Reduce, Reuse, Recycle

Although I wouldn't qualify myself by any means as a hippy, I do try to be nice to Mother Earth. I'd say she's done a lot for us, and shouldn't we try to do something in return for her?

So I take reusable bags to the grocery store. When I go shopping I try to combine trips so that I don't take my car out unnecessarily. I'm part of a CSA. Sure, I don't do as much as I could or should, but I do try.

And perhaps I shouldn't kid myself about somethings. I like to tell myself that I did these projects because reusing things is good for the environment, but really I did these projects because I thought it would be fun and a good way to be creative.

So, want to see what I made?

First on the list is a scarf. It was made from the collar of a bolero from the Goodwill. Since I followed the outline already in the sweater it is wider in the middle and narrows at the sides. To be honest is does look a little silly when worn on it's own, but I think it'll look pretty cute under a winter jacket or some such.

Next up is a scarf I made from a sweater I've had forever! I felted the sweater, putting it through the washer and dryer twice and then cut out the squares, triangles, and diamonds based off of my planning, making sure before hand that I'd have enough material to finish the pattern as I wanted.

I laid it out to make sure it was the same length and then blanket stitched the diamonds and triangle side and used the sewing machine (on zigzag) to connect the squares and then connect the back and front.

I decided to make it double sided for added warmth and strength. And voila!

It's a little wide, and a little short, but all in all, I think pretty cute. And look! It's reversible too! (But man, that blanket stitch took me forever!)

Last but not least I made this bag. It's from a sweater I wore at work almost every day for a year or two. My office is freezing, so I left this sweater at work as a safety precaution just in case I ever was cold I'd have something to put on. I wore it until there were holes in the cuff and now it has a new lease on life.

It's a weird shaped bag, made more that way because of the sweater size rather than that's the size I wanted it to be. But it does work really well for carrying hardcover books I found. And story about the handle? It's an old belt I had that was more than on it's last legs.

I did line the bag with material I'd bought two years ago. Putting anything into a knitted ribbed bag, I don't think would have been a great idea. It would have stretched like no one's business. So the cheap cotton was a good idea I think. I also added in a little pocket on the inside. (I really was thinking ahead!)

I'm pretty proud of this bag, not that I think I'll use it much since it doesn't have a zipper (I'm not crazy enough to try sewing that!) but I do think it's cute. And I sewed it. Probably not impressive for anyone else, but it is impressive for me, so I'm happy with it.

And thus ends sweater reusing. At least... for now.