Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Wide World Of Sports, Crocheted Kitsch Edition!




You've heard of extreme sports.  Extreme snowboarding.  Extreme skateboarding.  Extreme BMX.  But my favorite extreme sport gets far less attention than it deserves.

Extreme Cheapskating!

Can you relate?  I know you can!  From now on, it's going to be a brand new category on my blog.  For the inaugural Cheapskating post, take a gander at these (ahem) lovely (ahem) garments:


Crocheted polyester.  A dollar each at a thrift store.  Machine-made in China.

Okay, sports fans!  Apply a bit of careful snippage with small pointy scissors...


She scores!  Crocheted flowers for crafting!


Eighty-eight of them.  (Yes.  I counted.  We Extreme Cheapskaters will do that.)

The pink poncho had obviously been washed several times, and the flowers had floofed out somewhat messily.  You could still craft with a floofy flower.  But on a whim, I tried something weird - and it was so cool I have to share!


Pick one up with tweezers and hold it eight inches above the stove...


Poof!  It will shrink up instantly, becoming darker, prettier and more stable.  (Note: it takes a mere second!  Be quick so it doesn't burn.)  Here's a comparison photo.  Top row floofy, bottom row not floofy:


With the ones on the left, I rather painstakingly picked off all the little connecting threads for a neat and tidy flower.  On the right, I just snipped around the flowers quickly, leaving many connecting threads and saving lots of time.

I like both styles!  In fact, the quicker version is so lacy and pretty, I think it's really my favorite.  Now, what shall we make with these Extreme Cheapskate crocheted flowers?  Here's the first thing I thought of.


Take a needle and thread and just a few minutes, and embellish a warm fall scarf.  Instant replay:


And the crowd goes wild.

These are going to be so much fun to play with!  They'd make great earrings, necklaces, brooches, oh, my!  Let's hear it, people...what would you guys use them for?


In my next post, expect to see these fleurs in a new, fun upcycled jewelry tutorial.  Check back soon!

25 comments:

  1. OK, now you went and made me add more stuff to my thrifting wish list. I can't wait to see your fabulous jewelry creations.

    ReplyDelete
  2. To burn them...! That's so great! It like a flower phoenix :) It is great how different and good looking the flowers can look after separating them from the garments! They go really well with the stripes of the scarf.

    But where did you ever find such garments...? This astonishes me nearly as much as the burning step... ^^ which I wouldn't have crossed my mind (up until now... where is the next fire..? ...I want gas!)

    ReplyDelete
  3. You are too funny - I love how polyester will shrink up so nice and quick like that...what a fabulous source for materials!!

    ReplyDelete
  4. How cool!!! I'm wondering if you could "melt" the flower's bits with an embossing heat tool...
    Sophie

    ReplyDelete
  5. Clever idea. Did you already know to heat the flowers to bring them back to life? The scarf is gorgeous with the addition of the flowers.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You rock the roll! What a fun deconstruction-reconstruction. Only 78 more to go! The flowers would make a great addition to anyone's craft supply too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Oh man, talk about a sport that I would want to play AND be a spectator!

    Great job with the re-purposing!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hello!! This is kinda unique idea..& the color combination with the cute scarf is awesome..why dont you model it?well i like the Reuse+technique+color scheming :)
    By the way you can also put these flowers while wrapping any gifts..hmmm

    ReplyDelete
  9. Queen of Cheap ;) my salutations to you :D
    Ps: you can put them on clips, booby pins as return gifts for girly parties or also use em on invitations to make it special

    ReplyDelete
  10. We are on some kind of freaky wavelength girl - yesterday I was at the thrift store checking out old prom dresses to cut out lace flowers for earrings... Didn't find any this time but now I know to check out the knit wear too - thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  11. OK you are awesome! Way to think outside the box on this one. Of course the person who painstakingly stitched each one of those flowers together would be writhing in pain seeing you snip them all and singe around the edges, but hey... their probably working on another one right now! :-)

    ReplyDelete
  12. Holy shrinking poly-flowers!

    Extreme Cheapskating! you are a girl after my own heart :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Wow! What a great trick with the stove! I had no idea! Thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  14. LOL! Only you would cut apart garments and singe them over the stove. That's why I love you so much!

    ReplyDelete
  15. This is awesome! Love the stripe with the adorable crocheted flower!
    Thanks so much for stopping by my blog.. I am your newest follower .. yay! Love all of your sweet unique designs.. can't wait to see what you make!

    ReplyDelete
  16. Well shut my mouth! That is genius. I have never been able to make those things....now I can fake it. I see a wreath any day now....

    ReplyDelete
  17. Wow!Super cute...You rock!!! Brilliant idea. Color is so bright. love the technique.

    Daffy

    ReplyDelete
  18. That's great! I think they would make lovely statement rings. :]

    ReplyDelete
  19. Your ideas are great and your description always makes me smile...or LOL! Great idea!

    ReplyDelete