Fabric and sewing/knitting books giveaway!

In the spirit of #secondhandfirst, I had a little clear out and reorganisation at the weekend.  I sent a few bags of things to charity, moved some old clothes into the refashion pile and found a few bits I thought you lovely people might enjoy.  Christmas is a time for giving and it would give me great pleasure to pass these items on to someone who might get more enjoyment out of them than I have.

To that end, it's giveaway time!  Check out the following lovely things to be passed on to my fellow crafters, sewists and knitters and see the rules for entry at the end of the post.  Good luck my lovely readers!

1. Large piece of light jersey fabric.  This piece measures roughly 330cm x 75cm so it's a bit of an odd size but there's certainly plenty of fabric there.  It is technically two pieces of fabric sewn end to end, so there is a seam down the centre.  Lovely floral pattern of red, white and grey flowers on a black background.



2. Generation T: 108 ways to transform a t-shirt by Megan Nicolay.  This is in very good condition, other than one slight dent on the top edge and my darling brother has written a merry Christmas message on the inside cover.





3. 99 ways to cut, sew, trim and tie your t-shirt by Faith and Justina Blakeney.  This is in pretty much perfect condition.  Nice ringbound layout so it lies flat as you're using it.





4.  Knitting Vintage by Claire Montgomerie.  In perfect condition.





The Rules!

Super simple, just Facebook/Tweet/Instagram a link to this blog post AND follow me on either Twitter (@Craftandthrift) or Instagram (Craftandthrift) - check out the links on the right hand side.

Leave a comment here to let me know when you're done and I'll enter you into a prize draw for your choice of prize.  First to reply to my email saying they've won will get first pick of the prizes.  If you link back to me in multiple formats e.g. Twitter and Instgram, then leave 2 comments and get 2 entries!

The giveaway is open to international folks too!  I'll be drawing names out of a hat 2 weeks from now, so Wednesday December 17th, a nice little surprise for you just before Christmas :-)

#secondhandfirst - days 3 and 4

I was out last night so here is day 3 and 4 together of Traid's #secondhandfirst week.  This week is really making me realise how much use I get out of this green cardigan!  I was actually wearing it today but took the photos then realised I would be posting pictures of me wearing it three days in a row...might look a tad unhygienic...I do wash, honest guys!



Day 3 - thrifted tweed skirt in lovely autumnal colours.  This was another £15 for the skirt and jacket, from the same shop as day 2's skirt.  Unfortunately I don't have a before photo for this one, but imagine exactly the same skirt but about 3 inches longer, so hitting just below the knee = super unflattering.  It's amazing how such a tiny alteration can make such a big difference to the wearability of a piece of clothing.  Again, the same green thrifted cardigan, clearly I need to thrift more cardis to add to my wardrobe.



Day 4 - it was super chilly today so I went with trousers and a sleeveless shirt, with the ubiquitous cardi over the top.  You can see the before photo for this shirt over on the original blog post here.  I love the colours of this shirt but next time I need to do better maths for calculating the size of the armholes, they're huge and you can totally see side-boob if I don't wear a vest underneath!  Not ideal for work.  I could have definitely taken this in another inch or so on either side now - the photo makes it look pretty shapeless though I swear it doesn't look that bad in real life.  It is definitely too big though but for work, under a scrub top, it looks absolutely fine.  I've got more ex-Andrew shirts to alter so practice will make perfect hopefully!

#secondhandfirst : day 2

Another day, another badly lit, flash photography selfie!  I have new found respect for fashion bloggers, it is difficult to photograph yourself!  Not only is the light against you this time of year (unless you work from home or have flexible working hours so can take pictures during the day), I find it really awkward to pose.  I guess I've never been hugely comfortable in front of the camera, I don't mind having my photo taken but I'm not a natural and tend to tense up, making for awkward or weird facial expressions or poses.  I'm suddenly super aware of what I'm doing with my arms or my hips when I step in front of the camera.  Anyone got any tips for how to look less awkward and dorky?!

