'Sold as is'

Q: What do you do when you find a gorgeous RED Chinese top in an op-shop and it only has one out of a total of five buttons left?

A: Grandma's Button Box to the rescue!

The top come with a little tag which said 'SOLD AS IS'. This might have discouraged some people, but I had stowed away a tube of sparkly black buttons with a diamond-cut look which were just right for the job. Originally I had the feeling that they should be sewed onto some sort of cocktail dress.

But they looked at home on this number.

Obi 1

Here's something I made a few months ago, but only attached the strings this evening. I love the obis at fantastic Melbourne shops like Queen, but simply couldn't justify the purchase. Also, as soon as you begin sewing in earnest, your internal monologue starts chanting 'I could make that'.

The only upcycled part of this project was the maroon silk fabric which I found in an op-shop and which was inexplicably glued to a piece of paper???? The Japanese fabric was quilting material bought from Lincraft and ribbon from Spotlight.

Front view

Back view.

Also, it's reversible. Here's Genevieve modeling the inside.

Buttons!

Every dedicated upcycler needs a few things to really come to grips with their craft:
1. A schedule which allows for visits to op-shops between meetings/appointments/deadlines etc
2. Big plastic tubs to store odds and ends of fabric, paper, thread, cotton etc
3. A patient partner/housemate who accepts that sewing projects take precedence over food on the dining room table.
AND
4. A button tin!

My button tin is over 60 years old and was originally a special edition biscuit tin to celebrate the wedding of Elizabeth II and Philip.

I think that both Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret were incredibly beautiful as young women. While portraiture of royalty is generally idealised, I love the fact that with each new edition of Australian coins, the Queen has more and more chins!

My button tin was inherited from my maternal grandmother who, as a result of living through the depression, never wasted anything. Coming from a large and poor family, clothes were generally second, third or fourth hand. Once the garment had completely worn out, the buttons were cut off and saved before the clothing was cut up into cleaning rags. This is a habit she continued her whole life and now that we live in a time where waste is looked down on as un-environmental and unsustainable, I do the same.


Button Cushions!

And to match the button tin....Button cushions which liven up our incredibly comfortable but fairly unattractive display model couch.

 Purchased for the grand total of:

 I love the fabric and they haven't been used!

 Buttons are something which can be found in multitudes at op-shops and I've even been known to buy bits and pieces for the buttons. Because buttons (I feel like this paragraph is suffering from a gratuitous overuse of the word 'buttons) are such an important part of upcycling, stay tuned for the further adventures of grandma's button tin!

Tie Post #3 - The coin purse

Find a fun, patterned tie in an op-shop or an unsuspecting man's wardrobe. I generally go for a pretty dark colour because I carry around a lot of crap around in my handbag and my purse tends to get grotty. Fold the tie over, add a zip, stitch. Voila!