Monthly Archives: October 2016

Laundry Room Project Part 7: Vintage Sewing Machine Upcyle

From the very beginning of this laundry room project, I created a list of old/vintage items I might like to incorporate into the space. I had a vision for how I might use some vintage sewing machine parts and happened to find one on Kijiji that was in very bad shape. Of course, that was great news for me because I was able to pick it up for a mere $25. Score!!

I had intended to use the base, but as the room has evolved, I’m not sure that I will proceed as originally planned. However, I did take out the drawers, give them a light sanding and then added a layer of turquoise paint followed by a top coat of Simply White. Once completely dry, I distressed it slightly by sanding back through the layers of paint.

Although the vintage sewing machine came with some of the original hardware, I didn’t like it because unlike the rest of the machine, the handles were much less weathered looking. I decided to try to rust and patina them myself. I followed the instructions on Treasures from the Heart to get that perfect aged patina look.  As suggested in the tutorial….be patient. I was surprised how much the pieces continued to deteriorate even after many hours of sitting out. I did end up doing a second dunk in the vinegar/salt solution and once again left them to sit for several hours days. Time is definitely your friend in this process and patience does pay off. I’m so pleased I stuck with the original handles, as I now love them with rusty patina surface.

round wooden knobsFinally, I went through my crafting stash and found a bag of small wooden ball knobs. They made perfect little feet for the drawers. I glued them on with No Nails and gave them a quick coat of paint.

When I purchased the fabric for my laundry basket, I bought a second coordinating fabric to go with it. Although I wasn’t sure what I would use it for, I decided drawer liners would make the perfect accent in my new laundry room.

Loving these!!

DIY pin cushionWhen we originally began this whole process, I moved my scrapbooking room out of what is now my new laundry room. I moved most of my craft/scrapbooking things into what is now my very own space. The old spare bedroom (which has never actually held a bed) is now my dressing room and scrapbooking room. When this whole move took place, I decided that I could no longer keep my sewing machine upstairs, so all of my sewing gear got moved to the basement. The good news is that it is very portable, so I just carry it up when I plan to do any sewing and for the most part this works fine. However, I have found that it is quite a pain running to the basement everytime I need a needle and thread, so I decided to make one of the drawers into a mini sewing kit that would be the new home for my sewing scissors, measuring tape, seam ripper, a few spools of thread and my new make shift pin cushion. I simply added some batting to the top of the sealer lid and covered it with a fabric scrap that I hot glued in place. The ring for the sealer was spray painted white and voilá ….a coordinating pin cushion. Obviously for any real sewing job I’ll still need to make the trek to the basement, but this is a great solution for those tiny jobs that require a quick fix.

Laundry Room Project Part 6: Decorative Cabinet

BEFORE: We picked up this small cabinet for $30. The style was perfect, but it was in dire need of upcycling.
AFTER: A fresh new look that works perfectly in our new laundry room!

Although I’m generally considered the Kijiji master in our house, it was Tim that found this little gem. I wanted a small cabinet to hold odds and ends and add a bit of weight to the far wall of my new laundry room. This ghastly piece was pretty ugly with its black paint and gold accents, but we loved the wrought iron behind the glass and at $30 it was a great deal!

The glass and iron pieces were secured in place by a few screws, so they were easily removed for painting. After roughing up the surface, I primed and painted the cabinet out in my favourite Benjamin Moore white ~ Simply White OC-117.  Originally, I gave the wrought iron a fresh coat of black spray paint, but when I put it back together I didn’t like the contrast and opted to take it apart and repaint the iron white. I love the white iron behind the glass and am pleased I took the time to re-do it. Spray paint comes in limited colours, so I was not able to get a perfect match, but I actually don’t mind that the whites are a little off.

 

Laundry Room Project Part 5: DIY Laundry Hamper

DIY Rolling Laundry HamperRight from the start, I had a vision for how this laundry room would come together. With the major components out of the way, the fun began. I envisioned the room having many contrasting elements of old versus new in a shabby chic sort of way. I love upcycling and really wanted to include many re-makes in this room. One of the simplest projects involved the custom wire laundry basket I made for the space.

