavily decorated summer dresses at school next year!

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