Anyway, day 2.  Back to work today so sporting a thrifted skirt that originally came as part of a set from a charity shop.  It was £15 for the jacket and skirt, complete bargain.  As you can see from the very unflattering before photo below, the skirt was just that wrong length, mid-calf and totally unwearable.  1 episode of The Killing later, and it was taken up to just above knee, perfect for work.  Love a DIY, thrifted project!

#secondhandfirst : day 1

Welcome to day 1 of Traid's #secondhandfirst campaign!  For those who've never heard of Traid, you can check out their website over here.  The idea of #secondhandfirst is to pledge to wear a proportion of your clothes second hand this week, to raise awareness of the damage of our disposable fashion society, both socially in the developing world and environmentally here at home.

This is a subject about which I feel especially passionate.  I try to buy as much of my wardobe as possible second hand and when I can't buy second hand, I try to buy responsibly made and ethically produced.  I'm trying to invest more in good quality, ideally British made items that will last a life time and supplement these purchases with second hand clothing.  Being able to alter or make my clothes offers up a variety of thrifting opportunities, some of which you'll see this week!

Taken straight from Traid's website:

TRAID is a charity working to stop clothes from being thrown away. We turn clothes waste into funds and resources to reduce the environmental and social impacts of our clothes. It is a circular and sustainable approach to the problems of clothes waste tackling disposal, production and consumption by:-

o    Increasing clothes reuse across the UK reducing waste, carbon emissions and consumption

o    Funding international development projects to improve conditions and working practices in the textile industry

o    Educating people of all ages about the impacts of textiles on the environment and people’s lives, and how we can make more sustainable choices

Without further ado then, my first contribution to #secondhandfirst.  I pledged 20% of my wardrobe secondhand this week, meaning essentially 1 second hand item a day.  Unfortunately, due to dark wintery weather and long work days, expect to see a lot of flash photography this week!



Outfit stats: Firetrap jeans thrifted from Shelter.  Handknit by me Kate Davies Owls sweater.

Stripy handmade skirt and #secondhandfirst

I made a skirt!  I'm super proud of this make, my first skirt AND my first outing with my overlocker.  I made it with the honeymoon in mind, but since that never really happened, it's not really had a huge amount of use so far this year sadly, it got cold too quickly for a thin summer skirt.  I could definitely wear it with brown tights and boots though, I need to trial that on our next date night, I have the perfect pair of vintage cowboy boots...





The fabric is a thin cotton my brother brought back for me from Thailand a few years ago.  He brought me back 2 pieces of fabric he bought off a market stall (plus a handheld sewing machine that was the dodgiest thing you ever saw!) and they both sat in my stash until one day I decided to make a skirt for the honeymoon.  I was digging through the stash for something to use and came across this candy stripe fabric and a lightbulb came on.  An energy saving lightbulb, obviously.



I used this 'How to make a gathered skirt' tutorial, found via Pinterest (feel free to follow me, click the widget at the bottom or search for 'Craft and Thrift').  It was super simple, though the fabric wasn't wide enough to cut one full strip with the stripes all going vertically, so I cut it in two pieces and sewed it together along a stripe.



I already had the elastic in my stash and since the pattern was free, this was a completely free make.  Love a shop-my-stash make, it feels very thrifty.





Check out those tidy overlocker innards.  I'm still using up the old craft labels but I do like how they give a little professional touch to a make.

Apologies for the shonky, inside, tripod photos, I'm still learning all the tricks for self-photography.  Next week is Traid's #SECONDHANDFIRST week and I'm pledging to wear 20% of my outfits second hand so expect an outfit post a day documenting my progress.  This will help me with my tripod shots (practice makes perfect!), encourage me to finish up some DIYs on thrifted clothing so I can actually wear them AND help promote a good cause.  I'm looking forward to the challenge!