sustainable quilting

It’s bin day in my town.

(Really, Ally, we’re talking about bins now…??? Stick with me, I promise this relates to quilting too)

I don’t know about you, but I am always mildly horrified by the AMOUNT of rubbish people seem to put out every week.

Sure, ‘recycling’, but we all know the majority of what we think gets made into something else doesn’t really get recycled. Especially with plastics.

When it comes to quilting, and sewing, I am so conscious of the fabric waste I create.

A lot of resources go into making and dying fabric in the first place, not to mention growing the plants and transporting the finished and unfinished goods across the world and back (sometimes multiple times!)

What can we do in the sewing room to make our creative practices more sustainable?

Here are some things I think about:

• designing quilt patterns that use scraps, or that minimise wastage – right in the design phase – design out the waste
• use what I have: what ever fabrics I have, they become one of my design parameters. Only blues? Make it work. Only whites? Make it work. Missing the ‘perfect’ pink? Change something and make it work.

• use scraps – anything over say 2” gets used at some point in a scrap project. At the end of the day, quilting is about using what is on hand, making something warm from whatever resources are available to you. I love to keep this in mind when quilting
• investing in tools that last – yes those specialty rulers might cost, but this has a twofold effect: one, it cost you a lot of money, you are more likely to look after it well. If it costs a lot, chances are the quality of the item is high, meaning it was designed to last.

• not always buying the latest and greatest trends – sure, new fabrics come out and we get excited… What about all the fabric we already have? What about the tools we already have, or how about repurposing something from the garage/kitchen/playroom to serve our purpose before rushing out to buy the quilting version.
• those fragranced starches? those spray cans of basting spray? those fixatives? Can you do without? Can you buy one set of stainless steel basting pins that will last a lifetime? Can you DIY your own starch spray and forgo buying bottles and cans of sprays and starches? Probably better for your health, as well as the environment, not to mention your wallet… (I’ve seen recipes for corn starch diy spray or vodka and water mixed- just do quick google)

Thinking outside the box – what fabric do you have available to use?

And note I said FABRIC not QUILTING FABRIC – Old sheets, tablecloths, clothes and other textiles we no longer wear or use can be used for our quilts.

Thrift shops or second hand shops are great places to find materials to repurpose.

Those crazy Hawaiian shirts? If you chop them up small enough, they can look awesome too…

I encourage you to silence that voice that says YOU MUST USE ONLY QUILTING FABRIC, and start using whatever fabric you can.

I’m lucky enough to have a 89 year old seamstress as a neighbour who has been kind enough to donate a lot of different types of fabric to me over the years.

What about your neighbours, friends, family?

I’m sure there are plenty of folks you know who have FAR TOO MANY sheets, or a pile of Nonna’s tablecloths they are too loathe to throw away, but would love the idea of them becoming something useful to someone else.

All you need to do is ask.

When my mother in law found out I was into quilting, the local grape vine was abuzz and I had piles of fabrics landing on my door from all her friends, and various acquaintances.

When I was in Sydney recently, one of my mum’s neighbours up the road (hi Judy!) unleashed some of her incredible treasure trove of vintage 70s Marimekko, and scandinavian print fabrics for me to use.

What about the real waste?

Yeap, we all have trimmings and batting offcuts too small to use. I would encourage you to find local organisations that might use these as stuffing for cushions, think pet beds or something similar. Worst case, that cotton? It can be composted, so check with your local waste facility and see if you can add it with the organic garbage and not the landfill.

I hope this post has given you some inspiration on the way you can be more sustainable in your quilting.

LEAVE A COMMENT AND LET ME KNOW…

… what’s your favourite way to be sustainable in quilting?