Monday 18 March 2013

Bunny Madness - Another Rag Bag Rescue



At the charity shop where I do a bit of sorting each Wednesday afternoon, they have now got to know me well enough to humour me by saving holey jumpers and half-made skirts to take home, chop up and create something from.  

And this weekend I was in the mood for a bit of frivolity, as on Friday I had finished my stint at work (you know - the proper sort, where you get paid...) and whilst I had been working, I had found it hard to get stuck into anything just for fun.

So here are (some of) the results of my frivolity...




Some Sarah Moore bunnies!

I had seen these bunnies before, but then I spotted the pattern in this month's issue of 'Country Living' (which I am savouring slowly, due to my sort-of-resolution to only buy one magazine a month) and was reminded of how sweet they are.  

The pattern can be found on Sarah Moore's blog.




I already had a small pile of woolies awaiting the washing machine, and a setting too high for their tender nature.  Two of these had been Mr U-t-B's but the rest had been saved for me at the charity shop.  None of them were suitable for re-sale, being either a tad shrunken, bobbly or having small holes.  There were two 'Blue Harbour' lambswool ones from Marks and Spencer, a Lochmere pure cashmere, an 'H &M' cashmere, a Gap Italian merino wool and an embroidered cardi whose label had been removed, but which felt angora-y. 





I decided to test the 'shrinkability' of the garments by chopping a sleeve off each and putting them through  a 50 degree wash.  After the wash, the M&S lambswools were not felted, but holey and thinned out, and the blue one had practically disintegrated, leaving blue fluff over everything!  The rest however, were more successful.  The two cashmere jumpers had shrunk and felted slightly, but were still beautifully soft; the merino wool had shrunk a good deal, making a super 'fabric' for more baby shoes; and the cream 'angora' had also felted enough to make a useable fabric. 

So, I decided the pretty blue cashmere sleeves would make some sweet bunnies, as would the cream angora.

And here they are...







There was even enough to make another smaller bunny, and a tiny teddy...





I managed to make some other things from the scraps left over from the sleeves, and I still have the large backs and front awaiting a metamorphosis.  Back with those another day!


PS  I am busy packaging up books and getting in touch with people to find out where to send them

20 comments:

  1. so cute!! and such a good way to recycle the jumpers!! I do some work in a charity shop and love it :)!

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  2. Beautiful - and super thrifty! Imagine how much you would have paid for them in a shop! Jane x

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  3. Love love love your bunnies, and what a great idea to use the more felted piece for slippers! How come I never thought of that. Out to beg borrow, or buy from the cs shop as many woollies as I can find.

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    1. Good luck with the hunt - my only advice is to avoid anything that is machine washable!
      x

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  4. I saw these in Country Living and thought they looked fun. I've never had any luck at felting jumpers on purpose. Interesting that you had such varied outcomes from the different woolies.
    The rabbits are lovely. I'm off on a chazza spree tomorrow...
    Ellie
    x

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  5. You're so clever Alix! You really can make something out of nothing ... you should definitely have a shop!

    Looking forward to reading your book, thank you once again

    Love Claire xxx

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    1. It would be a fairly sparse shop! But it's a lovely idea!
      x

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  6. oooh, love those bunnies - are you selling them? x

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  7. Oh aren't they lovely! I've not read my CL copy yet but will have a look at the pattern, thank you.
    Carol xx

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  8. Your bunnies are amazing. They look so soft and cuddly . . . I adore them.
    You have so much talent:)
    Your blogging sister, Connie

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  9. They are so sweet
    Julie xxxxxx

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  10. Adorable bunnies. I love the felting... so much nicer than buying pieces of felt. I always think of you when I'm sorting through bags of woollies or folding the vintage tablecloths.

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  11. Adorable bunnies ... they make me feel so hoppy :)
    Have sent email re: book finally got outlook sorted.
    Sarah x

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  12. How cute! If I were better as this sort of thing, I would have to make one in the image of each bunny I had ever had :)

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  13. Aw - so cute and cuddly!
    Liz @ Shortbread & Ginger

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  14. Sooooo cute and they've arrived just at the right time too! :) x

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  15. Lovely bunnies, just in time for Easter. I did enjoy the dancing pony vidio as well. Have only seen it once on tv

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    1. Oh I LOVE that pony! I'm glad he has become a worldwide sensation!
      x

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  16. Hi there.
    just dropping by to say how fab I think your bunnies have turned out. They look perfect! I keep thinking about doing some work in our local charity shop but the hoarder in me knows that i would find too many exciting things.
    Very best, and glad the patterns work!
    Sarah

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