Today, for many craftswomen, the issue of saving is especially acute. It is no secret that the tools and materials used by them for creativity have a rather high cost. Especially when it comes to quality fabrics, yarn, beads, as well as reliable and durable scissors, knitting needles, hooks, pliers and other devices.
In addition, often to make really interesting and attractive products, you have to buy a course, a guide, or go to a master class.
In this aspect, utilitarian needlework becomes a real salvation for active and creative natures who cannot spend a single day without creating masterpieces.
Types and application of utilitarian needlework
This term itself means the manufacture of interior items or clothing from recycled materials. The materials may include:
- Unnecessary clothes, rugs, curtains, curtains.
- Residues from previous projects (shreds of fabric, small skeins of yarn).
- Various cords, twine and coarse threads for household purposes. That is, such materials are not intended for creativity, but they find interesting application.
- Items that have served their purpose or were broken and can no longer fulfill their functions (wooden planks, newspapers, broken dishes, empty bottles and cans).
Using utilitarian needlework, you can create quite practical things with your own hands or something exclusively decorative. Often, the craftswomen who have mastered the techniques of such needlework produce useful items not only for their needs, but also for gifts.
Useful disposal
Despite the fact that utilitarian needlework involves the manufacture of crafts from recyclable materials, people who are distant creatures may not even notice this. For example, baskets woven from newspapers are very popular. Considering one of them, it can be easily confused with a product made of twigs. Often the news of the origin of the material becomes incredible news for the uninitiated.
The reason is that rolled up newspaper rolls intertwine just like a vine. Then the finished product is painted and varnished. The resulting surface becomes very hard and durable. Often, such baskets serve even longer than their counterparts made of wood, as they do not intertwine.
Do not rush to throw away the trim
When it comes to utilitarian needlework, the patchwork technique comes to mind first. This is the ancient art of stitching small shreds in order to obtain a single piece of fabric with a clear geometric ornament.
Traditionally, utilitarian needlework from shreds is used for sewing rugs, bedspreads, pillowcases and bags. However, today the scope of this technique has been seriously expanded, you can see completely different objects made with its help:
- All kinds of covers and “bowls”.
- Kitchen potholders and hot coasters.
- Skirts, dresses, coats, hats and other clothes.
- Decorative paintings and panels.
Beauty and quality
Utilitarian needlework used to create practical things involves the use of various types of linings and fillers. Thanks to them, the tacks become dense and hold the temperature (if the synthetic winterizer is used as filler), and the covers last much longer. To assess the quality of the product in the patchwork style, a neatly made lining is no less important than the front part. This is extremely important for bags, cosmetic bags, cases for tools or phones, as the lining fabric will be constantly visible.
When working on interior decor items or bedding, the craftswoman may not pay so much attention to the reverse side.
DIY homemade utilitarian needlework
Most often, craftswomen prefer to study the patchwork when drawing up even canvases. There are several universal schemes that help create beautiful geometric ornaments from fabrics of various colors. The figure below shows such patterns.
Do-it-yourself utilitarian needlework (with schemes or according to a pattern) is usually successfully mastered by beginners. The universality of these patterns is that they are suitable for composing canvases of various sizes and configurations (not only rectangular, but also triangular and hexagonal). This is extremely important for those who use utilitarian needlework. Patch mats can be made up of several such patterns. However, when combining, the principle of symmetry is usually observed.
One of the difficult moments for the craftswomen is the design of the edge of the product. The following diagram perfectly illustrates how a perfectly right angle is formed.
Patchwork Cosmetic Bag
Utilitarian needlework is the best suited for the manufacture of various covers, bags and cosmetic bags.
The figure below shows the algorithm for sewing cosmetic bags with zippers. It is quite simple in cutting and manufacturing, it is enough just to carefully check all sizes, and then carefully perform the seams.
Work sequence:
- To draw or print a pattern.
- Cut pattern from paper.
- Put on the fabric and cut out the main part. If the craftswoman wants to use a material of several colors, she must cut the pattern in appropriate places. When these parts are applied to the fabric, allowances for seams should be considered.
- In order for the cosmetic bag to be stiff and keep its shape, you need to enclose a dense material (non-woven fabric, jeans, tarpaulin) between the decorative layer and the lining.
- Cut out the lining of the same shape, but smaller.
- Flaps are sewn onto the zipper as shown.
- Assemble the product, attaching the fastener first to the main part, then grinding its edges.
- Sew the lining and attach it to the inside of the cosmetic bag.
If the craftswoman fails to accurately fix the lining with the help of a typewriter, this can be done manually, after having swept the edges.