5 ways to upcycle a linen jumper

Welcome to finish it up Friday!

The Minneapolis Modern Quilt Guild had an upcycle challenge, which was due at the November meeting. The rules were to use 3 different materials that were not originally quilting cotton (fabric off the bolt) and make something from those materials. I thought it was a fun and interesting challenge! Being frugal by nature, I HAD to join in.

I started with a black linen jumper (full length dress) that I wore about 20 years ago. I always figured that I could use the fabric for something....someday. This challenge was just the push I needed to get it done. I had fun repurposing the fabric to make several things!

My first project was to make a leash for our puppy, Lucy. She has a pink collar, so I incorporated a few pops of pink into her leash. I didn't use a pattern, I just made it up on the fly.

Our other puppy, Gigi, has an aqua collar, so she got pops of aqua incorporated into her leash. The hardware came from the shoulder strap of an old purse. I'm glad I saved the hardware because it's heavy duty. I'm thrilled that I finally re-used it! My family was impressed by the new leashes, which was pretty fun! The puppies like to chew on them, so I'd call that a success all around. Ha! 

Since I had so much dress fabric remaining, my next project was a simple two colored zip pouch. I used black linen for the bottom and a fun fabric scrap from Cheryl for the top. (I used this pattern, but added a half inch to the width and a half inch to the zipper length as well.) The outside panels are quilted to batting scraps to add texture and stability. I love how it turned out!

I had a lot of smaller pieces left after making the leashes, so I turned those scraps into a flying geese pincushion. (Pattern is available here.) I like how the bright colors pop against the black, but I don't care for how linty the fabric is after quilting. Oh, well!

I combined a bunch of little low volume scraps with the linen to make a thread catcher. It was quilted as well, mostly by machine, but I added a touch of hand quilting to the top to finish it up. It was a fun one to make, and fairly quick, too! (Pattern is available here, which includes instructions for the patchwork version.)

And the last project, because I wanted to make 5 different things using the black linen, is a key fob wristlet thingy. :) Well, maybe I shouldn't say last project, but last project for today! I still have a little bit of linen leftover and I will probably making a few more things to finish it off. Stay tuned!

Since next week is Thanksgiving, should we have a link up next Friday or not? I'm undecided, so I'd love to hear your thoughts. I'll let you all decide so I don't have to. :)

That's it for me today! I hope you have a finish to share. If so, please link up. Thank you SO much for joining me for finish it up Friday!