Showing posts with label upcycling. Show all posts
Showing posts with label upcycling. Show all posts

Saturday, July 11, 2009

Recycling Fabric- Ribbon



Recycling fabric is something I do every day in my studio. Some people may call it upcycling. Whatever the official name is, I make sure to not throw away anything that can be used again. As a new and regular blog subject I will be posting about recycling fabric ideas every week or so.

Today, Recycled Ribbon! I use a serger sewing machine most days. The cool thing about the serger is that it can be really interesting three dimensional ridges that I use to design on fabric frequently. The downside to this is that as it cuts the fabric to make the thread details, it leaves behind a thin piece of material. Since I use it a lot, this means I have a lot of very thin strips of fabric that are not use-able for many things.

Then, I got smart. I started to tie these thin strips together. This make beautiful ribbon! I use the recycled silk ribbon as gift wrap for my amtextiles line of art-to-wear and for gifts for friends and family.


Any kind of fabric will work. Or, tie scraps of ribbon together to make multi-colored ribbon. Just make sure to knot the fabric strips together at least twice so it is strong enough. Hang it around the house for easy decoration, wrap it around a vase, your wrist or neck...you decide! If you don't have leftover fabric, check out my etsy supply shop for some already made recycled ribbon.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Xmittens- 100% Used Series






When I opened my latest online shop www.xmittens.etsy.com , I figured it would be a good place to showcase my Xmittens line of fingerless gloves and accessories, but then, I brainstormed a little further and realized I also needed a venue for my recycled/upcycled goodies and a place to really go all out with my personal Manifesto of recycled, reduce, reuse and responsible living. SO, I decided to launch the 100% USED campaign.

The 100% USED campaign is a documentation of my efforts to use, or recycle 100% of ALL materials that come into my studio. This includes, fabric, little pieces of thread, receipts, packaging, Everything!



So far the hardest items to use have been the little itty bitty piece of fabric that gets cut off by my serger when I create clothing. I mean, less than 1/2" of fabric???



My solution is Fabric and Paper Collage Pockets! The photos are some examples. These 4"x 3" pockets of goodness are each a part of the Pocket Series. Give a home to your library card! Need a place for those secret words you cut out of magazines? Need a gift tag? Need a secret place for money in your purse?

There are so many ways to use these! I am going to organize my little stashes of cool fabric inside them and pin them to my bulletin board, plus stuff them full of business cards and use them to enhance my packaging for neat-o items.

Leave a comment about how YOU would use these!