Homemade Knit, Sew and Crochet: 25 Home Craft Projects. Ros Badger

      

       Copyright

      This ebook edition published in 2012 by Collins includes some material first published in Homemade, first published in 2009.

      HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street London SE1 9GF

       www.harpercollins.co.uk

      First published by HarperCollinsPublishers 2012

      FIRST EDITION

      Text © Ros Badger and Elspeth Thompson 2009, Ros Badger 2012

      Photography © Benjamin J Murphy 2009, 2012

      Ros Badger and Elspeth Thompson assert their moral right to be identified as the authors of this work.

      All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this ebook on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

      A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

      Photography Benjamin J Murphy

      Editors Emma Callery and Sarah Tomley

      Packager Tracy Killick Art Direction and Design

      Source ISBN: 9780007489534

      Ebook edition © October 2012 ISBN: 9780007489541

      Version 2016-12-02

       Dedication

      To my beloved friend Elspeth who I will always miss. Also to our mothers, Margaret and Ruth, and daughters Martha, Ceidra and Mary, who are a continuing source of inspiration.

       Contents

       Title Page

      Dedication

      Introduction

      iPod cover

      Tea cosy

      Pompoms

      Striped woolly scarf

      Fingerless gloves

Felt flower hair clips and combs

Flower corsage

Bag-in-a-bag

       Beach bag

       Child’s summer dress

       Patchwork throw

       Cushion covers

       Outdoor cushion

       Denim chair

       Summer bunting

       Tea towel apron

       Egg cosies

       Hot-water bottle cover

       Lavender cats

       Victorian sand pincushion

       Cross-stitch ‘no-entry’ sign

       Crochet squares

       Crochet bowls

       Decorated coat hangers

       Crochet iPad cover

       Homemade basics

       Craft basics

       Sewing basics

       Knitting basics

       Crochet basics

       Patterns and templates

       Directory

       List of Projects

       Acknowledgements

       Also available

Copyright

       About the Publisher

       Introduction

      There was a time, not so very long ago, when the term ‘homemade’ was synonymous with dowdiness and ‘doing without’. From the profligate 1980s on, shopping seemed to become the preferred national pastime, while making your own was seen as second-best, an eccentricity, or a leftover from childhood TV programmes. But a few years ago a gradual shift began to occur. There was a revival of the old crafts combined with a new energetic approach. Knitting and crochet were suddenly in the zeitgeist and popular again, and everyone from New York bankers to teenage schoolgirls seemed to be starting crafts clubs.

      Interest in craft has been growing among all sorts of groups and ages, and many people are now keen to make things for themselves, family and friends. The children’s sewing club ‘Sew Good’, which I teach in the UK, has a long waiting list and I am inundated with people wanting to learn how to knit, sew and crochet. Many women now want to explore their creativity and make something stylish for the home, especially given the ever-growing interest in individual, handcrafted objects. My students are hugely diverse, from homemakers and business executives to children and other artisans. Recently an über-cool male student, studying Japanese, asked me to teach him how to crochet!

      The ‘homemade’ movement has gained an added energy and momentum from the two major crises – environmental and financial – that now face us all. Making and growing things not only saves money and helps the environment, the activities themselves give rise to a feel-good factor that can help cheer us up in adversity. Our homes become havens in times of global uncertainty, and knowing that we have the skills and resources to make things of use and beauty for those we live around and love – without costing the earth – can be a source of great comfort and pleasure.

      My aims with this book are the same as they have always been – to spread the joy of creating and making things yourself, and to share that with others. Creating something is a satisfying and fulfilling thing to do and has been a constant in my life. Having been taught to crochet by my grandmother at the age of seven, I wore homemade clothes that my mother made for me as a child and then started to sew and knit my own designs as a teenager, not only because it was an economical way to live but because I was able to establish my individual style. This is still a vital part of my own creative process and one that I was lucky enough to turn into a career.

      This book offers a range of stylish projects with something for everyone using a variety of skills, many requiring little experience. It does, however, require an alternative mindset to many craft books, which often start by listing stuff to buy, whereas I think half the fun lies in saving materials wherever you can, from fabric and buttons taken off favourite old clothes or furnishings, to ribbon from unwrapped presents. As these saved and salvaged materials become stitched and woven into new objects, the backdrop to our lives gathers texture and richness, with added layers of memory and association.

      I have always been proud to be seen as a creative person, but now