Denim Deb
More Precious than Rubies
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I've always wanted t make one of those-or several and sell them. I have the instructions somewhere, just never had the time to do it. 
What to Do With Fabric
- Thread starter so lucky
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so lucky
Almost Self-Reliant
We have an old coverlet that my FIL made out of discarded mens' suits. It is very heavy, and rather ugly, frankly. But I bet it would really keep a person warm. He was a dry cleaner, and altered suits for people. He thought nothing of putting new cuffs on, new zippers in anything, shortening sleeves, etc. Now that he is 95 and not able to sew, when I mend something for him, he has a critical eye, but is usually satisfied. 
Cindlady2
Lovin' The Homestead
Funny you should mention quilts made from suites. My grandmother on my dad's side made them. I had one that was all wool suite and blanket pieces on the the top then a worn heavy cotton blanket for the "batting", then old, heavy cotton drapes for the backing. The thing weighed a ton but it was very, very warm! I took it on a winter sleep over (as a kid) one time. Some of the kids were still cold in their sleeping bags.... I had to keep a little "crack" open under my quilt because I was over heating!
My son has advanced MS and it's hard finding useful things he can do. I'm going to teach him how to make Rag Rugs after Christmas. I can do 4 types so I think we can find one he can do, even if I have to help with some parts.
Oh, and I can relate to that "perfectionist eye" All the woman on my mother's side were like that (and my mother was a seamstress) so learning to sew, knit, crochet. or any other needle work meant allot of ripping too! You should see my mending though.... well, try to
My son has advanced MS and it's hard finding useful things he can do. I'm going to teach him how to make Rag Rugs after Christmas. I can do 4 types so I think we can find one he can do, even if I have to help with some parts.
Oh, and I can relate to that "perfectionist eye" All the woman on my mother's side were like that (and my mother was a seamstress) so learning to sew, knit, crochet. or any other needle work meant allot of ripping too! You should see my mending though.... well, try to
Blaundee
Power Conserver
My MIL makes denim quilts from all of our old jeans, nothing better in the middle of winter than a denim quiltso lucky said:
Hubby uses old tshirts for filtering buckets full of liquids and for grease rags, and I, Mom, and MIL all use rags for washing milk animals udders before milking. Old socks usually become rags that I wash the horses faces with (you can put them over your hand and wash eyes and nostrils very easily) or apply fly repellent to their faces, socks are also good for protecting horses tails if they are braided or for keeping wound bandages clean.If old denims are a part of your stash ... I read somewhere about a storage/organizer, particular good for teens, made out of jeans pockets. Make a backing of some sort - I would probably use jeans legs, cut open - however big you want it to be. Then cut out the pockets of various old jeans - the original suggested the fancy pockets from designer jeans, but I'm sure something else could be managed (or maybe Goodwill will help out). Sew the various pockets to the backing. Figure out a way to hang the whole thing - tabs on the top, and a dowel maybe. It makes a handy place for young people (or others) to store small things.
- Thread starter
- #16
so lucky
Almost Self-Reliant
I think I have seen those denim storage things. They ARE really cute, and yes, would be ideal for a young person. And of course, there are the purses/bags made out of jeans that look nifty. I'm trying to come up with some good ideas to make things to sell at a craft fair. Or maybe I could get a little store to let me put stuff in on consignment.
Depending on the kind of fabric you're working with, you could make gift wrap bags or gift wrap cloths. The Japanese use gift wrap fabric as a way to reduce waste. Their technique, called furoshiki, is very eco-conscious:
http://furoshiki.com/
If you have really sturdy fabric (and enough of it), you could make log carriers. We used to have one (that my mother-in-law bought at a craft sale) that had dowel rods as the handles. The dowels just slid through a stitched fabric tunnel. There are lots of patterns online for various types of log carriers.
You can also make scented hot pads that will give off a scent when a hot dish is set on top of them. (My MIL got me one of those, too. It always smelled great.) Again, there should be patterns online.
http://furoshiki.com/
If you have really sturdy fabric (and enough of it), you could make log carriers. We used to have one (that my mother-in-law bought at a craft sale) that had dowel rods as the handles. The dowels just slid through a stitched fabric tunnel. There are lots of patterns online for various types of log carriers.
