Thursday, March 20, 2014

That Patching Post

Here is the patching roundup I mentioned, with all the projects categorized by Leila and Rosie's collection of pretty/happy/funny/real.

The pretty patches: 

My hotpads were looking pretty sorry and then I went and scorched one, so I made a new pair from my cutter quilt.  I covered up some split seams with patches and highlighted them with handstitching in red perle cotton.  It's so nice to work with pretty things that are also useful!

The happy patches: 

This handtowel went from serviceable to wonderful when I patched up a hole and a stain with some vintage kitchen curtains.  

And Genevieve can wear her tights again!  I darned a hole with matching green thread.  I'm so pleased to extend the life of these tights.




The funny patch:


I offered to cover up the brand name of Ben's backpack with an applique.  He loves the patch because it has wheels on it, I love it because it's a little offbeat. 


The real patches (so many of these!):


Apparently, the vintage pillowcase that I used for my pajama waistband was rather weak.  So holes are appearing in the waistband.  For now, I'm just slapping patches on them, embracing the shabby chic look, and hoping for spring pajamas.


Then there is the patchwork tablecloth.  



The mystery terracotta fabric gets very heavy and stiff when it's wet, so some of the seams of the patchwork have pulled out from the stress.  Also, I don't use wide seam allowances, so there wasn't much communal fabric for each seam (I can just picture each partner yelling and clinging to no avail. . . ).  So, I stitched on lots of patches to help the torn seams.  




The back of the patchwork looks rather cool, now.  Maybe I'll flip the tablecloth to get longer wear out of it between washings. . . 



9 comments:

Marcia said...

"slapping patches" -- I like that term!

Well, p, h, f, or r, you are an genius. Thanks for the inspiration :-)

Lindsey Gallant said...

What fun! Love your patches. I really like the hotpads.

Rozy Lass said...

(I can just picture each partner yelling and clinging to no avail. . . ) I'm so glad to know I'm not the only one who can hear inanimate object's voices!! That is just too funny. Love all those patches.

jenny_o said...

You've given me an idea - I have a quilt my grandmother made, but a number of the pieces have frayed. I had hoped to restore it by replacing those, but it would be simpler (and, to me, more interesting) to patch over the frayed areas as you've done here.

Your hotpads ARE pretty! And I love the idea of covering up logos with a cool patch.

Bridget Green said...

Love the pj bottoms. The shabby chic idea is definitely working. I always feel like I should patch my sons jeans/pants when the knee comes open, but there is just something so feminine about patches in my mind. Perhaps I should find something to patch on my daughters' stuff. :)

Hazel said...

I've just patched a tear in my kitchen hand towel with some fabric left from a cushion I made in secondary school :-)

Bridget- it;s my son's trousers that need most patching in this house. When I cut some camouflage trousers off to make shorts I kept the legs and most of his patches are from those legs, reinforced with random stitching. Not girly! His favourite patch though, is some orange fabric behind the hole in the knee of his jeans, that shows more when he walks.

Unknown said...

I just love mended things:)

Sew Blessed Maw [Judy] said...

Loved this post..
and all the patches are so fun [and useful] Loved your patched pj's [makes me want to put a hole in mine, so I can patch them.lol]
I have no kids at home.. So not a lot of knee patches to be done.. But, I did patch a pair of hubby's jeans ,the other day.. The back pocket caught on something, and tore a hole at the corner. Of course,this was not fun..just patched jeans with old denim jeans.ha [I don't think he would let me add a pretty cherry fabric on his back pocket area,ha]
I do have some hot pads, that I intend to do some patching.. thanks for sharing.

BLD in MT said...

I've covered up so many brand names with patches.... Its so much better. Nice round-up. I am a big fan of patching! I think even if one never moves beyond patching every one should know how to patch a hole. Its such a useful skill!