Recycled, upcycled woolies...

Having accumulated piles and piles of  too small , too old or even moth eaten woolies I decided to put my not so new, but ,under-used overlocking machine to the test...
After having hot washing sweaters in my washing machine and felting them as much as possible with the aid of a plastic ball and a pillow case,I decided on using all the cream and beige coloured woolies I had, to create, a couch blanket...
I made it in February just before my cousin arrived from Bahrain...for her to curl up in on the couch and stay snug as a bug as the heating was not  turned on this year due to the crisis...( well the crisis before the CRISIS as it eventuated ) As you can imagine it was highly appreciated as February was cold here in Nicosia.
Today, as summer has well and truely arrived for the next few months , and, I have even rolled up my carpet in the lounge I decided to take some quick photos (yes, i should have pulled down the wooden blind) and, show you what you can make from things you would normally throw away before I put it  in a cupboard.

bodgey overlocking

front of blanket

more bodgey overlocking

back of blanket

The overlocker was a struggle as the thickness of the sweaters varied, because different jumpers felt up more than others,  so , the stitching is not as I would have wanted...guess I will just have to practice more to get this right in future. The blanket is double sided and on the front section I  incorporated a jumper with a pocket for the remote control...I know my cousin well !...Because it was really thick along these pocket seams I had to sew 2 strips of fabric to hold it all together on my regular machine ( I know how that works compared to the overlocker )... a cream, and ,on the back a brown batik .I also decided I was not going to make it a perfect rectangle and trim it leaving the wider parts as they were ...very informal compared to traditional patchwork...hey there's an idea....again !!!...So,finally, even if you think something is trash someone else will really appreciate the challenge of upcycling it into something of use....Maro