5 Ways to Use Upcycled Fabric in Your Quilt
Every year, 17 million tons of textiles are generated in the United States. But only about 14.7 % of them get recycled. To put this into perspective, the average American generates around 70 pounds of waste from textiles annually - this includes things like clothing, linens, towels and more.
When we discard this stuff, it doesn’t just go away. It can take hundreds of years to decompose - generating harmful greenhouse gas emissions along the way. Which is why it’s important that we as quilters do our part to help protect our planet. It’s easier than you might think!
Here are five creative ways to reduce, reuse and upcycle fabric for your next quilting project.
1.Make a Scrappy Quilt: The easiest and most obvious way to reduce and reuse is to leverage the fabric you already own! If you don’t have enough of a single fabric for the pattern requirements, think about ways to get scrappy before you buy more. Do you have enough fabric that is roughly in the same color family? Could you mix solids and prints that are the same color to get the same effect? Could you sew smaller scraps together to get pieces that are the size you need? Once everything is quilted together, you’ll hardly notice these small swaps and your final quilt will be uniquely yours!
2. Evaluate Old Clothes in Your Closet: Clean out your closet - removing old clothes that no longer fit or that you no longer wear or love. But before you throw each piece into the donation pile, take a closer look at the fabric and read the tag. If the item is made from 100% cotton, you might be able to salvage it for your next quilt! Cotton fabrics with stretch (like everyday t-shirts) can be a bit tricky to work with, but sturdier cotton fabrics like those found in button-down shirts, chino pants, or printed cotton skirts work really well in quilts!
3. Repurpose Those Teeny Tiny Scraps: We all have them. Those itty-bitty, confetti-looking scraps that result from trimming fabric. They’re too small to do anything with, but they’re too pretty to throw away. Good news is you don’t have to toss them! Start saving them in a jar, bin, or bag near your cutting table and when you have enough, use them to stuff a pincushion, a throw pillow, or even a dog bed!
4. Reuse Old Sheets & Throw Blankets: Many basic sheet sets are 100% cotton and work great for quilting. Smaller sheets can be cut apart for quilting fabric and larger ones can be used as a full quilt back. Look for sheets with a low thread count (200-300) and avoid stretchy varieties like jersey knit. Old, cozy throw blankets also work great for quilt backs. Anything that’s furry, fuzzy or fleece will do! Depending on the blanket’s original construction, you may need to take apart the front and back layers with a seam ripper to obtain a raw, workable piece of fabric. Flannel sheets and fleece blankets also work great for batting!
5. Make Frankenbatting: If you don’t have a piece of batting large enough for your next quilt, take a closer look at your batting scraps before you buy more. Did you know that you can stitch those small pieces of batting together to make a larger piece? It’s called frankenbatting and it’s super easy to do. Line up two pieces of batting with the edges flush - no overlapping! Using a neutral thread color, sew a zigzag stitch across them - making sure the thread catches both sides to hold them together. Continue this method until you have a piece of batting large enough for your quilt!
For a detailed tutorial, visit my friend Wren Collective’s blost post!
No matter how you choose to reduce, reuse or upcycle fabric, always remember that old, well-loved fabrics have likely been laundered MANY times. So, if you’re mixing them with new fabric, you may want to prewash everything to ensure it all shrinks evenly when you wash and dry your final masterpiece.