I found this great tutorial on Apartment Therapy and was able to create an awesome industrial looking laundry hamper. The best part was that I actually had everything I needed on hand with the exception of the fabric.

Materials Needed:

  • Galvanized Square Mesh Fencing
  • Wood circle (about 15″)
  • 4 casters
  • sandpaper, stain and urethane (for the circle) – optional, depending on where you get your circle
  • wire cutters
  • staple gun (tutorial suggests screws, but I used my staple gun)
  • heavy string (for my version of the hamper)
  • binding ribbon ( another adaptation)
  • laundry bag to fit (I made mine)

wood circleWhen I began this project, I decided to start by checking out my stash and sure enough, I had a circle left over from the wooden Lazy Susan I bought for my homemade Rumoli Board last Christmas. I didn’t care about the hole in the middle as it would never be seen. It was the perfect size and would not have needed any sanding, stain or urethane if it weren’t for the fact that I wanted the wood to be a darker tone. It was a simple fix and I like the rustic look of the darker stain.

The casters were originally purchased for another project, but ended up not working so they had been sitting in one of my project bins and would be the perfect size for this hamper.

The wire was bought several years ago and used in lieu of glass/wood in the shaker style doors my husband made for an 80’s dresser that we converted in to a TV cabinet.

With everything I needed at my fingertips, I set to work and had this baby done in record time.

I followed the steps in the Apartment Therapy tutorial exactly. The description and pictures were spot on and easy to follow. I will say that working with the wire is a bit tricky. Mine was rolled up and it was not easy to get it to stay in place while I worked. In addition, the little ends are sharp and you need to be careful. Wearing gloves is probably a good idea, but I found them cumbersome and opted for the pain and discomfort.

When you wrap the wire around the circle, you need to make sure you leave enough wire to overlap. Once you have the sides overlapped, you need to fold the wire ends back over the wire from the other side to secure it. (Sounds complicated but the tutorial makes it easy to understand.) I was really struggling to secure the wires because the fencing just wouldn’t stay in place. In fact, it created so much tension that some of the wires were snapping when I tried to bend them. I was worried that I was not going to be able to secure them properly and I didn’t have enough extra wire (in the overlap) for other options. I ended up running string the length of the overlap. I intended to place the string there temporarily while I bent the wires, and then remove it when I had it all secure. However, I actually liked the look of the string through the wire and ended up re-stringing it in a more patterned look. So in the end, the string serves two purposes, it adds strength to structure and is a nice finishing detail.

String and binding ribbon are added.
This is the pattern I used when adding the string.

I made a second adaptation to the original tutorial, when I added white binding ribbon to the top rim of the finished basket. Although I had trimmed the sharp wires off, I still felt that the fabric of my newly sewn laundry bag might catch on the wire ends. I was going to use hot glue to attach it, but ended up doing a simple stitch all the way around.

You can see the little wire ends poking up.
Binding ribbon to prevent the fabric bag from snagging.
Laundry Bag Fabric

The fabric and the binding ribbon were the only things I had to purchase for this project, so the cost was minimal.

The bag was simple enough to make by tracing the base of the hamper and adding an extra inch or more to the edge of the circle to allow for seam allowances and ensure it was a generous fit. The circle becomes the base of the bag. When cutting the fabric for the bag itself, be sure to make it big enough that it fits over the top of the bin. You don’t want to make it too small and then learn that it won’t sit nicely over the top. (You can always “take it in” if it is too large, but too small is a problem.) I also added several extra inches at the top to create a very tall bag (maybe a foot or so beyond the top of the basket) because I wanted to see the printed fabric folded over the edge of the hamper and down a few inches inside the basket.  I simply finished the top seam and folded it over to the desired finished height. I stitched a pocket for the string and then secured the folded over piece for a finished look.

Although I don’t really have a reason to roll my hamper around my tiny laundry room, the wheels work great and I love the finished look!