Sewing – Page 55

August 2, 2019

5 Ways to Reduce Fabric (and Other) Waste

We’ve been on a sustainable and slow fashion kick recently. If you haven’t read our posts on Alabma Chanin’s contribution to the Slow Fashion Movement, how to ditch fast fashion, and where to recycle your fabric scraps, now is a perfect time! We’re about to dive into five different types of projects you can create to cut down on waste – and not just fabric waste! These things can help you use fewer paper towels, paper bags, gift wrap, and more.

Before we get into the types of projects you may want to consider, it’s important to note that one of the best ways for a sewist to cut down on waste is to repurpose fabrics. Whether you grab some fabric from a thrift store, repurpose your curtains and sheets, or even make over an existing garment, used fabric can help you make something even better than the original.

Cleaning Tools

Sure, it’s easy to use a fabric scrap as an old rag to dust the house, but if you put a little bit of your skill to work, you can completely change how you clean every room of your house.

Make DIY reusable – and tough – antibacterial wipes by creating some simple cloths. Find a recipe you like for an antibacterial cleaner and then soak the towels. Store in an air-tight container or even in a baby wipe container.

Love your Swiffer? You’ll love it even more when you get rid of its expensive cleaning pads and opt for a homemade pad instead! By using a cloth diaper (for the section of the pad that gets pressed into the Swiffer) and a microfiber cloth (for the section that actually cleans the floor) you can make a Swiffer pad that can easily be thrown into the wash and used over and over again.

Have some nylon, even old pantyhose, lying around? Nylon is a useful fabric for scrubbing stubborn dishes – no sewing required! You can also put old nylons on the end of a broom handle to clean in small spaces, like under your fridge.

Reusable Gift Bags

This is a more specific kind of project, but how many times have you run out last minute to buy a bag for a birthday present, baby shower, or housewarming party?

There are plenty of different bag styles to experiment with. Fabric is a great material for making wine gift bags with standard handles. The muslin-style gift bags with an adjustable drawstring are great for things like jewelry, or gifts that have small pieces. You can even opt for a fabric envelope for gifts like photographs or other documents.

If you’re strapped for time or are a beginner sewist, a simple gift bag made with two pieces of fabric with a ribbon tied at the top will also do the trick!

Home Items

The possibilities are almost endless when it comes to using used fabric for home decor. Of course, old shirts make great material for personalized quilts or pillow covers. But if you think a little bit outside the box, there are unique upcycling projects just waiting to be added to every room of your house:

Reuse fabric as a photo matte in your frames
Create matching placemats and napkins
Combine fabric with a waterproof liner and add a zipper to make your own reusable snack bags
Use old fabric scraps to make a custom wreath for your front door
Make a recycled fabric banner for Christmas, birthdays, Thanksgiving and more that you can use over your fireplace year after year

Pet Necessities

If there is one creature that will definitely not care if their gifts are upcycled, it’s your four-footed friend! Used fabric and fabric scraps alike can make for some amazing pet gifts that cost a fraction of what the new stuff will cost you in the store.

A great sustainable pet project is a DIY pet bed. This is especially good for anyone who has a ton of fabric scraps laying around that they aren’t sure how to reuse. These scraps are great for stuffing the bed, and the cover of the bed can be anything from an old favorite blanket or a pair of curtains.

Playtime is just as important as nap time for our furry friends, and there are some creative ways to use old fabric to add some fun to your pet’s day. There are a variety of how-to’s for no-sew pet toys made from old t-shirts. The most popular is a braided t-shirt rope. If your dog is a more intense chewer, you may want to use an old pair of jeans instead. If you’re more of a cat person, used fabric is great for making those purr-fect cloth mice.

Fabric leashes and collars are also very trendy right now. Use an old holiday table cloth to make a seasonal leash and collar set and swap it out each season.

