Fabulous Fabrics: A Year in Review

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mod green pod fabrics It’s been quite a year here on Crafting a Green World. We’ve learned so much about crafting, reuse, upcycling and how and where to find environmentally friendly supplies. In this column we’ve highlighted some of the leaders in the organic textile movement and found a myriad of fabric options for your eco-friendly crafting needs.

I’d thought I would take a look back over the past year and round up all the great fabric finds for your easy reading pleasure. We discussed why there aren’t more men in organic and sustainable fibers, pondered why bamboo, isn’t so fabulous, and jumped up and down over the prospect that Spoonflower was considering offering organic cotton.

We also reviewed what mainstream stores offer in the way of organic and earth friendly textiles, swore that fabric made from cassette tapes, was not an April fools joke, and learned how to dye fabric with a recipe for natural, non-toxic dye.

We plan to continue to dig up the best in fabulous eco-fabrics for you in 2009, so stay tuned in the new year. Now, on to our textile discoveries from 2008!

Cotton

We’ve found a plethora of organic cottons for you to choose from:

Hemp:

Need to break out of a cotton rut? Hemp’s got you covered:

Prints

Perfect for when your crafting needs a little spice:

Not quite Fabric

It might not be the pure definition of fabric but it can act like it:

Miscellaneous fibers

Can’t choose organic cotton over linen over a silk blend? You don’t have to!

Written by Kelly Rand

Kelly covers visual arts in and around Washington, DC for DCist and is editor of Crafting a Green World. Kelly has also been published by Bust Magazine and you can find her byline at Indie Fixx and Etsy’s Storque and has taught in Etsy’s virtual lab on the topic of green crafting.

Kelly helps organize Crafty Bastards: Arts and Crafts Fair, one of the largest indie craft fairs on the east coast and has served on the Craft Bastard’s jury since 2007. Kelly is also co-founder of Hello Craft a nonprofit trade association dedicated to the advancement of independent crafters and the handmade movement. Kelly resides in Washington, D.C. and believes that handmade will save the world.

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