From a small pile of fabrics to...a bathroom sink skirt, for one! I have a very small fabric stash, partly because I just really started seriously (heh) sewing only recently and partly because I only buy fabric for specific projects, and only what I need - no more! Which is good for my wallet...and the state of my craft storage.
Our house was built in, from what I can tell, the 1920's and the sink just might be original. If not, it's not much newer. It's the old-fashioned kind that is heavy and enameled and has a separate spigot for hot and cold and they barely stick out far enough to get your hands under the stream of water. Not only that, but it looks old. The underside was all exposed pipes and nearly a century of dust and other people's living. It's the sort of space that no matter how well or how often you clean it, it just never looks pretty. The cats were always getting into the toilet bowl cleaner and whatnot and once E got mobile I could see her eyeing all the goodies under there too. What's a mama to do? Sew an ever-so-fashionable skirt for the sink!
I found the cute fabric at Z Fabrics here in Portland and just loved it. Our bathroom is an odd mixture of disjointed design in yellow and blue and this fabric, containing both, seemed like it just might tie it all together. I saw it on one trip, didn't buy it, then went back and couldn't find it. But I described it to the owner and she knew exactly what I was talking about and right where it was! How awesome is that? Two yards later, here we are!
I just sewed a simple rectangle sized to fit the area I needed to cover over with a wide elastic at the top. At each end, at the top, I sewed a piece of sticky-backed velcro and stuck it to either side of the sink. The velcro makes it easy to remove for washing and the elastic keeps it in one place, but easily pulled away to access things like toilet bowl cleaner. It keeps the cats out but the baby is a little smarter - she likes to pull it off but luckily can't remove the velcro (yet!) so it still keeps everything hidden away from tiny hands. (Anyway, we use only very limited amounts of all-natural cleaning supplies, but who wants their kid chewing on the toilet plunger? Ew.) It adds a great dash of color to the bathroom and makes it all look just a wee bit tidier. Yay for simple fixes!
Can you believe I have never been in Z Fabrics! We must rectify that soon!!
Posted by: Kate | 08 March 2011 at 11:23 AM
This really nice and cute. I didn't know it would turn out this good. Your ideas are really helpful.
Posted by: plumbing supplies | 13 November 2011 at 09:40 AM