Embellished Blue Faux Suede Gloves
Sometimes just a little crocheting could give a plain pair of gloves that little pizazz that can change the look for very little money. I used a size K crochet needle and started with 5 chains to cover the length of the folded cuff on the glove. I then single crocheted in each row making sure to stop and measure the crocheted piece against the glove until it met the other end. Using a matching thread, I hand sewed the crocheted trim in a few areas near the edges of the cuff. I then repeated this process for the second glove.
Embellished gloves make a great gift for someone special. You can use any style gloves or mittens, any type of trim or yarn and even buttons or jewelry as embellishments to create a different look.
Plain Faux Suede Gloves Ready for Embellishing
Feather Trim I Used To Crochet on the Faux Suede Gloves
Finished Embellished Faux Suede Gloves
Upcycled Winter Hat, Scarf and Gloves
I started this project with a pretty pink hat I purchased last winter. I really liked the way this hat was made and upon trying the hat on I found out that it didn’t quite reach down over my ears, but I bought it anyway, because I really loved it and knew from the way it was made that I could work with it. I instantly got a bunch of ideas on how I could create a better fit. I then also bought the matching pink scarf and gloves.
I knew I could crochet a band of yarn around the bottom edge of the hat to extend the length and cover my ears. As you may know from my past articles, I am constantly on the hunt for yarn and fabric sales so I have a little collection of each of those. I looked through my skeins of yarns and found several colors that I thought might look great crocheted around the bottom edge of my hat.
When I was ready to start crocheting, some of the yarn colors that I had were in various shades of pink, gray and purple, but when I pulled out a skein of thick black velour yarn, I couldn’t believe how beautiful the thick texture of this velour yarn looked against the knotted texture of the hat’s pink yarn.
Using a size K crochet needle, I crocheted eleven single chains and then five rows before I laid the band onto the edge of the hat. I then folded a bit of the band’s bottom edge over the bottom edge of the hat. The thick velour band looked very nice and well balanced against the heavy thick texture of the hat’s pink yarn.
Because I knew how well the velour yarn looked crocheted with the pink yarn, I decided to crochet two additional braids of single chains all the way around the scarf and then laid them separately (about six inches apart) near each end of the pink scarf. I then hand sewed four braids onto the scarf. I then did the same for the gloves, except that I only crocheted one braid for each glove.
Last, I made the fringe, which I cut and measured by eye. I simply cut one strand of the velour yarn (about 3 inches long), measured how long I really wanted the fringe to be by pulling the strand through one stitch of the scarf’s last row. I then trimmed it to the length I liked, cut all strands to the same length.
Using the same size K crochet needle, I pulled through only two velour yarn strands through one scarf stitch, tied the two strands near the top (using a separate velour yarn strand from the skein), tied a double knot and then I cut the strand two ends (from the skein) to the length of the strands I just tied (this makes the fringe thicker). In a similar fashion, I inserted two strands (tied and knotted) through every three scarf stitches (of the scarf’s last row), until I finished each end of the scarf. Even though this project took me a while to complete, it was a very simple project anyone can do and the embellishments you can use to reflect your taste are endless.
Upcycled Knitted Winter Hat
Upcycled Pink Knitted Hat Scarf and Gloves
Embellished Black Fleece Hat and Scarf
This project started out for me with a worn black fleece hat I had used for more then a few winters. The hat is very warm and very comfortable to wear, and since I have a big head it’s sometimes hard to find a nice winter hat that fits just right. I had some thick corduroy fabric I had previously purchased for making some armrest mats for our couch, but ended up using it for other projects, one of them being a cell phone case for my husband and the brim of the black fleece hat featured in this blog post.
I started by first measuring the hat’s circumference and height because I needed to go all the way around the rim of the hat. I also made sure to include enough fabric to fold over and into the inside rim of the hat. Once I pinned the fabric to the hat, I cut it and started sewing the fabric to the hat. After the corduroy fabric was completely sewn onto the hat, I was very happy with the results and decided to add a little sparkle by sewing on a few seed beads to a very small area on the front of the hat.
I measured the leftover fabric and decided to sew a band onto the bottom ends of my black fleece scarf. I was very glad that I could give my old hat a new look and it was especially nice that I could make a matching hat and scarf set.
