Want to save money in your kitchen? Try these!

We all know it's the small things that build up over time to cost us lots of money. So start saving now by swapping store bought and single use items for long-lasting and reusable home made versions using these simple ideas and tutorials.

Don't buy kitchen towels!

Why not make your own that you can use over and over again. All you need is an old towel! Get the free tutorial here.

Don't buy cling film (plastic wrap)

You can make your own bowl, cup and plate covers from fabric scraps and a little elastic.

Get the free tutorial here.

Don't buy zip lock bags or aluminium foil for wrapping snacks.

Make your own snack packs that can be thrown in the washing machine and used over and over again.

Get the free tutorial here.

Don't buy new Hot Pads or Pot Holders

Use jeans pockets and fabric scraps to make your own!

Get the free tutorial here.

Do you have any other ideas for saving money in the kitchen by switching to hand made instead of store bought?

Please leave a comment and links to any other tutorials that may be useful for this!

And for over 100 more free sewing tutorials for making all kinds of things and for all levels of sewing ability, please visit my 

free tutorials page.

More crochet learning, experimenting with plarn (plastic bag yarn) and how to spin it.

I'm slowly learning to crochet, and feel like I'm getting the hang of the basics now, having made a granny squares, triangles and pentagons, a bookmark, dish scrubbies, a small stuffed owl, earrings and a bracelet, and a jellyfish!

I've also experimented a little with crocheting onto other objects, like a plastic bottle to make a hanging basket and a hanging frame using a plastic kid's bracelet.

What I love about crochet is that a single length of wool can be turned into something so complex using basically a stick!  It's such a great 'use what you've got' technique that can be done anywhere - with all kinds of resources. 

So far I've only crocheted with wool,

and embroidery thread.

But I've also seen and read about people crocheting with t-shirt fabric and old sheeting (cut or torn into strips), old cassette tapes, wire and even glass!

One resource I've found particularly interesting in terms of its use as a crochet material, is plastic bags.  

Plastic bags are such a big waste problem and issue in the world - it's nice to see people finding ways to use them up and create new things with them.  I even found a whole website dedicated to things people make with plastic bags - Bagsbegone.

A little while ago, I shared a video on my Facebook page of a lady who is spinning plastic bags into yarn and then weaving this yarn into fabric. You can read more about this at bureau baggerman.

One of my readers commented on this video, asking if I knew of a way we could spin plastic bag strips into yarn without a spinning wheel....well I do like a challenge, so with a little searching I did find a method to try!

First of all, you need to make your plarn by cutting plastic bags into a continuous strip.

I found this awesome video showing how women in Gambia are recycling plastic bags into beautiful purses using crochet. The video shows how to cut a plastic bag to make your plarn!

The video shows this lady just crocheting the plastic strips as is.  

I had a try of this myself.

I didn't find it very easy, but I'm only a beginner crocheter so maybe I just need practice - or a different size hook?

So my next step was to try spinning the plarn into a tighter 'yarn' to crochet with.

Here's how I did it, using what I've got - my sewing machine!

It's not ideal, but it's a neat idea that maybe someone can work with! I think you need one person to work the machine and another to hold the plarn, as you can only spin the part between where you hold and the machine. So you'd have to move further and further back to wind a long strip. Unless you can find a way to wind it onto a spool as you spin!

Do let me know if you have any more success with this than I did, I'd love to see!

I did then try to crochet with this spun plarn, but didn't find it any easier than the 'unspun' plarn!

Thanks to a reader question on Facebook, I've had fun experimenting with making plarn, but I think for now I will stick to practising my crochet with wool!

I'm making lots of granny squares just now - just to try and improve my technique a little. Not sure yet what I'll do with them all!

Have you ever crocheted with anything unusual?

Have you tried crocheting with plarn?

I'd love to hear what other people have tried and made, experimenting with crochet!

4 Fab Clothes Upcycles

Several years ago I opened up a linky for people to share their clothes upcycling projects. This is an ongoing linky that now has close to 700 projects linked up.

