Black clothing is the hardest clothing to maintain, because it’s so vulnerable to fading. Even red clothes fade more gracefully than black! Here’s how to use black fabric dye to refresh your faded black clothing.
How to Refresh Black Clothing with Fabric Dye Read More 👉
Need some ideas for how to reuse old jeans in your closet? We have you covered!
We love recycled felt around here! It comes in a rainbow of colors, diverts plastic waste from the landfill, and is just a joy to cut, glue, and sew. Do you need some craft ideas for your stash of recycled felt? We’ve got you covered with these 10 projects!
Fused plastic fabric diverts waste from the landfill, but is it green? Let’s weigh the pros and cons!
Is Fused Plastic a Green Fabric? Read More 👉
Check out how I repaired my old mannequin to give it a brand new life with just a few simple supplies!
Want a re-usable cloth bag that’s branded with what YOU like, sized and shaped like a conventional plastic bag but stretchy, so that you can fill it even fuller?
Okay, and do you want to make it WITHOUT sewing?
You won’t have to sew a stitch to make these grocery bags out of your favorite old T-shirts.
How-to: No-Sew Upcycled T-Shirt Grocery Bag (with Beads and Bells and Fringe!) Read More 👉
Need a gift bag, or a box of exactly a certain size?
Check out my personal collection of my favorite templates and patterns for DIY bags and boxes of all shapes and sizes, along with my suggestions for what recycled or scrap materials would be best to make each from.
Bags and Boxes that You Can Build out of Recycled Materials Read More 👉
For my partner’s 35th birthday, I made him a Star Wars T-shirt quilt in a log cabin style, pieced together with complementary fabrics from my fabric stash.
Project Show-and-Tell: Upcycled Star Wars T-shirt Quilt Top Read More 👉
For our upcoming trip to Walt Disney World, I sewed my two daughters matching dresses from one vintage Snow White-themed flat bed sheet.
Craft Project Show-and-Tell: Matching Dresses from One Vintage Snow White Flat Bed Sheet Read More 👉
It’s still sweltering here in Atlanta during the day, but we’ve had some nice cool mornings and evenings lately. Fall is in the air, and this light, cozy t-shirt scarf is just right for those cool-but-not-cold times of day.
How-to: Neckerchief-Style T-Shirt Scarf Read More 👉
Instead of buying your next dog bed at the store, you can sew your own using an old sheet set or one you find at the thrift store!
How-to: Make a Dog Bed from Reclaimed Bedding Read More 👉
Read on for six projects designed to make perfect use of a single upcycled flat sheet.
Six Crafty Green Ways to Upcycle Flat Bed Sheets Read More 👉
Sara Lee Parker Textiles is an Athens, GA-based company that creates hand screen-printed organic textiles.
She was also featured in the Georgia edition of Southern Living Magazine this June, so if you live in Georgia, check it out! Parker runs her textile company with her husband, and she was kind enough to do a little Q&A with us about what she does, why she does it, and what working so closely with your husband is like.
Fab Fabrics: Hemp/Organic Cotton Prints from Sara Lee Parker Textiles Read More 👉
The Lil Blue Boo Recycled T-Shirt Sienna Dress is written to be used with upcycled T-shirts, and because of this, it has some real advantages over conventional sewing patterns.
Review: The Lil Blue Boo Recycled T-Shirt Sienna Dress Pattern Read More 👉
If you had told me that I’d be talking passionately about the 2012 Farm Bill on a crafting website, I would have never believed it, but a recent proposed amendment to the monster bill could have a big impact for green crafters by making it legal to grow hemp in the U.S. But will it pass?
Could the Farm Bill Legalize Growing Hemp in the U.S.? Read More 👉
These sewn business cards, which utilize two layers of scrap fabric, a recycled paper base, and your complete business information, are a little more work than your ordinary business card, but they’re beautiful, eco-friendly, quite thrifty, and they’ll certainly stand out in a crowd. Here’s how to make them:
How-to: Recycled Paper and Scrap Fabric Business Cards Read More 👉
I talked on Wednesday about more of the trouble with conventional cotton, but don’t fret, my fellow seamsters! There are plenty of organic cotton resources out there to help you sew cute without any green guilt.
Clean Cotton: 16 Organic Cotton Resources Read More 👉
We’ve talked about the dirty side of cotton here before. Conventional cotton is an issue that’s really close to my heart, so when I read the latest battle between big ag and Indian farmers, I thought I’d share it here.
Dirty Cotton: Indian Cotton Farmers Devastated Read More 👉
Here’s how I’ve managed to combine my love of vintage clothes, vintage fabrics, and thrift stores: A circle skirt created from a thrifted vintage sheet.
