Make Do and Mend and Ideas for Home Projects
MAKE DO AND MEND!
Make do and mend ideas can help you reuse and recycle when money or resources are limited. Here are some of our favourite make do and mend home decorating ideas.
There’s always a chance, at any time of the year, to sort out our homes the old fashioned ‘spring cleaning’ way that our parents did. I do believe in the saying ‘if you want something done, ask a busy person to do it, the more things you do, the more you can do’. I seem to be managing less than when I was haring around flat out!
Considering the circumstances encountered by Covid, my view is that we have to look at the bright side, and also to make changes to benefit the future by being more self sufficient. For me it’s all about digging deep into my resources and seeing what I can do; waking up old hobbies and interests and learning something new too.
I am really into ‘make do and mend’. My clothes mending pile, which has been so high for so long, is at last getting attention, in front of a good film and pots of tea. I am remembering teaching all my kids how to sew on a button and simple hemming stitches when they were about 8, 10, 12 and 14 years old. I heard from my son’s girlfriend, how he mends the hems of his suit trousers on her sewing machine. I certainly didn’t teach him that!
Hand sewing is a skill needing a little practice, but easy to pick up. I am having fun sewing elbow patches onto my worn out favourite jumpers, cutting squares from old dresses and shirts to patch other dresses, also replacing lost buttons with an assortment of shapes and colours.
New fabric and lining and heading tape online, a space to lay it all out and hey presto! The process is surprisingly simple. It’s good to have a stash of fabric, so you can start a project as soon as you feel energised. Then there are those tired blinds, which I couldn’t let down because the cords had broken; I have re-strung them buying new blind cord online. A fresh coat of paint is also the quickest and cost-effective way to give an instant facelift to any room!
Try sale curtains and blinds for ready made, ready to install blinds and curtains in your favourite fabrics, colours and sizes to fit your windows: Roman blind in up the garden path cornflower
My kitchen was my last big home project which I undertook during lockdown; before that it last received attention about 11 years ago! I am so lucky because my Mum taught me how to make curtains, so that’s what I will do. Being the centre of any home where family and friends will more than likely gather for a long period of time, it’s important to not only focus on the practicality of the environment, but the decor as well. The two combined, if done right, will create a well designed, comfortable, cosy, and cohesive looking space within your home for all to enjoy. Here are some snapshots of my kitchen which I’d like to share with you. I chose Peach & Smoke as the main colours that create the perfect balance to work alongside the existing furniture and kitchenware. It’s all open plan so using these colours to balance everything out was integral, but, the importance is that you can sit down and socialise in any section of the room with seating provided throughout. To soften the space out and to also make it feel relaxing, I added rugs, accessories and scatter cushions for those important finishing touches; a home from home.
Ideas for home projects
It’s time to dust off your sewing machine and make a start on a project. Getting going is always the hardest thing to do. Once you have set up you machine, chosen your fabric, have thread, pins, scissors, tape measure and instructions ready, you can hopefully get sewing.
You will feel so much better if you can become so absorbed in making that you forget time and place (flow): the benefits of being in the ‘flow’ zone stretch beyond the experience itself. Flow is associated with well-being, satisfaction with life and general happiness.
Home upholstery is another great way to improve ‘that’ chair with the broken seat or arm. With YouTube videos and online tutorials, you can teach yourself many of the needed skills. The simplest of all is the re-covering of a footstool or drop in chair seat; anything angular is a great starting point. For more inspiration, why not purchase my beginners guide to making curtains, shades, pillows, cushions, and more!
Some ideas for sewing projects
Lampshades are surprisingly simple to make and there are lots of helpful YouTube videos to teach you. But of course we can make them for you too. Click here for more information.
Wall Coverings are the simplest to hang, you just paste the wall only and then place the paper on top…wallpapers you need to paste the back of the paper. Here is my full range of wallpapers and wall coverings, all sent within a few working days from our Cirencester showroom!
I would love to see photos of what you have all made, please send them in so we can inspire each other.
We sell fabrics exclusively designed by Vanessa Arbuthnott, along side small, bespoke collection of Made to Measure items which includes curtains, blinds, sofas, footstools, chairs, headboards, and quilts, all handmade specially for you by master crafts people.
