Boro Stitching

So I have a new obsession. It seems to be the "new" thing on my Pinterest feed. Come to find out, it is relaxing and forgiving. While I love perfection, it is nice to just go with the flow now and then.

I have (among other things) an extremely large basket of denim scraps.

Needing a small project to do at night while watching Dr Who (yep, one of my favorite shows) I decided on some little pouches done Boro Style.
Here are two more. Both are available in my Etsy store. Just click on the picture.

The appliques were from cut from various fabrics and a fusible interfacing was ironed to the back to hold everything down while I stitched. I used a heavy cotton embroidery thread for the stitching. 

These are great little projects that should only take a night to finish up. Think gift card holders, cell phone pouch, jewelry pouch. I'm thinking of doing some Ipad covers and some larger purses. 

To see more pictures of these pouches, just click on the picture and it will take you to my Etsy store. I post extra pictures there. 

Want to learn more? Here are a few books from Amazon to help you out. ( They do throw me some pennies if you purchase one. So thanks in advance if you do.)

As always, keep stitching and thanks for visiting!

Bits and Pieces

Blog Slacker here. Forgive me readers for I have been a flake. I have not posted since... well forever!
But I"m here today and thought you would love to see what I have been up to.

First, as an upcycler of clothing I have baskets of bits and pieces from the clothes I cut apart. Collars, pockets, sleeves and cuffs for the most part. I thought you might like to see what I do with all of them.

The above picture is of two men's cuffs sewn together to make a sweet little pouch. These are great for gift cards, that secret money stash for emergencies or a jewelry pouch for traveling.


The colorful scraps were from a quilt I made for my son. I can't throw out even the smallest scrap. (I might need that someday.) I iron a fusible interfacing to the underside to help hold it down and then messy free form sew it with colorful variable thread.
My favorite is from Sulky. On the above pouch I used Sulky Blendables color...

It looks very dark here but there are so many colors! You can really see how it looks when you use it above in the pouch. I sell this in my Etsy store. Just click on the picture to see all the different colors.

Moving on..

Here is another one I did.

This on was made from two different cuffs. The flower is from a Kaffe Fasset Fabric with a die cut leaf added in. The applique thread is black for simplicity. Again, just free form with my darning foot.

My next project was with the collar. Not as easy but lots of ways to use those little snippits of leftovers.

I just folded the collar into thirds and opened it up to look like a flower. Then use a heavy needle and thread and tack the "petals" down. The strips are just leftover scraps sewn to the back with a brooch pin.
Here is another.

Great for a shabby chic look. Again, just a white collar and scraps of white fabrics and lace.

I hope this gets your creative thoughts going.
Oh, I forgot about pockets. They are easy. I just sew them onto my upcycled clothing.

Next time... some hand stitching Boro style.

Thanks for visiting!