Get the garden ready with a matching garden kneeler and tool roll, made from easy-clean PVC fabric
Enjoy the gardening season with these glorious sewing projects. Whip up a garden kneeler for reducing joint strain (we think it’s the bee’s knees for anyone who loves to garden) and a matching tool tidy.
GARDEN KNEELER
1 Measure and cut out a 20 x 40cm foam block using a long, serrated knife. Next, lay out the PVC fabric on a flat surface; measure and cut out rectangles: one 44.5 x 47cm piece for the kneeler and one 26 x 7cm piece for the handle. To create the handle, fold under 1cm along both long edges and hold them in place using fabric clips. Stitch along the long edges, leaving the short edges open. Carefully fold under 2cm along the short edges and hold in place using a fabric clip. Locate the midpoint on the large rectangular fabric piece and place the handle exactly in the middle, horizontally. Stitch the handle in place with a Box X stitch at both ends. Fold the rectangle in half widthways (right sides facing) and hold the edges together using fabric clips. With a 1cm seam allowance, start sewing along the raw edges, starting on one of the shorter edges; pivot around the corner, then sew along the longer edge; pivot around the next corner. On the last short edge, sew for 3.5cm, then backstitch. Leave a 15cm gap. Continue sewing after the gap to the last corner.
4 Carefully pinch in each corner as shown in the image. Then mark a 2.5cm vertical line to form a triangle. Stitch along the 2.5cm line and carefully trim the triangle, avoiding the stitches. Turn the kneeling pad cover right-side out. Carefully tuck the foam into the kneeling pad cover. You may need to fold the foam lengthways to make it easier to get it into the cover. Stitch the gap closed by hand with a needle and thread.
TOOL ROLL TIDY
5 Lay out the PVC fabric on a flat surface, then measure and cut out a 43 x 35cm rectangle.
Now cut out a 35cm length of bias tape to conceal the raw edge along the shorter, bottom edge of the rectangle. Using fabric clips, hold the bias tape in place and sew along the edge, making sure you catch the bias tape with your stitches on both sides.
6 Measure and cut out a 14cm length of bias tape. With wrong sides facing, sew the shorter edges together. Turn the bias tape to the right side then pin the open edges together. Carefully edge-stitch along the two open edges. Lay this strip on the wrong side of the PVC rectangle at th
