Because textile recycling is only just beginning, if you throw fabric or clothing away, it usually ends up in the landfill.  Not a very good use of resources or land!

I think most of us have garments that are hanging in the back of the closet that we just can’t part with for one reason or another.  Even if it’s been years since they’ve seen the light of day…

So why not remake them into something that will actually get used?

This totebag began it’s life as a shirt – a shirt that no one could actually wear!  The fabric was just too interesting to toss out, but it’s quite crisp – not comfortable for wearing.

Crisp fabric however will work great for totebags.  I cut the body of the totebag out of the torso of the shirt.  One sleeve got made into a handle and the other handle was stitched out of a shoulder panel.  I didn’t even need a pattern, just cut two squares for the bag, and two rectangles for the handles.

I now have a cool looking totebag – and don’t need to send anything extra to the landfill!

image: C Findlay-Harder

Post from: Blisstree

Rethinking & Reusing Textiles

Laurie Maier, a collector of vintage fabrics, found that Fabrics Are Her Bag.  After purchasing one at a craft fair and discovering it wasn’t well made, Laurie decided to make one herself.   She began making them for family and friends.  Before long, her business, Blue Indigo, was launched.  (Don’t you love the name?)

This story by Carole LaMond, in the Lincoln (MA) Journal, provides very interesting insight into Laurie’s business and where a love of fabric can take you.

                                        Tote bags and purses are another aspect of quilting and fabric art that lends itself to originality and creativity.  My daughter made tote bags from old jeans for her daughter, herself, and me that draw comments (complimentary ones!) whenever we use them.  She was given one by a qulting friend as a Christmas gift that has an exotic Oriental theme with gold and browns and metallic adornments.

What have you made in the way of tote bags that you’d like to share?

Post from: Blisstree

If You’re a Fabric Fanatic, You Can Make Quilted Tote Bags