Baby Basics

Babies are expensive. And since they require a lot of diapers, wipes, clothing, etc., they can also be pretty tough on our landfills. In addition to making and using cloth diapers and making reusable fabric wipes, there are also a lot of other items you can create for baby using old garments or fabric:

Old sweaters can be used to make adorable baby hats and mittens
Use old baby clothing to make super soft baby bibs
Mom or dad’s favorite t-shirt can be repurposed into a romper
Use a special shirt or blanket to make a precious lovey or teddy bear

Hopefully, these ideas have you making a re-do to-do list as you read this, but we would also love to hear from you about additional upcycling/repurposing projects. Comment below or on the social media posts for this blog post and let us know what sustainable projects you’ve been working on!

~Jessica Mey for ASG

July 26, 2019

Threads Magazine is Sewing for ASG Conference. Are you?

Closing in on the finish line…

The American Sewing Guild’s annual conference starts next week! Conference is August 1 through 4, 2019 in the greater Boston area and the crew at Threads magazine has been diligently working on garments for Wear Your ASG Pattern Day on Friday, August 2. They wanted to share an update and you can also see videos of their monthly progress on Facebook.

A final pre-ASG Conference Threads Live event on Facebook is scheduled for 11 a.m. EDT Friday, July 26.

Sarah, Threads Editorial Director

Threads Magazine Sewing for ASG Conference — Sarah used colorful remnants in her stash to create two muslins. Her final dress should be done just in time for Conference and Wear Your ASG Pattern Day.

Sarah made two muslins to finalize the fit of ASG Simplicity 8735. She’s started constructing her final dress in a stretch crepe knit from Joann’s. The finished dress should travel well, and be easy to care for in the future.

This is not the last version of Simplicity 8735 Sarah plans to make. She transferred her fitting adjustments to the pattern pieces for all the views. With long- and short-sleeved versions, different skirt lengths and cuts, and the option to sew the design in knits or wovens, it’s a new wardrobe staple.

Sarah’s sewing tip

“When I need to add easing stitches to a sleeve cap, I make the stitches in one pass. I stitch 3/8″ from the fabric’s edge. At the stopping point, I pivot, stitch to about 3/4″ from the fabric edge, pivot and stitch back toward the starting point, keeping the second stitching row parallel to the first row. I find this saves me a tiny bit of time and I don’t need to fuss with additional thread ends or tying knots before I pull the gathering threads.”

Erica, Threads Assistant Editor

Threads Magazine Sewing for ASG Conference - Erica and Simplicity 8137 — It was a long process to fit the top, but now Erica is thrilled with the fit she achieved with ASG Simplicity 8137. She’s ready to sew up her fashion fabric version.

Erica spent many hours and yards of muslin adjusting the fit of ASG Simplicity 8137. After a total of four bodice muslins, she is confident that the peplum top will be comfortable and flattering.

The finished top will be constructed from cotton shirting from StyleMaker Fabrics. The pants required only minor adjustments for length and pant leg width and should drape nicely in a bottomweight Tencel twill, also from StyleMaker Fabrics.

Fitting the top was a great learning experience for Erica, who feels more confident tackling fitted garments going forward. Simplicity 8137 includes dress options as well as the top and pants; since she knows the bodice fits well, a dress is almost certainly in Erica’s future.

Carol, Threads Senior Technical Editor

Threads Magazine Sewing for ASG Conference - Carol & Simplicity 8014 — Carol’s version of ASG Simplicity 8014 is complete and ready to wear next week at ASG conference.

Carol has made two iterations of Simplicity 8014, view B. One is in stretch sateen (shown here), from MoodFabrics.com. The other is in cotton poplin, also from Mood Fabrics.

The shirtdress with a waist seam and flared skirt offers a silhouette she likes to wear, and the pattern has some nice features. The short sleeves are finished with a tuck parallel to the hem, which gives the illusion of a cuff, but is quick to sew and encloses the sleeve hem’s raw edges. The dress bodice is shaped with small pleats instead of waist darts for a relaxed look, but you could turn the pleats into darts for a closer fit. All views include generously sized side seam pockets—a must-have at ASG! Although the pattern doesn’t call for it, Carol included a facing on the back yoke, to provide a bit more structure there and to enclose the shoulder and yoke seam allowances.

