I knew exactly what I wanted to put on it though, I wanted to cover the trolley in my small collection of vintage knitting patterns. Well it seems such a shame to tuck them away in a drawer.
I've been buying them for the classic and totally fabulous pictures rather than the patterns. Some really are in a league of their own.. in a League of Gentlemen kind of way..
The trolley came from our local auction and only cost me £2. It did need a thorough clean and a few repairs before I primed and painted it with a chalky emulsion - lovely shade called moonstone grey. Luckily there was enough in the tester pot for two decent coats on the legs and around the edges.
I spent quite a while cutting and arranging the patterns before getting the glue out. One great decoupage tip I was given recently, is to use a piece of kitchen roll to smooth down the picture, gently rubbing over the paper continuously, to push out bubbles and wrinkles. Time-consuming but definitely worth it - plus it reduced anxiety levels.. There are still a few bumps, but shouldn't be noticeable when the sewing machine goes on top and my sewing box has a new home below.
I kept the pieces on the drawer black and white for some of contrast, and picked out plenty of fairisle patterns because I love a bit of fairisle.
Now it just needs a few coats of clear varnish and a good spray of WD-40 on those squeaky old wheels..
Fabulous! How cool is that? x
ReplyDeleteso glad you like it! x
DeleteTHAT is an AWESOME idea!
ReplyDeleteAhh and those were the days - men were men when they wore cardies.
and it truly is a cardy and a half - though even that doesn't stop him looking a bit sinister!
DeleteThanks Liz :)
That looks amazing. I wouldn't have even thought of doing something like that.
ReplyDeleteThank you!
DeleteIt looks wonderful! Love the green cardigans, and the baby in the little hooded blue one.
ReplyDeleteit's called baby bunting that one - very sweet! Thanks Jennifer x
DeletePretty!
ReplyDeletewww.rsrue.blogspot.com
What a great idea! Love the nordic patterns! Too nice to be kept in a drawer like you say! :)
ReplyDeletedid pick out as many nordic ones as I could find! Plenty of fantastic fairisle patterns, should really have tried to knit some, though not sure my knitting skills are up to it - too late now! :)
DeleteI was going to do something similar with sewing patterns on one of those cantilevered boxes but I think it will be too fiddly - I love this though!
ReplyDeletex
that would look great! Possibly a bit fiddly, but worth a shot? Maybe try the 'smoothing with kitchen paper' thing! x
DeleteLooks lovely!
ReplyDeleteWeren't you tempted to keep a pattern back to knit? This is a lovely idea. I'm trying one new thing a week on blog and I think I'm going to have to give something like this a go.
ReplyDeletethat's great!! and I did keep one pattern, for a sweet little cardy - tempted with a few of the nordic ones, but can always search out some more if I ever find the time to try fairisle!
DeleteYou could always scan any pattern you liked before cutting it up too, in case you really fancied making it at a later date. It looks great and you'll be sidetracked by all the fairisle.
ReplyDeletethat would have been very sensible! Think I was just itching to get on. Will remember for next time! :)
Delete