Upcycling fabric and craft materials is a hot trend in the craft world these days.
Crafters are using everything from vintage clothing to old watch parts to make some amazing pieces of work.
But have you ever thought about using old grain sacks in your work?
Fiber artist and jewelry designer Leslie Janson creates gorgeous jewelry and home accents using vintage burlap grain sacks – that would normally just get tossed into the garbage!

This is one of her sewn cuff bracelets, with an outside made from vintage burlap, lined with a soft vintage grain sack on the inside.  It’s accented with vintage crystal …read more

The theme for this year’s National Sewing Month is “Reuse, Remake, Restyle”.
I’ve been reusing fabric for many years now – after all, fabric really can’t be recycled like metal or plastic can!  Fabric is a big issue for many landfills, so if we can prevent it from ending up there in the first place – why not?

My next “big” sewing project is a new winter jacket for my hubby.  While I did buy new fabric for the outside, I’m trying something different for the lining.
My husband is a big fan of lightweight nylon blankets, lined with Thinsulate.  We’ve got one …read more

Did you know that September is officially National Sewing Month in the USA?
It’s actually been in effect since 1982 when Ronald Regan proclaimed that September would celebrate the efforts of home seamstresses.
Even though I don’t live in the USA, I don’t see any reason why I can’t celebrate too – how about if we proclaim September to be International Sewing Month instead?

This year’s theme is “Reuse, Remake, Restyle”.  The National Sewing Month organization wants to see how creative you can be with reworking old fabric, thrifted clothes or even reusing materials that would normally end up in the landfill.
In order …read more