Can we behave as if the living world were a gift?

One of the best books I have read recently is Robin Wall Kimmerer's Braiding Sweetgrass. Kimmerer is a biologist by training and a member of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation. In the book, Kimmerer weaves together her academic training with indigenous ways of relating to the world and nature. She talks at length about treating the fruits of the earth as gifts. She writes:

How, in our modern world, can we find our way to understand the earth as a gift again, to make our relations with the world sacred again? I know we cannot all become hunter-gatherers—the living world could not bear our weight—but even in a market economy, can we behave “as if ” the living world were a gift?

In other passages she writes about how gifts of the earth are present without us doing anything if we are open to seeing them. 

Most of my upcycling projects are about making something I can use.  And things appear in my life without my going to the store and finding something that was newly extracted from the earth. Since I am on social media and have been asking for materials, some of my neighbors will now just drop stuff off. Other times, I stumble upon something.  For example, I had denim idea projects swimming in my head. I can never find jeans that fit and my kid won't wear them so I actually don't have offcasts of my own.  However, on one of my daily walks, I happened upon free items on the curb, which included two pairs of used jeans with  usable fabric

A pair of jeans is from the earth and I have come to see these things that I happen upon as gifts, but unfortunately I am not sure that most of my fellow Americans feel the same away. I live in a household in which we all compost and recycle religiously and even have purchased Terracycle boxes. My kid is beginning to think his mother is super strange and has tried to physically lead me away from a dumpster on the curb (I found a bin of sewing materials in that particular dumpster bag).  My spouse's tactful answer about my projects is, "I like that they keep you busy."  Though he does like the Tupperware lid chaos reducers I sewed and put in the kitchen cabinets. 

I wonder how we shift our thinking about stuff and what we do with "garbage." This blog is designed to give you some ideas on what you can make or do, so that is one things.  But you and I are only two people.  We need to change societal attitudes about stuff and garbage. What a difference treating our things as gifts would make.  

Stay tuned to future blog posts about this subject.

Glider Makeover - Part 3

This is post three in series of blog posts about a glider I save from the trash.  Read Part 1 and Part 2. 

This is what the glider looked like after I recovered the seat and back cushions. It was a busy pattern and my son was denying that he chose the fabric I used. I did have some solid fabric in my stash that matched the tan color in the patterned fabric.  The solid fabric was from a thrifted duvet cover.  So I decided to cover the armrests in the solid tan fabric. My son claimed that the fabric was ugly, but I decide to proceed. 

The arm rests snapped off. I used the existing arm rests to draft a pattern and I cut out two for each side (four total).  There were snaps I needed to leave uncovered so the arm rest would snap back into the chair. I so used my machine to stitch up the long side of my arm rest shape right sides together and left both ends open. I turned the tube right side out and inserted the arm rests inside and then stitched the fabric to the existing arm rest on existing folds and seams. I used a zipper foot. 

I then folded down the ends and stitched those down. I had to use hand stitching for part of it. While I left the old snaps uncovered in a way that the old fabric was still showing, you can't really tell when it was reattached to the glider. 

I decided that I was not quite done. The chair was still pretty busy. Plus the thrifted fabric was a little thinner than the fabric I had removed once was. I decided to create a pad that would cover the seat and protect the seat cushion where it had worn most previously. I discussed the addition with my son who admitted it would help the aesthetic of the chair. 

I had intended to make a double-sided pad with tan on the outside and batting on the inside. I was using a scrap piece of velour as the batting. I also was getting close to mentally done with the project and I wanted to construct the piece so that I would sew right sides together with ribbons tucked in and then turn it outside rather than quilting the three pieces, then binding the edges. I used more tissue paper to make a pattern and tested it on the seat cushion. 

However, even after I had constructed many three-layer masks in a similar fashion, I stacked the fabric in the wrong order so when I turned it inside out the blue velour was on the bottom. I said to myself "oh well" and decided not to undo what I had done. I then added several quilting stitches to the tan side of the fabric and added the pad to the chair.

I told my son I wanted to take a picture of him using the glider, but my spouse sat down in it.  So I snapped a picture of him before taking one of the kid. 

And then there is a picture of the glider by itself. I may still tighten up the back cushion a bit, but that can wait until another cold day. 

Glider Makeover - Part 2

This is the second post in a series about salvaging a glider we owned. Read the first one here. 

I knew this project would take a couple weeks so I chunked out the work.  I decided to start on the seat rest cushion cover because that piece needed the most help  

I showed my son how to take the seat cover off the foam using a seam ripper. That was relatively fast. 

We then created a paper pattern by laying down the old cushion fabric on some tissue paper that had been once used for packing paper and traced around it.  The existing cushion cover was in terrible shape and I didn't know if it would make a good pattern so we added 1/2 inch extra all the way around so that we could have some wiggle room. 

