So here I am, finally, sharing a bedspread that I made a few weeks ago. I like to have the bed made each morning, even if nothing else is tidy. Things just don't feel right otherwise!
We needed to get rid of a few bedding sets when we moved in, because who on earth needs 5 doubles and another 6 singles just for two people? However, because I can't bear to ditch anything made of cotton (since I discovered patchwork), I managed to hold onto it with the promise that I would make something out of it soon.
Inspiration came from here, long before I made it. I didn't have this particular design in mind; instead, I came up with my own, just taking the idea of cutting lots of squares from fabric. I started out with a grid, and made a few geometric patterns before I settled on one I liked:
I settled on number 3. I liked the way the colours progressively get darker from the middle and then go back to light. I did the grid in Excel in the end (Paint was too much effort), and calculated the number of squares I'd need taking into account seam allowances, based on a total size of 225cmx225cm. I decided that I wanted 10 inch squares, and worked out that I would need a 9x9 grid.
This project was a hiccup project. Plenty of "oh cr**" moments where I thought I'd ruined it. I'll explain those as I go along. But all the same, I'm happy with the result. It's not the most beautiful bedspread there ever was, but I like the mismatched seams and the wonky squares. The colours suit the room and my intended colour scheme for our bedroom.
I used the grid as a reference to make the patchwork. First I did each row, according to the colours on the grid (my final grid was also 9x9 squares but I don't have a picture of it to show you). So I ended up with 9 rows of fabric.
First hiccup: I'd calculated the size of the squares including a 1/4 inch seam allowance. Ahemm. The fabric was basically rubbish, especially the beige one. It was so wonky and biased (I'm not a fabric wizz) that I did not end up with straight rows AT ALL. Nor did I have rows of equal length. So at various points I just had to go with a bigger seam allowance, up to 2 inches, because otherwise there would have been holes everywhere!
Second hiccup: Once I'd put all the rows together, to make the completed bedspread top, I discovered that due to hiccup #1, it totally wasn't 225x225cm, and not long enough, but too wide instead. It just didn't fit the bed. Oops. But the aha moment followed: I rotated it 90 degrees and now it *just about* fits perfectly! Phew. The picture above shows the spread once I'd rotated it. Thankfully, because I chose a symmetrical pattern, it doesn't matter which way round it goes :D
In the spirit of using up old fabric, I took the reverse side of the duvet cover for the backing, and then came hiccup #3. The reverse side wasn't big enough, so I added a strip at the top from the leftovers:
To attach the back to the front of the bedspread, I laid both down, right sides together, and stitched all the way round (on a machine), except the last corner, so I could turn it back the right way round through the hole. I didn't use any batting, because I wanted this to be light and manageable for both of us in the morning.
Once I'd turned it the right way round, I just used the machine to stitch as close to the edge as possible. To make it look flawless, you'd need to handstitch it, but I'm impatient, and I don't know how!
I did plan to quilt it, and iron it, but it works just fine like it is (it gets crumpled every night anyway!), and I've never machine quilted anything before, so I didn't want to risk ruining it completely, after all the hiccups!
I kinda like the rough edges, not-so-square squares and mismatched seams. For me, it adds to the charm of patchwork. Using up scraps of any fabric to make something else.
Here is the final product again:
As a little extra, I want to draw your attention to the two bedside tables. These I got for free on Freecycle before we moved. I love the prospect of restoring furniture so that is firmly on the project list.
See the wonky drawers:
Yeah. They don't work so well. That would be because all of the drawer runners are broken. So off I went online (ebay) and found these:
And I really must do something about this lamp:
It's an eyesore to say the least!
I'll save those for another time, but I just wanted to give you a sneak peek of what I have on my project list!
-Linda
Anyone have any clever ideas for lamp re-do's or bedside tables? I'd love to hear your ideas!
I'm linking up to:
And taking part in:
