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Hello and thanks for visiting my blog. I have been knitting on and off for 50 years and I recently learned to crochet. I love looking for wool bargains and making them into something useful. I mainly knit for charity. I occasionally knit for myself and family members if I find a really good pattern or if they ask nicely!!

Sunday 22 October 2017

Another shirt cushion plus curtain tie-backs...


We live in a 1930s house that is a bit of a money-pit. For most of the year I have been decorating/repairing/updating things that nobody except me seems to notice either before or after. Hey ho. However, it has all created a feeling of quiet satisfaction with our house and we talk less now about moving than we used to. Result!

My last hurrah before the cold weather arrives and just makes me want to hibernate was to add a finishing touch to the dining room. There was a bare corner loved only by the cat because that was where we kept her food bowl.

Now it looks like this:


I brought down a wicker chair from a bedroom where it was rarely used. Then I made a cushion cover from another of Hubby's discarded shirts. The colours are perfect as we have a green and cream theme going on in this room. I even turned the shirt cuffs into curtain tie-backs. There are lots of online tutorials for making phone cases from cuffs. But I wasn't able to find a tutorial for tie-backs. So these could be the world's first.

They were so simple to make. I cut off the cuff and buttoned it up around the curtain. Ta dah! That would have worked perfectly if the curtains had been lightweight. However, mine are quite thick cotton that creases easily. 

I decided that the tie-backs needed to be a bit longer. I considered various ways to add length. The curtains are floor-length so there needed to be a way to untie the tie-backs to take them off. I could have simply sewn a ribbon or more of the shirt material onto each end. I checked with Hubby whether or not he would be prepared to tie and untie knots every day. It was a NOT...which I already knew but thought it would be polite to ask.

So it was back to the drawing board and I came up with a less elegant but more practical solution. I sewed a piece of elastic to one end of each cuff. Then I snipped a little hole in the other end of the elastic and used this as a button hole.

You can just about see it here:


You can't see the elastic when the tie-backs are on. So I am very happy with how everything turned out. This room faces south and catches the sun for most of the day. It will be a lovely corner for reading a book.

The cat is currently sulking because I have moved her bowl to another part of the room. It must be a whole 5 feet away! But the cat is studiously ignoring it and sitting under the chair waiting for the food bowl to come to her. By tomorrow she will be hungry enough to realise that isn't going to happen!



18 comments:

  1. HaHa. Love how cats elegantly blend into the new dynamic. Not willingly, but ultimately elegantly.

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    1. Cat went on hunger strike for 4 days. So I had to give in and move the bowl back. She's still laughing.

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  2. Brilliant idea with the tie backs and the pillow, such a great corner now. Wonder how the cat will adjust to the new decorations? The bowl is five feet away! Wow that is like a mile to a cat apparently.

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    1. Cat went on hunger strike for 4 days. So I had to give in and move the bowl back. She's still laughing.

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  3. I love those cuff tie backs what a thrifty idea. Hope you are well Una. Jo x

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    1. Thanks. Feeling really well at the moment. I think it's because I'm eating healthy food.

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  4. Ha ha cats are such funny creatures, lovely pillow Una and the tie backs are great too, just a couple of additions like that can transform a room. Don’t move it’s way too stressful! I have thought about renting but tenants would wreck my property they have no respect for rented properties in that area. Have a great week. 😊

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    1. I think we will eventually move one day. But I am dreading it. Good luck with everything.

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  5. Very cute! And the cat will get over it. I have had cats for 40 years. They will punish you, but they will get over it.

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    1. Cat went on hunger strike for 4 days. So I had to give in and move the bowl back. She's still laughing.

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  6. Awww - poor kitty!! Your pillow and curtain ties are just great!! I love this idea, and if my husband's old shirts EVER looked good enough to keep using, I might try it!!

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    1. Very easy to make especially for a crafter like you!

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  7. I an just imagine the look the cat gives you, our cat does the same to us when we change the furniture around.... you would think they own the house!
    Great upcycle of the shirt, well done.

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    1. Cat went on hunger strike for 4 days. So I had to give in and move the bowl back. She's still laughing.

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  8. Such a good idea to use a shirt that is not being worn anymore and then you can take it off the cushion by unbuttoning it! love this idea and I like how you made matching curtain ties using more of the fabric. Aw yeah hopefully your kitty eventually goes to the other side of the room for their food! :P

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    1. Cat went on hunger strike for 4 days. So I had to give in and move the bowl back. She's still laughing.

      Delete
  9. Cat went on hunger strike for 4 days. So I had to give in and move the bowl back. She's still laughing.

    ReplyDelete
  10. Such lovely cushion and curtain ties. it is a good idea. I just cleaned up and gave my husband's discarded shirts for charity. Maybe I should have kept some and made cushions! I read you latest comment about the cat, LOL! They know what they want and how to get it as they want :D

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