We used the paper pattern to cut out the first piece of fabric. Then in order to match the design on the fabric, I used the first piece of fabric as a pattern for the second. 

I hand basted the cover, right sides together, with about a 1/2 inch seam allowance.  Keeping the cover inside out, we inserted the cushion  Then we hand basted some more to get the correct fit, including adding a couple gathers on the front. My son was not not happy about this task. 

Then I went to my sewing machine and I sewed the two pieces (still rights sides together), stitching just inside of where I had hand basted,  leaving an opening on the back of the cushion. I removed the hand basted stitches and turned the stitched cover back right side out and inserted the cushion to make sure it fit. 

The I turned it back inside out, trimmed some of the long edges with scissors and finished the edges by serging them. You could simply use a zig zag stitch if you don't have a serger.  Then I turned it back right side out. 

With the cover on the cushion, I turned down the seams at the opening, folding twice and pinning. I took the cover back off and then I topstitched those seams, with two rows. I had several sew on snaps that were part of the jumble stash I acquired.  As you can see they were quite old as that the package originally sold for 10 cents. I hand sewed on five snaps.  I used the ties from the previous cushion cover. I top stitched those on just on either side of the closures so the cushion could be secured to the chair. 

Then I put the seat cushion back on the chair. It looked pretty awful with the other fabric, which was a motivator for my son to work with me on the next part. 

We finished the back cushion in a similar fashion, but we didn't remove the cover fabric because it was stitched to the foam. To obtain our pattern, we traced around the cushion and then added enough extra all the way around to take care of half of the depth of the cushion (in this case about an inch), plus 1/2 inch for the seam allowance and another 1/2 inch to give us some wiggle room.

I used the same method to fit the backrest as we did for the seat cushion, hand basting one time around leaving an opening at the bottom of the cushion, inserting the cushion, hand basting again to get a good fit, then machine stitching to the inside of the hand basting. I removed the hand basting, trimmed some of the excess edges and serged to finish. 

Then I realized I forgotten to add the ties. So  I had to undo a couple inches of the topstiched seam at either edge of the cushion. Then I inserted two pieces of ribbon in two places on the the inside of the cover pinned it in place and then stitched over the ribbon. You can't see too well what I did here because I did not turn it back right side out to attach the ribbon. 

I hemmed the closure the same way I did the seat cushion and sewed on snaps. 

At this point the project was two-thirds done. Stay tuned for the final third of the project. 

Glider makeover - Part 1

A friend gifted us a hand-me down glider when I was pregnant. At that point the gilder was a decade or two old. We used it a lot  It was a good place to nurse, cuddle and read to an infant/toddler.  My son is now 10, but the glider is still in his room. He still uses it, mainly as an iPad stand.

The seat and arm rest covers began to show wear a couple years ago.  As you can see, I visibly mended it, which extended the life by 18 months. A few weeks ago the cushion fabric completely split open. A lot of people would probably have thrown away the glider at that point.  I probably would have done the same a few years ago. But now I salvage things. The wood frame was still in good shape so I decided to recover the cushions.

This is the first post in a series describing how I undertook this endeavor. 

I had to make some calculations when I started this project. The only part of this chair that  was designed for washing were the arm covers. The backrest cushion cover was actually sewn into the foam. I had removed the seat covering to wash it before I patched it previously, but I had to undo stitches and it frayed in the washing machine because the seams were not finished. I had never washed the back rest, but had simply turned the cleaner side to face out.

I definitely wanted coverings that could be washed. That meant finished seams and closures that could be easily opened. For the back rest, I knew I wouldn't be able to keep the grooves that you can see in this picture. 

The arm pads that did detach for washing snapped into the frame. I don't have a snap tool and the fabric around the existing snaps was in decent shape so I decided to leave them be and work around them. 

We also had to choose fabric to use. Luckily, there were some larger pieces in my 38-lb box.  My son selected one fabric and, although it was thrifted, it did not appear to be pre-shrunk so I washed it. 

My son later claimed it was not the pattern he actually chose once the project was underway. Alas.  

Another calculation involved getting my son off Minecraft long enough to work on this project with me. I knew that was probably going to be the biggest challenge in all of this. 

You can read more step-by-step instructions and whether I succeeded in keeping my kid off Minecraft in blog posts, I will publish later this month. 

Taking a break from sewing to sow

I took a break from sewing this week to sow - that is winter sowing seeds in my garden. This is the first time I am attempting winter sowing so I will have to write an update on how it goes. Winter sowing is a method in which you start seeds in plastic containers you set outside in, as you guessed, in the winter. The plastic containers serve as greenhouses. This way you don't need grow lights and other fancy equipment. The seeds will sprout when they are ready. It is a perfect way to use materials that you already have. 