You can also make scented hot pads that will give off a scent when a hot dish is set on top of them. (My MIL got me one of those, too. It always smelled great.) Again, there should be patterns online.
I'm going to make a deer blind from some old sheets.
Cotton is an amazing fire starter. Burns and burns and burns. A 2" x 6" strip will start my fires easily. You may need more or less depending on your technique.
Cotton is an amazing fire starter. Burns and burns and burns. A 2" x 6" strip will start my fires easily. You may need more or less depending on your technique.
ducks4you
Almost Self-Reliant
You don't have to recycle just one item to make a recycled something. a few years ago I bought 9 yards of fleece that resembled the old Hudson Bay wool blanket, the candy striped kind, except that the stripes went long instead of a few straight across. It just sat in a bag for a year until I figured out what I wanted to do with it.
I decided to just make 3 blankets out of them, but fleece isn't really warm enough for ANYTHING unless you double it. I looked in my linen closet and found an old cotton blanket that was wide enough for a twin bed, but we stopped using it bc it just wasn't long enough to tuck in at the bottom of a bed. I found it was 6 ft. long exactly, and I had 18 ft of the fleece, same width. So I made a pillowcase out of doubling the two, turned it inside out, topstitched the edges, ran stitching down the sides of the stripes to "quilt" it, and then finished by using a whipstitch with red thread. This blanket is gonna wear out bc EVERYBODY grabs it cover when we watch tv, or when DH wants to take a nap. He's 6'5" tall and needs to cover his feet.
I didn't stop there. I made two more blankets with the rest, except I used 3 layers: one fleece, inbetween and old 100% wool blanket, and then another cotton one just like the first, not long enough, and quilted them. These took a lot longer with a LOT more thread and machine quilting, but I gave each to my DD's and they won't part with them on a cold evening.
Here is a picture of the last one I made. This is the middle layer made from a wool blanket so old nobody can remember who owned it. I hand stitched the wool to the cotton blanket to really secure them together:
I decided to just make 3 blankets out of them, but fleece isn't really warm enough for ANYTHING unless you double it. I looked in my linen closet and found an old cotton blanket that was wide enough for a twin bed, but we stopped using it bc it just wasn't long enough to tuck in at the bottom of a bed. I found it was 6 ft. long exactly, and I had 18 ft of the fleece, same width. So I made a pillowcase out of doubling the two, turned it inside out, topstitched the edges, ran stitching down the sides of the stripes to "quilt" it, and then finished by using a whipstitch with red thread. This blanket is gonna wear out bc EVERYBODY grabs it cover when we watch tv, or when DH wants to take a nap. He's 6'5" tall and needs to cover his feet.
I didn't stop there. I made two more blankets with the rest, except I used 3 layers: one fleece, inbetween and old 100% wool blanket, and then another cotton one just like the first, not long enough, and quilted them. These took a lot longer with a LOT more thread and machine quilting, but I gave each to my DD's and they won't part with them on a cold evening.
Here is a picture of the last one I made. This is the middle layer made from a wool blanket so old nobody can remember who owned it. I hand stitched the wool to the cotton blanket to really secure them together:
Britesea
Sustainability Master
More ideas for cloth and clothes....
Old socks can be slipped over every other jar in a case of canned goods to protect against breakage in the event of a trembler...
old soft sheets (especially flannel) could be cut into squares (6x8" is good) either pinked or ziz-zag hem, and used for "family cloths" to save toilet paper. Just use them for Number 1, and drop into a small hamper/bucket until washing day. In a SHTF pinch, I would use them for Number 2 as well, but the bucket would then have water and sanitizer as well.
I buy flat sheets at the thrift store and use them to make simple summer clothes (think scrubs and muumuus). Way cheaper than buying material at the fabric store.
Old socks can be slipped over every other jar in a case of canned goods to protect against breakage in the event of a trembler...
old soft sheets (especially flannel) could be cut into squares (6x8" is good) either pinked or ziz-zag hem, and used for "family cloths" to save toilet paper. Just use them for Number 1, and drop into a small hamper/bucket until washing day. In a SHTF pinch, I would use them for Number 2 as well, but the bucket would then have water and sanitizer as well.
I buy flat sheets at the thrift store and use them to make simple summer clothes (think scrubs and muumuus). Way cheaper than buying material at the fabric store.
