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Upcycling Fabric Scraps

Fabric-Scrap-Upcycle

This isn’t going to be a full tutorial because I didn’t do a great job of documenting the process. If you’d like a full tutorial, please let me know. I will link to the page I learned it from here.

I saw this really cool way to make a bunch of fabric scraps into new, usable fabric that is really textured and cool. First, you need a backing piece of fabric. I used an upholstery sample square that I hadn’t found a use for yet. Then, you cover it in fabric scraps. I went with all pieces from my “blue” sorter bin and let them fall all over randomly. I did try to keep it all in one or two layers and moved pieces around to cover all the empty spots. I left some upside down to add more variety in the colors, and I didn’t worry about ironing the pieces first. 

Once I had everything in place, I pressed it with my iron to smooth it down. Then I pinned water soluble stabilizer on top to help hold everything in place for the sewing machine. To sew, I lowered the feed dogs on my machine and crazy free motion quilted everything together. You can see that in the first video below.

 

@subearthancottage

Trying a new technique to make usable fabric from my fabric scraps. #upcycling #zerowaste #asmr #sewing #quilting

♬ original sound – Charity

After I had everything thoroughly stitched down, I rinsed out the stabilizer, shown here.

@subearthancottage

Rinsing out the water soluble stabilizer. It’s so cool to finally see the colors pop out as the stabilizer dissolves. #upcycling #sewing #quilting

♬ Lofi Vibes – Gentle State

That’s it. Now I have this really cool piece of fabric. I can’t decide what to do with it. It almost looks like it could hang on the wall like that as art. I also thought about making a couple of zipper pouches or sets of coasters out of it. It would also be fun to use as patches for clothing. 

What would you make with it? Leave your suggestions below. 🙂

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Homemade Candles are the Way To Go

I love candles. Making your own is a great way to recycle old wax into something uniquely yours. This post from Crafting a Green World shares several methods for candle making.

Whether you’re rolling beeswax candles with kids or pouring a multi-color, multi-layer jarred candle, homemade candles give you the power to fill …

Homemade Candles are the Way To Go
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T-Shirt to TV Pants

I went on a little Pinterest binge a couple days ago looking for ideas to help clear my refashion stash. Saturday night I decided to make a pair of yoga pants out of a t-shirt using this tutorial. I wear a size eight on average, and used an XL adult t-shirt.

I did make a few changes to the design. First, instead of cutting the shirt down the middle, I cut it down the sides from the middle of the underarm to the hem. This also means you’ll have an inseam and no side seams. That keeps any design on the front or back intact and moves them to the hips. For the waistband, I cut the underarm seam from the sleeves and squared them up to be two equal rectangles, leaving the hem intact. I sewed the short sides together making a big, short tube from the sleeves. I then put the tube inside the waist of the pants with the pants right side out and the right side of the tube facing the inside of the pants. The raw edge of the tube lines up with the raw edge of the pants. I serged the top together like that. This made it so when the tube is folded down to the outside, the seam is covered.

IMG_4449IMG_4452IMG_4459

Sorry for the awkward pictures. No one was around to take the pictures and Doctor Who was about to start.

I sewed it all on my serger and it took less than ten minutes. I probably should have added two minutes and switched from white to black thread. Or not.

They are a little loose at the waist. If I were planning to actually do yoga or wear them in public I should probably add some elastic at the seam. Since they will probably be used mainly for watching Doctor Who while sitting on the sofa, I probably won’t bother.

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage

T-Shirt to TV Pants was originally published on SubEarthan Cottage