It seems we’ve finally got a hold of ourselves and tightened our belts (not sure mine was ever loose), we’ve seen the error of our ways and realised that everything isn’t disposable.  There’s a whole upsurge in people learning how to remake, reupholster, upcycle and transform.

Hopefully there were very few of us that simply threw away a blouse if the buttons had fallen off but how many of us have given a dress away because we no longer like the style? Perhaps you cast away a piece of furniture because it didn’t fit in with your new contemporary styled living room?  Can you see the charm in everyday objects from charity shops and house clearance stores if given a little love?

Reloved is a new quarterly magazine dedicated to restyling, transforming and revamping your world.  In the first issue ‘Spring 2013’ there are 26 projects covering everything from transforming your clothes to upcycling your furniture.  There is a masterclass on reupholstering a drop in seat pad chair and quick makes to create in an evening.  There are several features including one on the original ‘Make Do & Mend’ series from the wartime upcyclers.  Last but not least, there’s a guide to upcycling and knitting (ahem… of course).

The magazine welcomes you to a shabby chic lifestyle, full of colour and a renewed love for all things eclectic, mismatched and homely.  Of all the projects some of my favourites are Changing Sleeves (above) and the Lacy Doily Lampshade which are really cool.  In my house they’d have to be stained or painted though as the dust would turn them grey in a matter of minutes.

On page 16 and 17 there’s how to create the Vintage Cake Stand, all the rage at the moment and much cheaper than some of those to buy in the shops.  I think they’d look really good made out of old mismatched plates and full of naughty teatime treats.

Loving all things knitted it goes without saying that the knitted Vase Covers on page 32 – 35 get my creative juices flowing and there’s also a lovely knitted footstool in the magazine.  It’s cream and would again be a dirt magnet here, better to be done with it and make it in a tweedy grey for my home.

Last but not least and my absolute favourite item in this issue is the ‘All Wrapped Up Chair’ which has actually been taken from the book Granny Chic.  If I ever get the time expect to see very similar looking chairs in the shop one day.

The magazine has been extremely popular and you may find it difficult to get hold of a copy however the digital edition will be available soon on Apple Newsstand, Google Play and Pocketmags.com.  You can get further information on the Reloved website http://www.relovedmag.co.uk/

Happy Knitting!

(or should that be creating?)