Every now and then I go through the projects and check all the links, removing broken links from blogs that may have been moved or deleted. A little bit of fun housekeeping as I get to check out all the links again - some of which I've forgotten and plenty of which are new from the last time I looked. Endless upcycling inspiration.

I've just started this housekeeping job once again, so thought I'd share a few of my favourites from the few I've sorted through already.

France Inspired Couture Apron from The Empty Nest.

Made from 2 thrifted skirts, a vintage placemat and tablecloth and some remnant ruffle!

A reusable bag made from a T-shirt from The Sweetest Pear

I love the coloured woven detail on this one!

How to make jeans last longer when your kid grows taller? - add pretty ruffles!

See this cute Jeans upcycle from Southern Home Sweet Home

One of my favourites here - with the 

'Business in front, Party in the Back' Dress made from t-shirts by Tidbits.

If you have any of your own clothes upcycling projects to share, then please do link them up here.

It's a great resource that just keeps on growing, and gets hundreds of views every day!

Upcycled Denim Impossible Triangle

A couple of weeks ago I tried paper piecing for the first time using my denim scrap stash and made this kangaroo pillow.

I think it turned out rather well and so was keen to try this technique again to use up a little more of my denim scraps.

I do have lots more books with patterns in, but I had this idea that I wanted to try.  Wouldn't an impossible triangle look cool in denim.

So I printed out a simple template.

Then in my usual way of learning, launched myself into it.

I cut the template pieces, then cut the corresponding denim in different shades. 

Unfortunately I hadn't thought this through very well and struggled to piece these together with inside and outside corners to deal with. My first attempt was a fail..

Undeterred, I cut the corner pieces into simple strips and tried again.

I still found that I had some corners to join - it wasn't all straight forward simple seams. So there was a lot of fiddling about, stitching and unpicking and lots of improvisation.

I think I still have a fair bit to learn about paper piecing!

In the end however, I was so excited to see the finished piece looking just like...an impossible triangle!

Now I have to decide what I'm going to do with it!

My thoughts at the moment are either:

another cushion / pillow

the side panel for a bag for me

or maybe I should just stretch and staple it to a canvas and hang it on the wall?

What do you think I should do with it?

Any other suggestions welcome too.

Woven Denim Drinks Coaster - a jeans upcycle

This week I was sorting through my used denim stash from past jeans upcycle projects. I have a lot of scraps.

I keep every part of the jeans, and one thing I have a lot of is jeans seams.

All I've used these for so far is for attaching keyrings, like this.

So when I saw a picture of woven seams coasters the other day, I knew I'd found something to make with my seams stash!

I used this tutorial from Simple Things Notebook. All I changed was that I cut 7 strips for both directions of the weave. (The tutorial says to cut 7 for one way and only 5 for the other).

The coasters were very simple and quick to make.

Simply cut the strips of seams.

Stitch one lot of 7 strips together down one side

Then stitch them on the other side too.

Then weave your other 7 strips through between your outer stitching lines.

Stitch around the outside of your outer strips, along the stitch lines already on the seams.

Then Trim the edges just outside of the lines you just stitched.

I'm really happy with how they turned out. I made 4 coasters out of the smaller lengths of  blue jean seams that I had.

Then I tried a couple with strips of jeans hems that I had saved. They worked just as well.

And three more with seams from other coloured jeans.

I like the blue jeans ones best myself. 

My youngest daughter came home and claimed the blue coloured one. (She didn't seem to mind that I wasn't very good at the colour placing with that one!)

I still have some small seam scraps, and several longer pieces of jeans seams left over. More jeans seams projects will follow!

For now though - I'm going to enjoy using my new denim coasters!

Have you ever made anything with the seams from jeans?

What do you think of these coasters?  Worth saving seams for?

I've done plenty more upcycling projects and have lots of my own tutorials. Go here to check them out!

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