20 Ways to Recycle in the Sewing Room
Earth Day, April 2010 - Compiled by Julia Deal of SEW Artistic
| Leftover or Waste Product | Use it For OR Instead of This | |
| 1 | Selvage Edges (Bonnie D) Trimmed away zipper tape (Deb B) | A. Twill tape to reinforce seams, like shoulders. B. Across the ends of a zipper in a bag to reinforce the end. |
| 2 | 1” wide long strips of Fabric | Crochet into washable rugs, bags, place mats, etc. |
| 3 | 2” wide long strips or wider | Piece into quilted projects, Log Cabin, String Piecing, etc... |
| 4 | 2” x 6” scraps | Use for testing settings at the serger & sewing machine. |
| 5 | Fleece scraps | A. Stitch or tie into 12 “ to 18” lengths, then braid 3 into a dog toy. B. Use as “batting” in pet beds. |
| 6 | Pieces 6” x 6” or larger | Donate to kids, 4H Clubs & local Middle Schools, that often have after school sewing clubs & sometimes make things to donate to animal shelters. |
| 7 | Threads Clipped from embroidery or garments & small empty mesh bag | A. Save until you have enough to fill a small mesh (onion) bag. Place out side in a tree or near a bird feeder to supply the birds with pretty soft nesting material. B. Thread Art: Sandwich between a backing fabric & clear water soluble stabilizer. Stitch all over about 1/2” apart to secure. |
| 8 | Chop Sticks (Louise G) | A. Use to safely poke out corners, or B. Push stuffing into small stuffed animals. |
| 9 | Plastic shopping Bags, Newspaper Bags | Cut into 1” strips, cutting across the bag to create circles. Link together to create yarn, then crochet into very durable bags, etc... |
| 10 | Scraps of Cut away stabilizer | Layer 2-3 pieces of cut away, placing fabric right sides out on both sides. Stitch to hold layers together. Cut out bookmarks. |
| 11 | Small pieces of Solvy | Use as the base for small projects, like earrings, etc... |
| 12 | Empty thread spools | Kids can build cars, robots, etc... |
| 13 | Empty cardboard tubes | Roll stabilizer around them after cutting to the width of your hoops. |
| 14 | Plastic lids from coffee cans, yogurt tubs, etc | Punch a whole in the center. Place lit over spool pins on your serger when using larger cones of thread. It will keep the cone from tipping over. |
| 15 | Pantyhose (Cyndi P) | Cut 2-3” sections across each leg to make stretchy bands to keep cone threads or tubes of stabilizer from un-rolling. |
| 16 | ¼ Yd of cotton or flannel | 9” Make the border of one pillowcase. |
| 17 | ¾ Yd of cotton or flannel | 27” Make the body of one pillowcase. |
| 18 | Empty Printer Ink Cartridges | Return to office supply store like Staples for refilling. |
| 19 | Shredded Documents | Donate bags of small pieces to a local animal shelter for use as animal bedding. |
| 20 | Paper used only on one side | A. Scrap paper for doodling & drafting new ideas, which will be re-written any way, or B. cut out temples or viewing windows for appliqué selection. |
Thanks to ASG Rochester friends for ideas shared- See (Names). All others by Julia Deal.
http://juliasew.blogspot.com/
