Sunday, July 25, 2010

The Nine Lives of Laura Ashley




This cardigan (unfortunately I forgot to take Before and After pictures, but work with me), made of kid mohair and merino wool, was very large and voluminous once, when my mother bought it in a boot sale. Even then it was a little scruffy, but extremely soft and great for lounging round the house. After it got moth-eaten, she put it away on a shelf, intending to turn it into a stuffed animal of some sort.
Then, in one of those midnight moments of lucidness, I picked it off the scrap shelf in our sewing room and thought it would be nice the shrink it slightly and cut it down to a bolero shape. the next morning I put it in the wash at 40, and waited.
When it emerged damp from the washing machine it had shrunk a lot, and fluted at the bottom. Its enormous moth hole was now easier to darn, and it was quite a successful accident. I think I will swap the buttons for diamante ones, even if I can't do it up. It reminds me of the kind of thing one of my mum's very glamourous friends would wear with a large matching crystal ring. Will keep you posted on its rehabilitation!

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