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Upcycled bum bags.

Upcycled bum bags bumbags distressed denim. 5 uniques bags

Final Design & Detail

  • Top stitching quilted sections.
  • Creating interior pockets and sewing on to the lining.
  • Attaching D-ring tabs.
  • Sewing down overlaying panels.
  • Distressing all the denim with a sanding bit on a Dremel. ~ If you’re planning on doing much denim distressing (or happen to be interested in a multitude of other crafts), the Dremel is such a handy tool to own. You can find the Official Dremel store on Amazon (affiliate link).

Click here to see each Upcycled Bum Bag!

To help support the time taken to document the creation of one-of-a-kind slow fashion this post contains affiliate links. I may receive a commission based on purchases made via these links. I research the products and perform price comparisons, and only share links aimed to save you time and money.

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Handmade Iron-on Patches

handmade iron-on patches DIY titorial blog

Handmade Iron-on patches came to mind when trying to think of some creative ideas for using up my Spoonflower swatches.
– For those who aren’t familiar, Spoonflower.com is a print-on-demand marketplace where you can buy and sell designs on fabric, wallpaper and homewares. Spoonflower print the designs and post to you or your customer.
Before a seller can make their design available for purchase, they need to purchase a sample of the design themselves. The 2 most economical ways to do this are:

  1. Put 42 designs on a 1 yard “cheater quilt” (6 inch square per design). This option can be found under the “Fill-a-Yard” section on the fabric menu.
  2. Or create a collection of 30 of your own designs and click “Get a sampler” (8 inch square per design).

Needless to say, a busy designer can end up with a hoard of these swatches. So, this is a great quick little project for using up those spoonflower samples. Of course, these swatches are not essential – Scraps of quilting cotton are also a great option and often have themes, patterns and small motifs making them perfect for patches.

Here is what I used:

  1. Rigid plastic (optional) to make a stencil. I used the plastic base out of a reusable green grocery bag.
  2. Cricut Maker (optional). If you don’t have a Cricut machine you could trace around cookie cutters or make some shapes from card. Or just trace around the first shape you cut out.
  3. Iron-on (fusible) Interfacing. This is what will make your iron-on patch able to iron-on to other garments.
  4. Spoonflower samples or scrap fabrics of choice.
  5. Plain coloured scraps (optional). I used calico and layers of white woven cotton to make some patches thicker/sturdier, and to cover embroidery thread on the back.
  6. Embellishments (optional). I used embroidery thread, buttons and beads. You could try lace, paint, … anything that won’t be impossible to iron over when applying the final product.
  7. Sewing machine. For binding all the edges. Not really optional unless you have an awful lot of time on your hands. An overlocker can be handy for some of the shapes, but we’ll talk about that below….

How to make them:

(Inclusive of tips on how NOT to make them based on my fails)

Making the handmade iron-on patches is a quite simple process of cutting, layering, embellishing, and binding the shapes. I have used a Cricut Maker 3 in the first 2 steps.
The additional Cricut steps are definitely a time saver if making more than a handful of patches, but the project can absolutely be done by hand too!
If you aren’t using a Cricut just jump in at step 3.

1. Making a stencil with Cricut machine.

I won’t supply you with an SVG file for this because it is so easy to just choose the shapes available in Cricut Design Space, and size them as desired. I made my shapes between 2 and 4 inches wide/high. When doing this project again, I would probably exclude the smaller shapes and stick to simple shapes like squares and circles. The stars were a little trickier to work with, but not impossible.

Open your Design Space canvas, place your shapes as desired to fit within the measurements of your plastic or chosen stencil material.
Now you will need to select all of your shapes and use the “attach” function to lock them in place. This will prevent Cricut from moving your shapes to different positions upon cutting.
To upcycle the green bag plastic insert I used a deep point blade, on default pressure and did 9 passes (3 passes at a time until I could pop the shapes out).

2. Cut Interfacing and layers on Cricut.

You can now use your Design Space layout to cut your plain scrap layers and interfacing. Change the material to Calico or similar and the Cricut will require you to use the rotary blade to cut these fabrics.

For smaller sized off-cuts I just manual stopped the Cricut machine when I’d fit as many shapes as possible.
For larger pieces I duplicated some of the shapes and added to the canvas. To do this you will need to select the shape area and click attach/detach again. With all the shapes detached from each other duplicate the chosen shapes. Again, select each shape and hit “attach” to lock them in place for cutting.

3. Cut fabric designs.

Place your stencil, cookie cutter or pattern piece around sections of your Spoonflower swatches or quilting scraps and trace around and cut out. (It really doesn’t matter what type of pen/pencil, you won’t see any on the final product.) If not using a Cricut machine for step 2 then also trace out and cut your interfacing and any extra layers this way.