How-to: Upcycled Circle Skirt from a Vintage Bed Sheet Read More 👉
An upcycled tank top is a quick and easy sewing project to make from any old T-shirt.
If you’ve every cooked with turmeric, you know that it stains fabric like gangbusters. Heck, it even stains your hands, if you handle it too much. The property that calls for caution in the kitchen is your ally if you’re looking to dye fabric a cheery shade of yellow! Here’s how to make a batch of fabric dye from turmeric, water, and just one other ingredient that’s most likely already in your kitchen!
How-to: Make Natural Fabric Dye from Turmeric Read More 👉
Although making your own Waldorf doll is a complicated and time-consuming craft, it is not especially difficult, especially with all the generous tutorials and thoughtful patterns available to walk you through the process. Here are all the resources that I’ve been using as I create Waldorf dolls for my own children.
Making Your Own Waldorf Dolls: Tips and Tutorials Read More 👉
Even if you regularly sew lovely dresses, it can be easy to forget that you must also often sew the correct foundation garments for those dresses. Here’s how to sew a full petticoat using parts from an upcycled formal gown.
How-to: Sew an Upcycled Petticoat from a Recycled Prom Dress Read More 👉
I was taken aback when a reader recently asked if we could look into the rumor that Spoonflower outsources some of its printing production to South America and uses child labor. Organic cotton printed by a company that exploits children would be far from green, in my opinion!
Does Spoonflower outsource printing and use child labor? Read More 👉
The trick with burlap is that for some reason it seems hard to find. Conventional fabric stores don’t often stock it, and it’s tricky to navigate online burlap resources. So, how’s a gal supposed to make a burlap fabric box? Fear not! I’ve dug around and found some resources for burlap, so you don’t have to do the legwork.
5 Resources for Finding Burlap Read More 👉
In the year since I crafted my first drawstring bag tutorial, I’ve refined it to correct these fiddly bits and to make the bag even quicker and easier to sew. Read on for the quickest, easiest, drawstring bag tutorial that you’re ever going to find.
How to Sew a Drawstring Bag (an even easier tute!) Read More 👉
You know we love a good t-shirt reuse project around here, so I was pleased as punch when reader Nancy Sharp was kind enough to share her idea for reusing a sentimental t-shirt that was past its prime…
Reader Tip: T-Shirt as Art Read More 👉
A reader recently wrote in with a great question about finding a food-safe fabric for making snack and sandwich bags. She was specifically looking for a laminated cotton fabric that was eco-friendly. In digging to answer this question, I found a ton of information and a few ideas for the safest ways to make reusable snack bags that are at least semi leak proof.
Reader Question: Food Safe Fabric for Sandwich Bags Read More 👉
Instead of wearing cheap, mass-produced, low-quality undergarments that have to be replaced regularly, I’ve found that sewing panties and boxer shorts, for people both big and small, really isn’t that hard. You can sew underwear from your own stash fabric–even scraps, for kids’ underwear!–or from awesome thrifted clothing, and the results are unique, way cheaper than store-bought, and often sturdier, since they can be made from higher-quality fabrics and sewn with care.
To make your own upcycled undergarments, check out these patterns and tutorials from around the web.
What are You Making Under There? Upcycled Underwear Tutorials from Around the Web Read More 👉
Recently, a reader wrote into CAGW asking about felting a different type of wool–a wool tweed jacket, to be specific, but the question applies to all types of wool fabric, other than that which is knitted.
Yes, Virginia, you CAN felt wool fabric!
Reader Question Answered: Felting Wool Fabric (NOT Wool Sweaters!) Read More 👉
It has been positively blustery out there lately, and that chilly weather gets me in the mood to craft with sweaters. Luckily, when the weather gets colder, thrift stores are busting with sweaters, so even if you don’t have any in your stash, you can still find sweaters to upcycle for all sorts of fun, fall-themed projects.
5 Fall Projects to Recycle Old Sweaters Read More 👉
To vat-dye multi-colored silks with clean colors and smooth transitions, there are a few different methods that work. This particular method is one of the easiest, since it blocks off all of the fabric that you’re not currently dyeing, allowing you to vat dye and machine wash as usual.
How-to: Vat Dye Multi-Colored Play Silks and Silk Scarves Read More 👉
We talked yesterday about the dirty side of conventional cotton, but what’s a green crafter to do?
Cotton has some really great marketing behind it, but conventional cotton has some dirty secrets.
Cotton: The Dirty Truth about “The Fabric of our Lives” Read More 👉
If you’re dreaming about a new way to organize your fabric, check out these five storage solutions that are constructed from eco-friendly upcycled materials.
Organize your fabric stash into a neat, ordered, uniform collection using recycled cardboard record album covers.
How-to: Upcycle Cardboard Record Album Covers for Fabric Storage Read More 👉
