Papier Maché Boat with Fabric Sails and Buttons

The materials used to make this boat are all old or secondhand (except thread and flour!) I collect vintage fabrics and buttons from flea markets etc as they have a special charm and probably many stories to tell...

The starting point for my entry was an old blue plastic knitting needle which belonged to my grandmother and which hasn't seen its pair for many years.

The best use for it, I thought, was to be the mast of a boat. I used some old cardboard and newspapers to make the hull of the boat - Papier maché has to be the ultimate 'upcycled' material and I think it is much under used.

I painted the boat using old matchpots and a very old tube of black acrylic paint (I had to cut the end off to get the paint out!)

The portholes are art deco buttons and I also added a crab and an anchor button.

The mast is the plastic knitting needle and I used a broken pencil at the front. The sails are made from some scraps of vintage fabric and are edged with some leftover selvedges and the rigging is old bits of wool.

The sails are attached to the rigging with tiny old buttons and the flag is made using a scrap of felt with some vintage fabric and a button.

Finally I added a number 7 to the stripy sail using the acrylic paint and an old letterpress wood block.

The boat has a metal loop on the back to hang on the wall. It measures 23cm across and is 37cm tall.
Not to be used in water!