Artigianati.com » RECYCLING

10 Ways to Craft with Old Sweaters

artigianati — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 15:36:05 +0000

by Caley Walsh

You likely have some sweaters thrown in the back of your closet, damaged with a stain, moth hole or two. Instead of tossing old and unused sweaters, turn them into something new and completely loveable. You can also look for inexpensive sweaters at the thrift store. Crafting with old sweaters saves money on craft materials and helps to reduce your household waste.

Yarn- If you knit, crochet or even weave, salvage the yarn from an old sweater to use in a new project. Find a seam in the sweater and carefully snip one of the seam stitches with a pair of very sharp scissors. Use a blunt needle to lift out the seam stitches, snipping the seam yarn for each. For a knit sweater, you want to unravel the yarn from the cast off edge, generally at the top of the sweater since sweaters are made from the bottom up. Start ripping from the last cast off stitch and carefully wind the yarn into a ball as you go. You should end up with four or more balls of yarn from the different sweater pieces. Here’s how to wind an easy center-pull ball of yarn.

Felt- Sweaters that are at least 20% wool can be felted in your washing machine. 100% wool sweaters will give a sturdier felt for different crafts. Make sure the sweater has not been treated to make it washable, such as “superwash, ” as these will not felt. Throw the sweater into a zippered delicates bag and wash on high heat. Dry on high heat, cleaning the lint trap frequently. Some sweaters require more than one wash and dry to fully felt. The sweater will eventually shrink dramatically and will be ready to cut apart!

Pillows- Use a pillow form to help you measure and mark the size for your throw pillow on the old sweater. You need a sewing machine for this project or a bit of patience with hand sewing. Follow this tutorial to create Recycled Sweater Pillows.

Potholders- Stitch several layers of the old sweater together and add binding or trim around the edges to create potholders. You can also use thick quilt batting to fill the inside of your upcycled sweater potholder.

Plastic Bag Holder- Have a dog you need to clean up after on walks? Use the sleeve of an older sweater to create a handy plastic bag holder to hang from a door. The stretchy wrist end is perfect for the bottom and you don’t even need to stitch it closed. Just cut the shoulder seam and sew a neater edge. You can add embellishments such as ric-rac at the edges or cut out “Dog Walk” in fabric letters and appliqué to the sweater sleeve. Loop a piece of elastic and sew to the top to hang from a door.

Brooches- A brooch adds instant style to any jacket, sweater or bag. Either felt the sweater first to prevent unraveling or double-stitch a flower shape with your sewing machine. Use a fabric pencil to mark a simple floral design and double stitch over this design. Cut out the shape at least 1 cm away from the stitch line. Stitch and cut out another floral shape slightly smaller than the first. Layer the two flowers and sew together with an interesting button.

Coffee Cup Sleeves or Water Bottle Cozies- Cut a band in your old sweater sleeve to make a coffee cup sleeve, or use a larger piece of the sleeve for a water bottle cozy. You can felt the sweater first to make a more solid material fit for embroidery and other embellishing.

Paper Craft- Cut out small pieces of wool for embellishing scrapbook pages or handmade cards. Cut out letters or even tiny sweater or scarf shapes for autumn. Make a wonderfully textured tree with an old fuzzy angora sweater.

Blanket or Quilt- If you have several old sweaters, turn them into lovely blanket or quilt. You can cut the sweaters into blocks or varying shapes, and even use the ribbing for the edges of the blanket. Check out this photo tutorial on quilt piece cutting for help. Some sweaters may be too thick for the sewing machine, so you will have to pin and hand-sew pieces together with right sides facing and ½ inch seam allowance. If seams do not lay flat after steam-ironing, hand-stitch seams to back of the blanket. Thinner sweaters can be sewn with the sewing machine and can be given a fabric backing.

Toys- Whether felted or not, old sweaters are a great material for making toys or stuffed animals. Create a puppet with the sleeve of a sweater. Hem the cut edge to prevent fraying. To make the head of the puppet, you can simply sew the cuff together straight across or trim a curved line and sew. For a puppet with hair, gather a few inches of the cuff and weave the thread back and forth. Pull tight and secure the thread. Cut off some of the gathered cuff to leave fuzzy hair.

SOURCE _ http://www.favecrafts.com/Green-Crafting/10-Ways-to-Craft-with-Old-Sweaters

First Oakland Fiber and Textile Festival Arrives

artigianati — Wed, 23 Jun 2010 20:11:27 +0000

Old plastic bottles woven into a new use.

by Pamela Drake

Local artisans and craftspeople representing all the fiber arts will show their wares during the first annual Oakland Fiber & Textile Festival will take place this Sunday, June 27, at the Splash Pad Park, along Lake Park Ave, between Grand Ave and Lakeshore Ave.

Fiber enthusiasts will demonstrate crafts such as knitting, spinning and weaving, and the fiber-curious of all ages can try their hands at crochet, needlepoint, felting and more at make-and-take tables.

For the complete story visit here.

Jewelry made from trash in Africa finds value

artigianati — Fri, 28 May 2010 17:03:41 +0000

by Candice Shih

It’s not often one will stumble into a fashion design business while working with a charity in Uganda.

But it happened to Kallie Dovel, a 2008 graduate of Vanguard University in Costa Mesa.

