JOIN US'Clothe' your home
Then it is most likely that you don’t quite like the idea of decorating your home for practical reasons. Very understandable indeed. Yet if you were given options of easily packable, unbreakable, practical, economical pieces of décor crafted by you that you can carry away with you will you buy the idea?
If you happen to be a person who has a natural flair for needlework or painting there are a number of items you could give a personal touch to if you are willing to do so. Some aspects of art like painting or embroidery take a considerable amount of time. Yet if you feel you have time hanging heavy on you hands you could indulge in the hobby of needlework or fabric painting.
With a little patience and perseverance you could be turning out some of the most fascinating and eye-catching aspects in every corner of your home. You could paint or embroider covers and coverlets for your cushions, bedspreads, pillow covers, divan covers, back rest and head rest pieces of cloth for your living room furniture, curtains for your doors and windows, covers for your computers, televisions, telephones etc... You could also make foldable wall hangings, letter holders, tool holders, and foot wear holders with a little enterprise.
Since you will be spending a lot of time and energy to get a fabulous turnover in terms of compliments make sure you buy the best, washable, most durable and friendliest material in the market.
Don’t worry it will not burn a hole in your pocket. In fact the capital investment will just cost one tenth of the price if you choose to buy similar pieces.
You could buy the best variety of poplin material, don’t hesitate to buy white or light pastel shades. The material being eminently washable will not run colour or fade easily for years to come. They will blend with any wall colour and more than anything else highlight your handiwork.
Calculate the length of cloth you might need approximately keeping in mind the array of items that you are planning to work on.
Make sure you buy at least one meter more than the required cloth at one go for you may not get the exact shade or texture once again.
Soak the entire length of cloth in water with a pinch of salt for an hour or so to release it of the starch it contains. The salt will act as the colour guard.
Once the cloth dries iron the fabric and cut it out according to your requirements and plans. Make sure you leave enough cloth on the edges to enable stitching at a later point.
You could copy designs that you have saved up, borrowed or downloaded from the internet and get them xeroxed. You could also magnify the proportion or minimise the proportion in various sizes.
That way you could use the minimised designs for the cushion covers and the magnified ones for the divan spread.
Transfer these designs in the materials you have reserved with the help of a carbon sheet as and when you plan to work on it to avoid unnecessary smudging.
You could either paint or embroider to bring to light the designs you have drawn. Since embroidery takes a lot of time, you could choose to embroider the smaller motifs and paint the bigger motifs.
If you happen to be familiar with using a sewing machine you could do the stitching yourself otherwise you will have to employ a professional tailor to stitch up your goods.
Use canvas to support foldable wall hangings, letter holders, tool holders, and foot wear holders while stitching them to give them the strength and firmness. You could also embellish the edges by attaching lace or fixing mirrors.
You may take anywhere between six months to one year to complete one set of all the items mentioned, but the accolades that you will receive for them will outlive your lifetime.
As mentioned earlier these pieces will be very easy to maintain, wash, pack and display. They will not fail to reflect on your sense of patience and aesthetics no matter where you choose to display them.