Check out these festive, eco-friendly, handmade ways to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day!
Only in March does being 11% Irish (thanks, Ancestry.com!) feel like a whole vibe. Sometime long ago, one of my stoutly Anglo-Saxon ancestors met one of my (probably even stouter, sigh) Irish ancestors, likely because he was chasing her, and, well… here I am 300 years later, with an affinity for potatoes, hair that’s curly when it’s wet, and a genetic distrust of authority that has never, ever, EVER been proven wrong.
But hey–let’s forget potato famines and forced colonization and religious intolerance for just a few weeks, because we have beer to drink and pots of gold to find and 11% Irish middle-aged women to kiss!
Here, then, are some of my favorite eco-friendly crafts to celebrate St. Patrick’s Day:
Crocheted Shamrock
Because these shamrocks are so small, this is a great chance to use up some of your smaller yarn scraps. I know shamrocks are technically green, but I think it would be super cute to crochet a rainbow of shamrocks and turn them into a bunting.
Mini Shamrock Banner
The original tutorial calls for felt, but this mini banner project is a great opportunity to experiment with mixed media. Not only can you play with all kinds of fabrics, from denim to fleece to burlap, but most papers can also be hand-embroidered. And if all else fails, just glue it!
Shamrock Mason Jars
Although the original tutorial calls for proper Mason jars, you can use any glass jar or bottle that has decorative embossing for this project. I think that a vintage Sprite bottle would look so pretty here!
Upcycled T-shirt Skirt
Once you know how to sew a simple skirt from a T-shirt, you’re going to realize that you’ve got almost-instant holiday clothes for every occasion! I really like to upcycle tie-dyed T-shirts or shirts from random sports teams into skirts.
Green Heart Clothespin Art
I LOVE a multi-use holiday decoration, and this is one that can easily take you from Valentine’s Day straight through St. Patrick’s Day. The original tutorial calls for paint chips, but unless these are for discontinued paint colors or are otherwise being discarded by the hardware store, paint chips are NOT an eco-friendly craft supply! Instead, use different colors of cardstock, magazine pages, food packaging, etc., or hand-color the hearts in different shades of green. For bonus points, do the back sides in pinks and reds and whites so you can simply switch them between holidays!
Clover Quilt Block
I don’t think I’d be up to sewing an entire St. Patrick’s Day quilt (I say as I am literally in the process of sewing a quilted St. Patrick’s Day table runner, ahem…), but this cute quilt block would also make a perfect decorative pillowcase! I love how all the green novelty print fabrics can come out to play in this quilt block.
Shamrock Hair Clips
The original tutorial calls for craft felt, but don’t go out and buy it if you don’t already have it, because polyester craft felt isn’t eco-friendly. If you want to buy new, choose wool felt or Eco-fi felt made from recycled polyester. However, because this clip won’t be washed, the most eco-friendly solution is to any fabric you already have on hand. Fleece would give the closest look to felt, but quilting cotton has a ton of variety.
Shamrock Table Runner
This pretty table runner looks complicated, but the secret is that those beautifully pieced shamrocks are appliqued onto the background!
Irish Flag Painted Mason Jars
I think that this would make a very festive children’s craft. Add some sneaky geography enrichment to that class party!
Leg Warmers from Socks
Little leg warmers from knee socks is a sewing project that works for any holiday that also produces novelty knee socks, lol! If you’re a planner and love a deal, you can snag next year’s little leg warmers from this year’s post-holiday clearance bins.
Quilled Paper Shamrock
Quilling involves a bit of a learning curve, so I love to have my mental toolbox stocked with lots of high-interest beginner projects to teach the craft. Beginning quillers, even young ones, can easily figure out the process to make this simple–but cute!–shamrock for St. Patrick’s Day.
Scrappy Shamrock Stuffie
Need a quick gift for a little leprechaun? This simple stuffie is easy to make, and lets you use up all your littlest green fabric scraps! You can make this quick stuffie any size you want, but don’t forget that the larger it is, the more stuffing you’ll need.
P.S. Want even more eco-friendly crafts for St. Patrick’s Day? Here you go!
Iām looking for instructions to make the greenhouse from clear plastic bottles