Uganda is still recovering in many ways from a civil war, and Dovel met some of the women affected by the bloodshed in a refugee camp in Gulu in 2007.

She noticed they made necklaces from beads rolled from paper and trash and sold them to whoever might pass by.

When Dovel, now 23, returned home, she brought back boxes of the necklaces with her, sold them and sent the money back to these women.

“It got our minds rolling,” said Alli Swanson, a friend and now business partner. “How could we do this?”

Now Dovel, Swanson, Anna Nelson, Brooke Hodges and Jessie Simonson — all recent graduates of Vanguard — run a jewelry and shoe company called 31 Bits.

The name comes from the Bible’s Proverbs 31, which describes a woman providing for her family. The “bits” refers to the bits of paper from which the beads are made.

Having started out with six women in Gulu, 200 miles from Uganda’s capital of Kampala, 31 Bits now employs 60 women......

VOTE NOW On Inhabitat’s 2010 Spring Greening Finalists!

artigianati — Fri, 28 May 2010 13:04:08 +0000

These futuristic and luxurious earrings by APU Design are made from plastic CD trays.

VOTE FOR THIS DESIGN HERE >

See more at - VOTE NOW On Inhabitat’s 2010 Spring Greening Finalists! Crystal Jewelry by APU Design – Inhabitat - Green Design Will Save the World

WomanCraft: Chicago’s Green Social Enterprise

artigianati — Fri, 21 May 2010 17:46:02 +0000

WomanCraft, a social enterprise of Heartland Human Care Services, located in Chicago's North Lawndale neighborhood, uses recycled office paper and reclaimed flowers to create unique, sustainable, handmade paper products, such as wildflower seed notecards, memory books, gift tags, frames and custom wedding invitations.

WomanCraft provides artisan positions and transitional jobs to women facing barriers to employment, so that they may earn income, improve job skills, build a work history and increase economic self-sufficiency.

WomanCraft is a winner of Mayor Daley's GreenWorks Award for environmentally responsible products!

Heartland Alliance for Human Needs and Human Rights champions the human rights and improves the lives of men, women and children who are threatened by poverty or danger. For more than 100 years, the organization has been providing solutions – both through services and policy – that move individuals from crisis to stability and on to success. Heartland Alliance’s work in housing, health care, legal protections and economic security serves more than 100,000 people annually, helping them improve their lives.

Heartland Human Care Services provides the largest Transitional Jobs program in the Chicago region – and is the host agency for the National Transitional Jobs Network.

SOURCE _ http://www.womancraft.net/index.php

How to:Memorabilia Tins

artigianati — Thu, 20 May 2010 22:05:44 +0000

Keep your favorite vacation ephemera, such as maps, menus, and fliers, on display by using them to decorate tins. Begin with a tin, such as a soup can or spice box. Remove any paper labels. Measure the height of the container, and cut a long strip of your paper keepsake to the same height. Wrap the paper around the tin and mark it with about 1/2 inch of overlap. Cut away excess. Attach one end of the paper to the other, using a glue stick.

From Martha Stewart Living, July 2002

Model Citizens show during New York Design Week.

artigianati — Thu, 20 May 2010 16:06:41 +0000

by Mike Chino

Michiel Cornelissen showcased a stunning set of fun and functional bowls that are formed from everyday pencils popped into a mold. We love how each shade is artfully arranged, and the best part is that you can easily pull one out to use it when needed.

The Best Green Designs from Model Citizens 2010

artigianati — Thu, 20 May 2010 15:58:55 +0000

Lauren Vanessa Tickle showcased a stunning necklace composed of carefully cut-out dollar bills. The piece is part of her Value Exploration series, which questions the the value of currency and consumerism.

How to make slippers from jeans

artigianati — Tue, 18 May 2010 16:54:41 +0000

Denim slippers made from an old pair of jeans. Photograph: Nancy Minsky

by Nancy Minsky

Handcrafting old jeans, with style and imagination, can give your wardrobe a burst of fresh fashion without the designer expense.

The appealingly soft textures and faded colours of worn denim make it the perfect fabric to sew into "new" things. So yank those long-forgotten jeans out from the back of your closet and discover what you can create!

If you have intermediate sewing skills then you can easily stitch yourself a pair of proper denim slippers. When you're finished, slip your feet into these soft, soothing slippers and pad around your home feeling lovely and comfy. Or just put your feet up and glow with satisfaction while you gaze at your resourceful - and chic - handiwork.

For instructions go to - http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2010/may/18/how-to-make-slippers-from-jeans

ECO ART: Trashed Beer Cans Become Butterflies in Flight

artigianati — Wed, 12 May 2010 17:43:06 +0000

by Moe Beitiks

When you take a close look at a beer can, you may notice that they have a really nice arc to them. Artist Paul Villinski has taken that same arc and turned it into butterflies in flight. Rescuing crushed beer cans from the streets of New York City, Williams carefully cuts each can and creates a marvelous fluttering array. He states that similar to the life of a butterfly, his process is representative of a cultural conversion all its own exploring “themes of transformation and recovery through metamorphosis.”

+ Paul Villinski

+ Superuse

SOURCE _ http://inhabitat.com/2010/03/20/trashed-beer-cans-become-butterflies-in-flight/