Friday, 29 January 2010

A New Lease of Life

It is a favourite cardigan. Nothing fancy... light, jersey, cheap but comfortable and perfect for brightening up an outfit. When the hole first started to appear I would push my sleeves up and hope no-one would notice. But it got bigger and trying to stitch the cuff back on seemed an impossible task. Time for the rag bag?

Then I remembered some rather beautiful Japanese binding, bought years ago and put at the back of a drawer for the day I would find a use for it.

It seemed like a good use use for it....

And my favourite cardigan has a new lease of life. Do you think I should cover the buttons too?


p.s. Sorry about the dreadful quality of photos - I'm having camera problems that are putting paid to several potential blog posts and I'm not sure what to do about it! I've tried with flash, without flash, various settings and even photoshop editing but nothing is working. Arrrgh!
Posted by at

25 comments:

  1. Angela29 January 2010 at 15:29

    Fantastic, brilliant, wonderful. Very creative of you. Does it fit into your course?

    ReplyDelete
  2. pam29 January 2010 at 15:32

    I love the colour of the cardigan and the new cuffs look lovely, clever you - see it is worth buying things and storing for years whatever anyone says!!!

    ReplyDelete
  3. Sarah Payne29 January 2010 at 15:41

    What a brilliant idea - and a lovely way to smarten up a favourite piece!

    ReplyDelete
  4. silverpebble29 January 2010 at 15:44

    You clever clever thing. That binding is beautiful and I love the combinations of colours with your turquoise cardi x

    ReplyDelete
  5. vintagerockchick29 January 2010 at 17:02

    Lovely, and yes I think you should cover the buttons too. Will look very co-ordinated. In fact, even better idea, how about covering them in different (but similar colour) fabrics. Well, you DID ask. x

    ReplyDelete
  6. Daisie29 January 2010 at 17:24

    It's lovely to see make do and mend is still here (and not just in our house)!
    And yes, cover those buttons!
    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  7. wonderwoman29 January 2010 at 17:25

    brilliant idea and i think coverng the the buttons would look lovely!

    xxx

    ReplyDelete
  8. Jan29 January 2010 at 17:38

    Plerase dont stop the entrys because of the pics I can see them well enough ,( thats if its the quality you mean ),Have you tried Picasa ? yes cover the buttons to complete a super idea well done you ...love Jan xx

    ReplyDelete
  9. Anonymous29 January 2010 at 17:41

    What a great idea. Instead of covering the buttons, why not put some of the binding on the buttonhole edge of the cardigan? Quicker than covering buttons.

    ReplyDelete
  10. menopausalmusing29 January 2010 at 18:12

    Yes to buttons......... what great use of the binding. Know what you mean about cameras and flashes....... mine was horrendous before it died! I even resorted to trying to photo with the curtains shut and the lights off..... It's all so frustrating, isn't it?

    ReplyDelete
  11. Twiggy29 January 2010 at 18:13

    I love saving favourite garments with a bit of creativity. What a great job you've made of it Gina, I'd cover the buttons.
    twiggy x

    ReplyDelete
  12. dottycookie29 January 2010 at 18:52

    Oooh, yes, cover the buttons and then you can pretend it's Boden ;-)

    Lovely, lovely.

    ReplyDelete
  13. Ravenhill29 January 2010 at 19:29

    wow, not only was that a repair, but a real upscale improvement! How lovely! I am so impressed!

    ReplyDelete
  14. Julie29 January 2010 at 20:06

    Very pretty! Clever you :)

    ReplyDelete
  15. Heather29 January 2010 at 20:27

    Binding the cuffs with such lovely fabric was a brilliant idea and covering the buttons would lift your cardigan into the designer bracket.

    ReplyDelete
  16. Rosie29 January 2010 at 21:41

    Now that is ingenious (gorgeous, too).

    ReplyDelete
  17. Miaou29 January 2010 at 22:18

    Oh very pretty! Really complements the colour of the cardigan.

    ReplyDelete
  18. Frances30 January 2010 at 02:06

    It is such fun to find a way to take a favorite garment that's facing a bit of distress, and take that favorite not only into the future, but into a future with addtional flair.

    Well done on blending some cultures and creating a winner!

    If more folks let their imaginations go free range, we'd have far fewer disposables, and a lot more clever styles.

    xo

    ReplyDelete
  19. Jane30 January 2010 at 08:28

    What a brilliant idea, now your cardi looks brand new. if you can cover the bottons too it would look very co-ordinated but if not it looks just as lovely. Jane x

    ReplyDelete
  20. A time to dance30 January 2010 at 11:44

    I think the buttons would look fab if you covered them....I love to recycle and bring garments back to life...

    ReplyDelete
  21. Lazylol30 January 2010 at 12:23

    Wow what a lovely idea - I think covering buttons would look great too!

    ReplyDelete
  22. Penny30 January 2010 at 12:48

    Great idea, I'm sure you'll love it even more now! I do sypathaise about the camera, I'm having the same thing and getting very frustrated about blogging. Hope you can resolve it soon, P x

    ReplyDelete
  23. alice c30 January 2010 at 23:19

    Now Gina...obviously I am enchanted by the binding and buttonery and thriftyness BUT what I really, really want is to see the pink tights.

    ReplyDelete
  24. Ali30 January 2010 at 23:46

    Oh fab! I love it when you see a garmet with interesting detailing. I say get rid of the button band altogether and bind the edges of the cardigan too (if you have enough gorgeous binding left, that is)

    ReplyDelete
  25. sharon young1 February 2010 at 20:38

    what a lovely save,great fabric, it suits the cardigan colour so well

    ReplyDelete

Note: only a member of this blog may post a comment.

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)