Before the pandemic, we rarely ordered takeout because of all the waste it created.  We would eat in and bring leftovers home in our own reusable containers we brought for that purpose. However, over the past year, we have wanted to support local businesses and we are simply not going to dine in until we are all vaccinated.  So we have ended up with way too many plastic containers. 

I used a couple containers that entrees from the homemade noodle shop down the street Magic Noodle came in, other take out containers and clam shell packaging that once held salad greens. I poked holes in both the top and the bottom of the containers and filled it with potting soil I had purchased. I planted the containers with cold hardy plants including peas, lettuce and spinach. 

I am going to have to remember to remove the lids on warmer days so the containers don't heat up too much. Last year I had the inspiration of making a mini greenhouse from a plastic bin and I ended up frying a bunch of plants. 

I have taken other upcycling steps in my garden. Last year, I walked down our alley, collected branches and made this trellis. I started the project using hammer and nails, then switched to lashing with string. Then a neighbor stopped by.  She said, "I have some hemp twine you can use." Then she went home and came back with it. That was a good string to use. 

I am hoping to make more trellises this spring and will post a how-to along with my gardening update

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Adventures in fabric scavenging

I love to wear comfortable knit dresses, but I have trouble finding ones that fit, are flattering and have pockets. Since the pandemic began, I have made myself three dresses that met my requirements. When I picked up the fabric that later became this dress, I would not have imagined it could make clothing that I liked.  

As you know from my previous post about acquiring fabric to upcycle, I have been using Facebook to find materials. Someone a few miles away from where I live posted that she had free fabric to give away. Of course, I was all over it. 

When I arrived at her house, there were three of four paper bags on her doorstep - the picture had depicted one bag. It seemed like more than I needed, but it was winter with snow on the ground during a pandemic so I took the bags and decided to sort through them at home. The fabric giver told me I could pass along anything I didn't want. 

The bags were a complete jumble of fabric, notions and random craft items. And judging by the prices on some of the items, many of the notions were at least 40 years old. 

There was one absolutely beautiful piece of fabric in the lot and a few that looked like pieces I could work with. But most of the fabric was musty -  like it had been sitting in a garage or basement for years. Some pieces were discolored. I thought I might toss quite a bit of it. I gave away the jingle bells and confetti packages. But the longer that I kept the other assorted materials, the more I realized I could use them after all. 

I washed the musty fabric. And then I made my first knit dress using this pattern. Of course I wanted another and it occurred to me that there were knits in the jumble stash. I took the two pieces of black/white fabric that are pictured here for the dress. The larger piece had tan in it and I had a tan t-shirt with a hole in it sitting around I had to cut off the discolored parts of the striped material, but there was still more than enough to work with.

So even from materials that I first thought were unusable, something new could emerge. 

Transforming raw material

My spouse likes to compare me to someone who grew up in the Depression. I think he once purposefully put some aluminum foil from a takeout order in the recycling bin before I could get my hands on it to rinse and save for reuse. 

During the Depression and subsequently in World War II, people in the United Stated had to save and reuse everything, even making clothes from flour sacks. This ethic was fading by the time I was born in the 1970s. Though I could often witness it when I went to visit relatives in India. 

However, I am not really like someone who grew up in the Depression. I am not poor, first of all. I can buy more aluminum foil if I choose.  Also, we as humans have become far more adept at extracting natural resources than we were in the 1930s and the 1940s. Many of us are also more disconnected to what it takes to actually produce something.  

I do not want to glorify poverty and I like things like central heating, but there is also great peril in being able to continually buy things. In the 25 years between 1980 and 2005, the extraction of resources on a global scale increased by 50 percent.  We are using the fruits of the earth faster than they can be replenished. 

We need to change our ethic around these resources and repurposing is one way to do that Here is an example of one thing that I took that was not usable and made it into something  that was. I did the reverse of a flour sack dress and took an article of clothing and made it into something to hold food. 

I purchased this blouse new several years ago. I bought it at a department store and was expecting decent quality. Almost immediately the embroidery began to unravel.  If I knew what I know now, I would have added a little fabric glue and continued using the blouse. However, I didn't know how to do that and I let it sit in a bin of clothing for years.

During pandemic decluttering, I pulled it out. By that time, the underarms had become discolored and the elastic had totally worn out. The elastic could have been replaced - the discoloration not so much. I had some reusable produce bags that had started to rip so it seemed logical to turn this light weight fabric into drawstring produce bags. I dyed one bag with black tea as an experiment. 

There are a number of tutorials on making drawstring bags on the internet -- here is one that involves hand sewing - so am not going to provide step-by-step instructions on making a drawstring bag, but it is a simple way to transform an old piece of clothing or fabric. And now I have made something usable again. 

