I’m hosting a “Quilt Green” challenge for my guild this year and Quilt-cycle Sampler is the sample quilt I made to give people some ideas of the different kinds of things that can be recycled into quilts: not only old clothes and linens, but broken jewelry, toys and trinkets, paper items, interesting “trash” you would normally throw away … just about anything that can be sewn or glued down really.
The fabrics on this quilt are all recycled and came from a linen shirt, plaid skirt, flannel nightshirt, two pairs of jeans shorts, two jersey T-shirts, silk skirt, polyester dress, and cotton sheets. The blocks include piecing and appliqué.
Top row embellishments: embroidery from torn kid’s clothes, plastic grass sushi garnish, souvenir keychain, metal fish charm from a tag sale brooch, printed silk motif from my former favorite skirt that eventually got shredded in the washing machine.
Middle row embellishments: my daughter’s broken baby sunglasses, plastic grocery bag “fabric”, cancelled stamps in windows made from clear vinyl packaging.
Bottom row embellishments: yo-yo flower made from thrift store dress and buttons removed from various clothing, jeans’ pocket and parts from two old bracelets, recycle logo made from painted used dryer sheets.
Bottom border and fringe: juice pouch, tie from jersey T-shirt, dimensional flower cut from jeans shorts, seed beads and vintage yellow faceted glass beads from two different necklaces, metal globe charm from an earring, and Dora the Explorer party favor from my daughter’s 2nd birthday party, with one of her birthday photos glued in the center.
The batting is recycled from an old towel, and some more old cotton sheets for the backing. These sheets were so threadbare that they ripped several times while I quilted it, so a few appliqués for the back were in order. It’s a good thing this quilt is for the wall. I would recommend you recycle your sheets before they start to shred in your hands.
Here are a few more tips in case you get inspired to create a quilt from recycled materials:
* Fusible woven interfacing will help strengthen fragile fabrics and help keep uncooperative fabrics in line.
* Beading, upholstery, and top-stitching threads work great for sewing on all kinds of embellishments.
* Consider adding a photo or two to make a memory quilt if you are using sentimental materials. You can use a printable fabric sheet, sew a clear photo sleeve onto the quilt top, or simply glue the photo to a trinket using all-purpose adhesive.
Oh Laura, what a great idea. I love this quilt. It could be hung at an art show.
I just might jump in an try something like this.
Thanks for sharing it.
What a great way to repurpose all your odds and ends. I have a tendency to collect these types of things because I hate throwing them away, but haven’t come up with good uses for them.
I have been wondering lately about recycling towels as batting. Did that work pretty well for quilting?
i love all your ideas their always so well thought out and full of good intensions
I love the idea of making something new and beautiful out of old stuff. I have the idea that someday I'm going to sew together all my son's & husband's old plaid shirts into a quilt. Someday. The jean pockets are a great idea as well! So cute, great job.
How fun! These are great ideas. I’m going to have to start rummaging around for things that I can use.
Wonderful ideas! Just recently I started collecting the little plastic thingies that cover just about anything you buy anymore. (Is it called blister packaging?) They are all sizes and shapes, are lightweight and could contain all sorts of interesting things sewn onto a quilt.
Such great ideas! And the quilt is adorable, too. Love the cat with the sunglasses.
Old towels make great batting for potholders, too.
Debra,
The towel batting worked great in this case because it supported the embellishments well and I only did light machine quilting.
It’s a heavy quilt for its size but it hangs well. I imagine it would also be nice for a baby mat to place on the floor for babies to play on.
That is to say not with all the embellishments on it for a baby, only referring to the towel batting.
Lovely quilt and great idea to recycle. I’m sort of doing that with an apron I’m making. I call it art. Thank you for sharing.
Wonderful recycled use of items in your quilt. I love the finished product.
Pingback: adventures of a quilting diva , Archive » my favorite posts: 2009
Pingback: adventures of a quilting diva , Archive » crayon fun!