Carol’s sewing tip

“The buttons I chose came stapled to a card. When I tried to pull them off, the staple remained in the button. I discovered that sliding the point of a seam ripper (use an old one that’s already dull) through the staple, between the button and the card, enabled me to pry off the buttons and leave the staple behind. My fingernails and my small, sharp scissors would like to thank the seam ripper for its service.”

The Threads team is looking forward to wearing ASG Simplicity patterns to Conference, and had a great time working with these designs. They encourage you to step up and say hello at Conference.

Have you sewn something special for conference? Post it in the Gallery on ThreadsMagazine.com; on Facebook in response to Threads Live videos, or on Instagram with the hashtags #americansewingguild and #threadsmagazine. Happy Sewing!

July 19, 2019

What do you do with fabric scraps?

Do you ever wonder what happens to the fabric scraps you send to the landfill? Or how long it takes for those scraps to break down to soil? Americans sent 12.8 million tons of textiles to landfills in 2013. The Council for Textile Recycling states that approximately 5% of waste currently in landfills is fabric waste.

According to Fashion Revolution, “In landfill, the decomposing clothes release methane, a harmful greenhouse gas. Synthetic fabrics like polyester and lycra can take hundreds of years to biodegrade.” Research done by Down2EarthMaterials shows that thread takes 3-4 months to breakdown; cotton takes 1-5 months; and nylon clothes take 30-40 years.

There are places you can take your leftovers that will recycle scraps as well as clothing unfit to donate to resell stores. These recycling locations accept all scraps except those that are wet or contaminated with hazardous material (paint thinner, harsh cleaning products, etc.). The scraps are sent or sold to S.M.A.R.T. (Secondary Materials and Recycling Textiles), a trade association whose independent member businesses work to recycle textiles. Subsequently they are cut into rags or processed into a soft fiber filling for furniture, home insulation, car sound proofing and more. Just 5% are sent to landfills due to moisture or contamination. Nearly all textiles are recyclable.

Where to Recycle

The following is a partial list of charities and businesses that take scraps and clothing in any condition:

Goodwill Stores – check that your location accept scraps
Salvation Army – check that your location accept scraps
H&M clothing stores will take bags of textiles and give you a coupon to shop in their store
Earth911 provides a search function to find recycling locations near you

This article pertains only to textile recycling, meaning those scraps that can’t be reused by charities or schools for art projects etc. Seamstresses unite! Let’s do our part to care for Mother Earth.

References:

Huffington Post LIFE 9/28/2016 updated 4/12/2019 by Suzy Strutner
Some statistics from the Environmental Protection Agency

~Original article by Barbara Ward, Salt Lake Chapter. Additions by ASG.

July 17, 2019

Traveling This Summer? Make ASG Part of Your Plans!

When traveling, I always like to stop in local quilt and fabric stores, as I am sure all ASG members do. We like to see (and probably buy!) fabric that is not available in our local stores. And if you are a quilter, you may like participating in the Row-by-Row project each year, collecting block patterns from the stores you visit. But your travels to other cities in the U.S. can be even more rewarding if you include ASG in your travel plans.

Making Travel Plans

I was in Fort Collins, CO for four months last summer to oversee some remodeling work on a house that we will be moving to. My husband was not able to go with me because he is still working, so I was there by myself. My nearest friends and family were an hour’s drive away! So how do you make new friends during an extended stay? Well, ASG of course!

About a month before I left, I contacted the President of the Fort Collins chapter, Patti Page. I wasn’t sure of the response I might receive; after all, people are busy with work and family. But Patti was very welcoming and told me about their small group meetings and other activities that would be happening during the time I would be there. Turns out, attending some meetings was just the beginning.