What will you repurpose?  

Towel to cake strip upcycle

This is the second of two blog posts about what you can do with a towel that is showing wear. In addition to sewing, I also like to bake.  And cake is one of my favorite things to bake. 

If you want your cake to turn out flat you need cake strips. You wet the strips and wrap it around the pan. Then you put the cake in the oven. The evaporation of the water will cool the outside of the pan so that the center of the cake cooks at the same rate as the outside, preventing the cake from doming. 

This is a cake strip that I bought ready-made several years ago. As you can tell it is on its last legs. The heat resistant coating has burned off in places.  These strips were purchased to replace a set of cake strips I had made from an old towel as suggested by a cake decorating instructor.  

 

I used the purchased cake strips for many years, but honestly my old ones made from a towel, worked better. They soaked up more water, the cakes turned out flatter and the strips fit my pans better.

So when one of my hand towels was showing wear, I decided I should make cake strips with it. First I trimmed the edges of the towel. Then, I cut the towel into thirds length wise. The pieces were approximately 4.5 inches high and  24 inches long. I was aiming to make two cake strips. The length of the towel was not quite long enough to use as a cake strip so I took one of the thirds and cut it in half so it was about 4.5 inches high and 24 inches long. 

I pieced together the 4.5 x 24 inch piece with the 4.5 X 12 inch piece. I used an elastic stitch so that I would not have a bulky seam. I went back and forth a few times. I used 100% cotton thread because I did not want melting thread in the oven.

 

Then I folded the towel in half and sewed a zig zag stich near the raw edge.  I also added a zig zag up the middle to help reinforce the towel where it was worn. I do own a serger, but I did not feel like creating three or four cones of all cotton thread, so I used the sewing machine. 

Here is the finished product around the pan, attached together with all metal pins. I don't generally bake cakes for myself and a cake this size would need to be eaten by several people so there is no batter in the pan. I can't wait until I can bake for people again.

Mending a towel

Sewing is an imminently practical art form. It allows you to fix what you have and make what you want to your specifications. This is the first of two posts about what you can do with a towel that is starting to show wear. These projects are both simple, perfect if you are just starting to sew with a machine. And most of us will have material to work with. 

Towels often wear out first around the edges. Often when this happens, the rest of the towel is still in pretty good condition. You can fix the towel fairly quickly and easily.

This is the beach towel I mended today. You can sees strings hanging off and the frayed edges.

 

I started this project by using a seam ripper to take out the edging that was still intact. I then trimmed off the fraying part with a rotary cutter. You could use scissors as well. 

Then I took the towel to my sewing machine and sewed a zig zag stitch up both sides of the towel, backstitching at the ends so the stitching does not unravel.  This towel didn't have any holes in them, but on other towels I just worked a zig zag stich back and forth over the hole to patch it up. 

I have done this with several towels in the last couple years. There will be some fraying at the edges until it reaches the zig zag stitch, but the stitch will prevent it from fraying more and will allow you to use the towel for a few more years. 

Sourcing fabric for upcycling - or how I ended up with a 38-pound box of it

In order to upcycle fabric, you have to have fabric to work with. What I have discovered over the last year is that there is more than enough fabric in the world to upcycle. 

I started my upcycling quest with fabric I had laying around - old clothes, socks with holes and linens from my parents house. Then I made my first ask on the neighborhood sell/barter/trade Facebook page.  At that point, I was looking for some fabric to make colorful patches to use in mending.  wo neighbors obliged with a couple bags of scraps.  

I had wanted to make a braided rug for decades and sometime last winter I  decided to host a fundraiser for Saint Paul Youth Services.  The plan was to have a house party in May 2020 where I "sold" things that I had to made to encourage zero waste practices and to support this racial justice organization.  In order to purchase supplies for both projects,  I went to a Goodwill Outlet to buy t-shirts to cut into strips for the rug and fabric to make bags for zero waste kits to take to the coffee shop or restaurant.  

I made several kits with thrifted silverware and a mason jar mag. Of course I never hosted that fundraiser and you can't bring your own mug most places nowadays so those kits are sitting there until we are all vaccinated. 

Then I started looking on Facebook Marketplace for fabric that people were selling, I bought a lot of upholstery fabric pieces. Now my neighbors are offering me fabric without my asking. I have taken some like some like some old jeans and have had to turn down some offers.

I received the mother lode of all fabric lots a few weeks ago. Many of the Goodwill organizations in the United States offer items through online auctions.  I bid on a few fabric lots, but I was always outbid. then of course I bid something like $35 on a 38-pound lot of patterned fabric and I was the high bidder.  A few weeks later the box arrived. 

The above my picture is my guest room right now. It is going to take me awhile to use all that fabric!