DIY : Fun with scraps.

A brand new -closet to decor- DIY project for old faded garments  to start the year...!

Five old - really old garments, one fine day in a stroke of inspiration... (Remember this ?) go under the scissors. And the resultant is a shabby and unevenly sewn yet  fun coverlet for the master bed!


I have a thing for not throwing away stuff.  So a few old kurtas and  table cloths which were  completely exhausted  but loved all the same  -for one reason or the other,  get reinvented  over one weekend.  Since I am no expert with the sewing machine,  it helped that the project did not require one to be perfect.

The Recyclables:

Old kurtas table cloths and an old curtain..

The garments were chosen based on a broad color scheme I wanted to follow for the bed-spread. They were then dismembered into same sized squares and put together  strip by strip until we finally have a Indian block print meets  Chinese and Japanese vegetable dyed batik meets pin-tuck story..!

Here is the shabby chic boho inspired results.. You like?!

Although not pictured here, the sheet has been backed with a plain navy blue casement fabric from an old curtain .

While cutting the squares and assembling the scraps  here are the few things I tried to keep in mind:

~  Cut equal sized squares form all over the garment, sleeves and interface included.

~ Join scraps of similar colored/ patterned fabric from the trims to extract the maximum use out of  the garments.

~ retain the full motif of large prints without wasting fabric to the extent possible.

~ Try not to repeat the same fabric twice in a row .

~ go over each row twice with the machine or better still interlock if you can ( I do not have the interlocking feature on my machine )

~ try to be neat. ( even with all the striving to be neat, the result is uneven in this case, but focus while working helped!)

I had a great time putting this one together.  You like ? !! Do share simple ideas of your own  to recycle and reuse old things...

At home and work: studio and home tour, Anek Designs

I had a coloful Diwali in 2013 thanks to the wonderful designer collaboration with Anek Design's wonderful Kanika Bhal (read the story here ). Kanika's ecelectic design sensibility that is a trademark of her line of decor products flows just as easily and copiously into her domestic and work spaces. Posting a few images from around her studio and lovely apartment in Mumbai.

Two words braced on top of a door ledge pretty much sum up her work for me

And here, in a small but dear little studio in Goregaon Mumbai,  Kanika creates her label Anek Designs..

"It is a very functional space. We were lucky to find neat and clean nook right at the edge of a basti" Says Kanika describing her workshop and it's neighbourhood.

I am amazed at the neat organized interiors encountered within..

The small yet  airy and organised space takes me back to anpther space..

 Barely a few hours back , I had sarted the morning at  Kanika's  airy and charming apartment in Malad.

There is hints of Kanika's love for textiles every where in the house. The space brims with color and craft in every corner..

A  humble sweet platter  very cleverly used as a trivet  for serving snacks on the coffee table.

Or a long kalamkari cushion in earth colors on a stark blue sofa.

Kanika's chunky potli neckpeices adorning the top of a cupboard in her study..

A key organizer  at the entrance of her home..

A simple arrangement of objects and fruit  top a dining table.

Shadow puppets hung on a string..

Or a simple yet stunning curtain made out of  colorful scraps of left over fabric..

(I have a good mind of returning to this beauty here in an upcoming post, but more about that later)

Infact colors and weaves are abundant in this home..

And getting back to the workshop, there is piles and stacks of colour and more weave!

In Kanika's signature potli and scrap key chains..

In scraps of kantha materials. ( Kanika has been working with kantha since 2010, and in the time to come, she intends to offer all textile craft traditions from India and a few from abroad.)

In a wide variety of natural textiles Kanika likes to work with..

In the kalamkari range that she launched recently. ( Anek's  kalamkari  based patterns are commissioned from a national award winning weaver  based in Andhra Pradesh)

And last but not the least in a bunch of yummy cushions I splurged on in while a visit to her workshop!

It has been enlightening and inspiring knowing  Kanika. There is much  she will offer via Anek in the time to come, starting with a range of pure silk and woollen products. Do keep an eye on her facebook page.. I  have mine glued too!