Making Quilts from Old Garments
June 11, 2009 by Mary Emma Allen
Filed under Home & Living
Utilizing scraps and old garments for quilts and even for clothing was a popular practice among the pioneers. In the early days of our country, homemakers usually either made their own fabric or recycled what they had on hand. Rarely did they have the money to purchase new fabric from the general store.
Image: sxc.hu
Nowadays, in our stressed economy, recycling garments has become popular once again. Not because fabric is scarce, but because people can’t afford to purchase new.
I used fabric from old garments for quilts and for my daughter’s clothing many years ago. It was fun to pour over the quilts and find scraps from sewing projects and family garments.
Nowadays, women are rediscovering this art of making quilts and clothing from old garments. In addition to fabric shops being popuplar places to shop, quilters and dressmakers are pulling out the old fabrics and garments from their stashes. They are finding these items also at thrift shops and rummage sales.
Have you utilized old garments for your sewing?
Related Posts:
Aprons in Art, Business & Memories mentions recycling clothing as aprons.
Penny Halgren’s Cutting Up Garments for Fabric gives a tutorial.
I’m always looking for fun ways to reuse the fabric I already have…old jeans, maternity clothes, slipcovers etc.
http://halleshobbies.blogspot.com/search/label/sewing
Thanks for stopping by, Halle, and sharing. I think more and more people in today’s economy will be looking into how they can recycle their old garments…making aprons is just one use for them. I think it’s interesting how one lady makes a business creating aprons from vintage items.
I just visited your blog, Halle (both the above link pertaining to sewing posts and then your whole blog. You do amazing things with recycled materials. Lovely photos, too.
Hi,
I’m a quilter and gardener who loves to re-invent old things.
I love to recycle fabric. It always seems like giving an old friend, a shirt or blouse, a new life.
I have a small four-patch quilt from my grandmother that was made from my childhood play-clothes.
I made something similar out of my husbands old dress shirts. It’s funny, but of all the quilts that I’ve made over the years, out of expensive fabrics too, my favorite is that funny little quilt.
Over the past two years we at Over The Top Quilting Studio (www.overthetopquilting.com) have been commissioned numerous times to make quilts out of old clothes. One Mom had us make quilts for her kids out of their baby clothes. We have had many, many people who have us make quilts from their T-shirts. And now, we are involved in making Memory or Memorial quilts for relatives of deceased family members. It is with the latter cases where we seem to be able to play a significant role in helping others to heal. To be able to preserve the memories of someone by being able to snuggle under a quilt made of familiar fabrics brings peace to the people we have been able to serve. One of my sisters has even decided that we have been given a mission to do this healing work.
Do visit our website and go to the T-shirt tab to see numerous examples of the great use that we are able to make of old clothing.