As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and current lockdown, our weekly sessions are not able to run in community venues as usual. So instead, we’ve developed a number of REJIG lockdown projects to enjoy a spot of creative fun and keep everyone connected. Have a look at what we’ve been doing, and join in the fun!
Lockdown Projects
Lockdown Postcards
We’ve started a ‘Lockdown Postcards’ project to encourage everyone to share their creativity and experiment with different skills.
Postcards are a great way to develop new ideas on a tiny scale, and can be created using small pieces of fabric or stiff card as a base. Build up layers of texture and colour with fabric scraps, adding different stitch details for decoration.
The first postcard themes are Favourite Fruit & Vegetables and then Fabulous Flowers.
Why not join in the fun and have a go at home? If you do, we’d absolutely love to see how you get on! If you’d like to, you can share a photograph of your postcard with us on our Facebook page, on Instagram by tagging us (@rosithornton) and using the hashtag #LockdownPostcards, or by email at: rejig @ luckyfisharts.co.uk
Boro Stitching
Boro is a Japanese term for the technique of repairing, patching and mending garments, using other pieces of fabric and simple hand stitching. Traditionally, Boro was used to extend the life of clothes, as well as textiles like sheets and towels, but is increasingly used to mend and patch denim jeans and make creative projects like shopping bags and decorated jackets.
The photos show some decorative patterns made with simple running stitches and multi-coloured threads, made at recent REJIG sessions. Why not try this at home on some spare denim or old jeans that need some stylish mending?
An exhibition of Japanese textiles at the Victoria & Albert Museum featured some wonderful examples of patched and mended clothes using boro stitching.
Their site also has a fantastic tutorial on making a japanese boro bag, which was produced as part of the exhibition.
Scrap Blocks
It’s tempting to tidy up after finishing a project and just throw all your odds and ends of fabric away, as they look too small to be used for anything else. However, making scrappy patchwork blocks is a great way to use them all up! They’re also a nice, easy project for when you don’t feel like starting something new.
Have a fabric sort-out session, gather up all the small scraps in a separate box and then divide into small, medium and larger pieces ready for sewing. The idea behind scrappy blocks is to decide on a final size, then pick out fabric scraps and stitch them together, pressing with an iron and trimming as you work, to make a straight edge. Add more pieces, mixing up colours, patterns and sizes, until you have a scrappy patchwork block that you are happy with. Don’t try too hard to match things, the best results come from the mix of different fabric scraps.
If you make a couple each time you are sewing on other projects, your collection will soon grow! The brightly coloured scrap blocks can be used to make gifts like cushion covers, shopping bags or small baby quilts.