One woman who hosts one of the small groups in her home invited me to another organization’s event which was a tour of a fashion museum on the campus of Colorado State University. There I saw two interesting exhibits—one was 1000+ vintage handkerchiefs while the other was a small exhibit exploring the use of orange in fashion over the decades. Although I have visited Fort Collins many times over the past 30 years, I never knew about this museum.
From another member, I learned about two stores in Denver that are a must-visit. I never made it to Denver, but I now have places to visit when we move. From another member I learned about a small but very interesting modern quilt exhibit.
From yet another member, I learned of a class that was being offered by the Greeley chapter and I was able to sign up for that class. I may have eventually learned of these things, but reaching out to the local ASG chapter greatly accelerated that process.

So next time you are planning a trip, include ASG in your plans. You can find fabric stores without anyone’s help, but you’ll get the inside scoop of other interesting sewing-related events going on if you reach out to members of the local chapter where you are visiting. It need not be an extended stay like mine to take advantage of the knowledge of the local sewing scene.

Your ASG membership is not just with one chapter; you are a member of a nation-wide organization and have a wonderful opportunity to take advantage of having a group of ready-made friends who share your interests.

Not a member of ASG? Join now!

~Leta Smith, member since 2015, Houston Chapter

July 5, 2019

Travel Iron Caddy

Whether you are packing supplies to take to ASG Conference, or heading to a chapter stitching event, this caddy is the perfect way to safely and easily take your travel iron with you. I made the caddy to fit my Sun Beam Compact Travel Iron model #GCSBT-100, but there are similar size models by Dritz, Rowenta, and other Iron makers. It also fits nicely in my sewing machine caddy along with my 9”x 12” Omnigrid combination cutting and pressing board.

Materials

24” x 11” body fabric
3” x 11” body fabric for handle strap
24” x 11” lining fabric
24” x 11” Insul Brite fabric (insulated to protect from heat)
7” ¾” Hook & Loop Velcro
3” piece of Wonder Under
Quilter Ruler with 45 degree angle marking

Legend

RS = right side of fabric
WS = wrong side of fabric

Instructions

Strap: Fold 3” x 11” strip of fabric in half lengthwise WS together and press. Open and press both long edges in, ½” to WS then fold again 1” to WS overlapping, giving you a 1” wide strap. Now stitch lengthwise to reinforce the strap along both edges and up the middle. Set strap aside for next step.

Body of Bag: Layer Insul Brite, lining fabric RS up and then body fabric WS up. Insul Brite will be your bottom layer against the needle plate when you sew. Pin layers together around the inside of the rectangle to hold the layers together. Place long top edge of the strap to RS of body fabric layer 3 ½” down from top edge, double check your fabrics if using a one way directional fabric for your body fabric to make sure the direction of your strap and body are going the same way (Image 1). Stitch around all four edges using a 3/8” seam allowance but leaving a 3’ opening for turning on the bottom edge. Run an extra row of stitching over the strap edges to reinforce (Image 2).

Before turning, clip off the corners outside the corner stitching to allow for less bulk at the corners, be careful not to clip your stitches (Image 3). Turn and press, using a piece of Wonder Under to close the opening.

There are no images in this gallery.

Closure: With panel facing RS up, place hook side of Velcro centered at bottom, ¼” up from edge and stitch in place. Leave at least ¾” on each end to accommodate your side seams, trim Velcro if necessary. Lining side up, place the loop Velcro at the top and stitch in place ¼” from top edge, lining up with the bottom edge placement.

With WS together, fold bottom edge up to 5” below top edge and stitch both side seams using ¼” seam allowance or as small as possible, back stitching at top edge to reinforce. (Image 4)

Turn the bag inside out and box the bottom seams. To box the bottom, use a quilter ruler with a 45 degree angle guide. Pin across bottom of the angle on both edges to create the boxed bottom and sew along pinned edges. (Image 5) Turn RS out.

This little iron caddy, with it’s bucket shape, will hold my iron and a few other small items. It also fits into the open space of my machine for travel.

~Carolyn Meyers, ASG Member, Bucks County Chapter