Some of my swatches were Spoonflower Petal Signature Cotton and some were their Organic Cotton Sateen. I love Spoonflower’s Sateen, so I often buy this with the intention of making small fabric purses/pouches from swatches.
However, I can confirm for this project the Petal Signature Cotton wins. The sateen looks great in a couple of cases and quite wonky in others (see photo below). Both had the same layers, I straight stitched around before I started binding but must have warped the sateen which has a slight stretch. Overall, a simple woven cotton will yield more consistent results.

Differing results with the organic cotton sateen

4. Add Embellishments.

With all your pieces cut it gets easy, almost addictive! as you quickly see the final product come to life. I couldn’t help but make “just one more”, and yet another, when it was well and truly past bedtime!
I layered the outer fabric with one piece of calico cotton to stabilise it before embellishing.
In one case I sewed a little button on, and on others I used top stitching, including metallic embroidery thread.
I’ve never managed to find a thread better than the Gutermann brand. However, it is often on the pricier side, and retail stores, even Australia’s largest chain stores, don’t seem to have a full range. Good quality thread is really essential to any sewing project, and a material that can rarely be salvaged, upcycled or thrifted in good condition. So therefore, I think it’s worth investing in a range that will save you time and money in the long run. Here is my affiliate link to the best value sets I have been able to find: Gutermann rayon thread.

5. Layer Interfacing and machine bind the edges.

In some cases, I added another layer of cotton behind the embellished layers (given the interfacing is semi-transparent, it looked much neater).
Then add the interfacing to the back. Make double sure the fusible adhesive side is facing outward! (Yeah, I made that mistake… Twice!). You might need to hold it under a light or look carefully to see the shiny little dots of heat-activated adhesive on one side.
On some I used a fusible wadding in place of the interfacing, giving the finished handmade iron-on patch a puffy, 3-dimensional look.
Straight stitch around the edge of the shape, about 1-2mm from the edge, to hold the layers in place.

I found the overlocker was only good for the edges of squares and triangles. I really struggled to not make a mess of any other shape, and so turned to my regular machine.

Patches I ruined with the overlocker.

The basic zigzag stitch at a short length turned out to be my best option over any of the stretch stitches. Simply zig zag over the edge without piercing the edge of the fabric on the outer stitch. When the needle pierces very close to the edge it just causes some fraying, which then creates more work to bind it.

And by this point you will be proudly gazing up on an array of your very own custom handmade iron-on patches ready for use!

Tips for applying handmade iron-on patches:

Use the cotton setting on your iron. Or the hottest setting possible for your chosen fabric.
Iron the patch for a few seconds with a shot of steam.
Allow the adhesive a moment to reset, then gently try to lift a corner of the patch to ensure it has stuck securely.
Repeat the process if needed, until well adhered.

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Depop Fees/Profit Calculator

Depop fees/Profit calculator

See your Depop fees and profits at a glance with this handy tool.
This calculator uses Australian domestic PayPal fee rates.

More info about selling on Depop

More Thrifty Stitches blog posts

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Salvaged Fabric DIY Floor Rugs

DIY Floor Rugs

Needing a thrifty way to improve the look of our workroom, I made a variety of DIY floor rugs using just salvaged fabrics and duct tape!

It’s not unusual to find uncut yardage of awesome fabrics at the local op shop. While not under the illusion that duct tape is the most eco friendly material, I believe this is an application that offers a decent lifespan. We’ve had one DIY floor rug in use for a few months now, the duct tape shows no sign of lifting.

Choose woven fabrics.

First I have chosen some medium weight woven fabrics, and frayed the edges by hand. ~ You could probably work with a fabric that has a slight stretch as the duct tape will stabilise it, however it wouldn’t work well with anything fleecy or prone to pilling, as the duct tape wont adhere. Make sure the fabric is ironed and free of creases before you get started.

DIY floor rugs with duct tape backing
Woven Fabrics + Duct Tape

Apply duct tape.

I bought a double pack of Paint Partner cloth duct tape (100m). This project used a bit over 1 roll to cover approximately 5-6 square metres (3 rugs). I started by applying the duct tape around the edges, then in a criss-cross pattern, to stablise the fabric. This is to keep it square and avoid warping while applying the rest of the tape.

I originally decided to tape with the grain, as I thought this would eliminate warping. However, I stopped half way on the first rug and started taping across the grain, realising this gave more stability.
~ Key tip: *Tape across the fabric. (It’s easier to determine the direction of the grain if you have the full width of fabric)

DIY floor rugs with duct tape backing.
Tape in multiple directions to stabalise first.

Iron the rugs

With one side of the fabric completely covered in tape, iron the fabric side to help fuse with the adhesive.
I found I had a crease in one of the rugs which was a little hard to get out. A few shots of steam was effective in loosening the adhesive and re-setting it correctly.
~ Key tip: *As mentioned earlier, it’s a good idea to make sure the fabrics are well ironed before getting started.

I am so happy with how the completed DIY floor rugs look in the studio! They have brought a homeliness to our open plan, concrete floor workspace, and have helped to define separate work areas.

DIY Floor Rugs
DIY Floor rugs using duct tape and salvaged fabric.