This was a fun and easy project for me to do and the embellishments are endless. You can use old earrings, an old pin, knitted pieces, or even feathers if you wanted to, and although I enjoy sewing, you could always use fabric glue or hot glue to adhere your pieces. Remember to have fun and enjoy your embellishing projects to reflect you. So if you have an old hat you just can’t part with, retrobellish it and reinvent it.
Embellished Black Fleece Hat
Embellished Black Fleece Hat Top View
Embellished Scarf To Match Hat
Purple Blouse To Embellished Jacket
This project started out as a blouse I picked up at a local resale shop. I really love the style and deep plum color of this blouse, especially the iridescent colors it reflects under different lighting. And as interesting as this fabric is, the iridescence made it difficult to capture the deep plum color in the photographs below, but the true plum color is visible in the silky threading of the beaded trim.
What gave me the idea to embellish this blouse, and perhaps convert it to an evening jacket, was that the fabric color was a perfect match for a great trim I had bought months ago at a clearance sale. I’m a big fan of sparkly beaded trim embellishments and this beautiful trim happened to be such a bargain. It was so amazing to have found a trim and (months later) a blouse that matched so perfectly in this shade of deep plum purple.
I measured the blouse and trim, and was glad that there was more than enough trim to not only complete this project, but to sew onto both cuffs as well. To prepare the blouse, I washed and ironed it, removed all of the buttons (but not the cuff buttons). I then pinned down the collar to the inside of the blouse leaving just a half inch of the collar showing above the collar line. I then started hand sewing the pinned down fabric flat to the neckline.
Because the trim was ten yards long, it was heavy and bulky, so I decided to first pin it onto the blouse. I pinned one trim end to the front left edge of the opening up towards the collar, around the neckline, and then back down the front right edge of the opening (over the area where the buttons used to be). Once the entire trim was pinned in place, I cut the trim away from the edge end. Then I started hand sewing the trim to the blouse (which took me three evenings).
This was a simple and inexpensive project to do. I enjoyed working on this project and am very happy with the results. It’s amazing how a pretty trim converted the look of a blouse into a jacket.
Adding Trim To Jacket
Finished Purple Jacket
Recycled Magazine Glass Plate Collage
Recycled Magazine Collage On Glass Plate
It is very ironic how some of the things we take for granted, like throwing away magazines, can help you create your own very little treasured pieces of art. About 20 years ago, my husband used to collect depression glass pieces and I used to pick up a lot of clear plates at garage sales, estate sales, and thrift stores. I didn’t know what I was going to do with them, but I accumulated quite a few of these clear glass plates. I’ve always loved the art and paintings in magazines, especially some of the landscapes, florals and nature scenes. Even some of the ads were so beautiful that I would keep the magazines around for a while.
While recycling our paper one year, I got an idea that since I loved some of the art in these magazines so much, I would create a collage of some kind. I started by cutting some pages out, tearing pieces from others that I liked and placing them side by side to create scenes until I found the right combinations to create these collage plates. On one plate I created some Tuscan scenes, on others I created a stormy sky with some angels, and on another there was an abstract garden scene. The following plate is one of my favorite collage plates — it’s a painting of four persons dressed in Carnival costumes by a fountain. I carefully ripped multiple pieces from magazines to create a scene.
Recycled Magazine Collage On Glass Plate--Back Side
The clear glass plate is 9″ in diameter and the torn scene did not quite fit to the edges of the plate, so I Mod Podged it onto the center of the plate anyway. Once the piece on the plate was dry, I thought I’d use acrylic paints to paint in the clear parts of the plate by just matching the colors on the edges of the piece. I couldn’t believe how the plate began to look as I extended the edge colors to the end of the plate edges. Up close you could clearly see where the piece ended and the painting began, but from a distance, the plate actually looked like it was all one piece.
For strength and to protect the piece, I thought I’d Mod Podge some thick white art paper to the back of the entire plate. The paper was so plain and even though no one would see it on the back of the plate, I wanted to paint something pretty on it. I decided to paint a light blue sky with soft white clouds. Once the paint dried, I Mod Podged it to the back of the plate and as you can see, after all these years it has a little cracking on it, but it still sealed the plate beautifully. I love the brilliant colors of this beautiful piece and to this day it still hangs on my kitchen wall high above the cabinets.