Craft Gossip

The largest independent craft review site since 2007

30 minutes to a recycled felted sweater

by

sweaterbags

Get out all those old wool sweaters or take a trip to the thrift shop and in 30 minutes you can have a stunning one-of-a-kind bag.  I found this felted bag tutorial on “Whip Up”, by Abigail Percy who is a contributor.  Abigail lives in Scotland and is a jeweler and a so much more designer.  So check out Abigail’s stunning jewelry on her site or become her fan on Facebook.  About “Whip up”: To prepare quickly. To excite. To create. To incite. To build. To invent. To conceive. To push. To upset. To manufacture. To provoke. This website has been created in order to bring the best original and exciting crafts to the attention of many. To create a community of artists, crafters and makers and share ideas in a central space. A handcraft guide in a hectic world

What is handcraft? “To fashion or make by hand”. “A craft or occupation requiring skilled use of the hands.”  Whip up is a multi author site with contributors from around the world united by a passion for making things, for beautiful design and for a desire to share ideas with others. The editor and originator of this site is me, Kathreen Ricketson, I wanted a central meeting place for ideas and projects and technical advice for all the latest that is handmade around the world.

Read These Next

Have you read?

Colorful Christmas Tree Cross Stitch Patterns

There’s no rule that says Christmas trees in real life have to be green, and there’s no rule in cross stitch that Christmas trees have to be green, either. While I love a good traditional looking tree (in reality or in cross stitch) there are lots of fun other choices, which we’ll explore here.

Looking for more Christmas tree cross stitch patterns? Check out this post from last year.

I am going to start with a traditional tree, but this one has a lot of color thanks to the lights and other decorations on it. This one is form xCountingtheStarsx, and it uses 20 colors. Worked on 16 count fabric it comes out to about 5.6 by 9.25 inches, or 14.2 by 23.5 cm, with a stitch count of 90 by 148.

These fun designs from Catholic Sprouts have traditional tree shapes but are filled with fun patterns and colors. These would be fun to stitch as a set or you can make each of them and give them as gifts to different people or use as holiday cards.

The Christmas tree shape is a little less literal in this swooping design from Well Stitches. I like this one because it only uses one color so it’s great for beginners, but it still looks dramatic. It is 109 by 155 stitches, which comes out to 7.99 by 11.07 inches, or 19.78 by 28.12 cm on 14 count fabric (dimensions for other counts are also included if you want to make it smaller).

And if you want to go for all color, check out the Merry and Bright Christmas tree cross stitch pattern from Tapestry Barn. This pretty skinny tree is surrounded by multicolored snowflakes. The designs on the tree remind me of knitting patterns. And even though it’s lots of colors, it’s only worked with whole stitches and no back stitching. It looks lovely on dark fabric! The piece measures about 7 by 7 inches, or 18 by 18 cm, on 14 count fabric.