5.4.11

tweed


Whilst recently browsing in a local hospice shop, I managed to find a skirt made from heavenly pure Scottish wool tweed. When I got it home it immediately went to the washing machine and I half expected it to be ruined to be honest, thinking it wouldn't really be the end of the world. But it came out looking exactly as it did beforehand, only cleaner .. and smelling far sweeter!

Originally I thought I might make a holdall type of bag but because the skirt was such a large size, there was a good amount of width there and perfect for a pair of cushions which we are in need of, as it happens. I thought long and hard about how to embellish them but in the end decided to leave them au naturel. Sometimes plain is best, I think. There's something really satisfying about making cushions, it is one of those projects that takes very little time, yet there's so much reward. I backed them with unbleached antique French linen, nice and slubby and with the envelope back, they were a cinch to make too. I was able to save the other components to the skirt for other purposes - the elastic can easily be reused, the olive lining is now on the shelf for the future and there is still more fabric for another, smaller, creation. Not bad for £4.


These will grace my sofa very nicely I think. I love the very Britishness of the tweed, to me it conjures up images of twinsets and pearls, country estates and tramping through the heather, grouse on the moorland, plus fours on the golf course and, of course, our own Queen Liz!

What things do you think of as being typically British?

12 comments:

  1. Yes I can just imagine you sitting on your lounge with a typically British cup of tea and a piece of cake on a beautifully British floral plate and of course chatting with a friend in a wonderfully British accent and those lovely tweed cushions propped up behind you! lol

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  2. Very smart - and yes, less is so often more(classy)

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  3. Hi, I'm a new follower. You make some gorgeous stuff. Love those tweed cushions! Sal x

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  4. I love these pillows and they scream Brittania. I have been on the hunt for large tweed pieces for the exact same purpose. Good to know you were able to wash it and what a great choice for the backing so that you could make two pillows. My dad always wore a Harris Tweed jacket when I was a kid (he must have had 7 of them at any one time) so I have this affinity for tweed.

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  5. Great cushions Kate, really lovely and I see they have passed your very cute quality control too!!
    When I think of what you would pay for cushions of that standard in the shops £4 is a bargain!
    Typically British? All the pomp and ceremony, no one can do like the British, can't wait for 'The Wedding'!
    Vivienne x

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  6. Love those cushions! Such a fab find. The list is endless (and best summed up by that lovely add for British holidays on the radio at the moment), but for me it's eating fish and chips huddled up on a windy beach, pork pies, custard tarts, the shipping forecast, talking about the weather, cabbages and roses, cheddar cheese, , scones, Kendall mint cake.... C.x

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  7. Beautiful cushions - in fact I have cushion envy! British? A cup of tea, red post boxes and a satirical laugh at ourselves. Oh and Vicroria sponge to go with that tea...

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  8. What beautiful cushions! Great use of an old skirt!
    Liz

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  9. Gorgeous cushions, I love them. You'd pay a fortune somewhere like Paul Smith for something similar - good work! Typically British has to be a cup of tea in a cup and saucer and pipe smokers. x

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  10. Oh yes, I love the simplicity of the cushions, just right! Let's see, what do I think of as typically British? How everything sounds vaguely like a question, even when it is a statement.

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  11. ooh that kitten on those cushions - adorable xxx

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  12. Lovely cushions, elegant chair and gorgeous kitten!! Cream tea and beans on toast come straight to mind as being very British, but not together I hasten to add!!

    Have a great weekend Kate.

    Jeanne
    x

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There's nothing like a comment to stop me feeling like I'm talking to myself. If you leave one here I'll pop one back here too, so don't forget to come back and continue the conversation ..

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