Re-purposing Items/Materials
Sep. 18th, 2007 04:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
helwenSomeone posted on the 90% Reduction/Riot for Austerity list last week, describing how she'd taken two skirts of the same style/material but different colors and re-made them into a parti-colored skirt that would fit her. She then asked if other people did this sort of thing. I hadn't really thought about posting something specifically about that, but why not?
Here's some of what I posted to the list, for those interested in creative use of materials:
... we have an old food can that we use for collecting loose change in, that I finally glued some scraps of fabric and trim on so that it would look nicer on the dresser. The scraps are from when I made some pillow covers for the bedroom a few years ago. I've made a few
covers a while back, so I could change the look/color scheme of the bedroom every so often but still use the same pillow forms.
I've made curtains into clothing a few times -- you have to be careful choosing the fabric, because some of the heavier weight stuff has a rubberized backing, which doesn't breathe -- not good for people.
Pants that are too raggedy to wear go into the rag bag -- they'll be cut into strips and used for making rugs.
I really got into re-purposing items or making items I needed out of materials around the house some years ago, when we left the company we'd been working for in Hartford CT and our income decreased. One time I wanted something to hold towels (no linen closet here).... I used foam board (had it for art projects, but you could use regular corrugated cardboard too). I cut and glued pieces together to make a box that fit on top of the radiator next to
the bathroom sink. Then I took a non-functional matchstick shade and glued it to the sides of the box. I glued it first, and _then_ trimmed off the excess length of the matchsticks at the top edge of the box -- has to be in that order, otherwise the shade comes unstrung and you'd have to glue each little piece on, one at a time.... then I put an old towel under it so the glue wouldn't melt from being directly on the radiator -- the sides of the radiator weren't covered up and the room is tiny, so the radiator didn't have any problems heating the room.
Our towels both had a nice storage place to stay, and were pre-warmed in the winter.
Repurposing is fun!
Here's some of what I posted to the list, for those interested in creative use of materials:
... we have an old food can that we use for collecting loose change in, that I finally glued some scraps of fabric and trim on so that it would look nicer on the dresser. The scraps are from when I made some pillow covers for the bedroom a few years ago. I've made a few
covers a while back, so I could change the look/color scheme of the bedroom every so often but still use the same pillow forms.
I've made curtains into clothing a few times -- you have to be careful choosing the fabric, because some of the heavier weight stuff has a rubberized backing, which doesn't breathe -- not good for people.
Pants that are too raggedy to wear go into the rag bag -- they'll be cut into strips and used for making rugs.
I really got into re-purposing items or making items I needed out of materials around the house some years ago, when we left the company we'd been working for in Hartford CT and our income decreased. One time I wanted something to hold towels (no linen closet here).... I used foam board (had it for art projects, but you could use regular corrugated cardboard too). I cut and glued pieces together to make a box that fit on top of the radiator next to
the bathroom sink. Then I took a non-functional matchstick shade and glued it to the sides of the box. I glued it first, and _then_ trimmed off the excess length of the matchsticks at the top edge of the box -- has to be in that order, otherwise the shade comes unstrung and you'd have to glue each little piece on, one at a time.... then I put an old towel under it so the glue wouldn't melt from being directly on the radiator -- the sides of the radiator weren't covered up and the room is tiny, so the radiator didn't have any problems heating the room.
Our towels both had a nice storage place to stay, and were pre-warmed in the winter.
Repurposing is fun!
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no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 09:04 pm (UTC)?!?!?!?! It has never occured to me to throw out fabric scraps! I save the linen scraps for papermakers I know (or patch for musketeers). And I use the wool for stuffing pillow and quilted things. Also, there's always a time when something needs a patch or I need to change it and I'm always happy to find a bit of the fabric with which the original was made.
Yeah, it means I have two garbage bags of fabric in my stash, but they're no bigger than one of my fabric tubs.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-19 12:44 am (UTC)I have thrown a few scraps away this year, and it wasn't easy, but we need to save a little space going to Ashfield :( Mostly it was fake stuff, though, so I don't feel quite as bad about those.
no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 10:07 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-18 10:49 pm (UTC)I make charcloth from adult t-shirts.
I make braies from curtain panels and tablecloths ( yes, my bum is embroidered... )
6 thicknesses of denim works for a potholder.
There's more, and there are websites. I kind of like the suit-shirt "hug" pillows!
no subject
Date: 2007-09-19 12:52 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2007-09-19 08:08 pm (UTC)Lot of fun. :)
no subject
Date: 2007-09-19 08:27 pm (UTC)