How to Make Quilts with Recycled Materials & Sew Much More
When I think of New Years resolutions, broad concepts come to mind: be kind, clean up, don’t pollute. From there, the process gets refined and more specific — today I want to focus on my last concept, “don’t pollute.” I pick up after myself and try not to be wasteful, but perhaps even more important is to use up what you have (aka the ‘stash’), recycle, and reuse. So with that in mind, I’m sharing how to make quilts with recycled materials as well as a few fun projects you’re sure to love! I hope you’ll join me as I resolve to buy less, use more in 2024. And luckily for me, many talented and generous contributors to Quilting Arts Magazine and Quilting Arts TV have provided tips and techniques to do just this!
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Elizabeth Ferry Pekins
Beth is a thoughtful recycler of textiles and fabrics, and she favors handwork — sometimes combined with machine stitching — to truly slow down her process so she can enjoy the journey and imbue her work with her full attention and personality. In the Winter 2024 issue of Quilting Arts, Beth demonstrated how she combined castoffs, unusual materials, and items otherwise destined for the trash with other materials from her studio and stash to create ‘porch flags,’ charming and beautiful small banners that can be displayed inside or outside of the home.
Some of the techniques she shares include painting on cheesecloth, deconstructing an old T-shirt and adding hand embroidery to it, and using discarded bubble wrap as batting — yes, really! Beth’s imaginative and common-sense ideas for repurposing things will inspire you.
Eleanor Levie
Speaking of inspired, Eleanor Levie was a guest on Quilting Arts TV Series 3000 where she shared her technique for creating faux vases out of recycled foil bags — like the kind your coffee comes in. They were actually vase covers that you would slip over an actual, water-holding vase or empty wine bottle to make it a fun, decorative item. Eleanor’s joie de vivre at TV taping was totally infectious and these ingenious vase covers can make whatever vessel you place inside it totally enchanting. Yet another fantastic example of ‘making do and using up’ in the most wonderful way.
Jane Haworth
Another guest from Quilting Arts TV, this time Series 2300, was Jane Haworth who showed how items destined for the trash or textile recycling bins can be repurposed into charmingly funky bags and grocery totes. As Jane said, “Over ten years ago, I started saving durable plastic bags that held snacks and coffee beans and pieced them together to make a kind of fabric.
I layered it with a batting, quilted it, and then made a dress. I wore it for Halloween that year and it certainly got a lot of attention. ‘Trashion,’ my husband called it. “More recently — as I saw people making totes from coffee bags — I again started saving my food, coffee, and dry goods bags. The material many of these are constructed of is almost indestructible.”
Combining these cast-offs — which she sews first to a flannel or canvas base — plus other items recycled from clothing — such as pockets and waistbands from jeans — Jane’s practical and resourceful ideas make a fetching tote!
How Will You Recycle This Year?
I haven’t decided in which direction I’ll go with my attempts at recycling and using up what I already have, but I certainly now have a number of fun ideas and ways to reuse some things that might otherwise have gone into the trash.
Thank you to this talented trio of artists for their inspiring work. And now that you have some inspiration on how to make quilts with recycled materials, I hope you enjoy reconsidered the contents of your recycling bin, too! Be sure to share your eco-friendly creations with us on Instagram, Facebook, or the comments below.
Happy sewing and recycling!
Kristine
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