Burda Style For people who sew

Hey Everyone,
Katherine Bell has come out with an amazing new book called Quilting for Peace full of great projects and ideas. Check out her book here from STC Craft / Melanie Falick Books! She has also been kind enough to share her 30-Minute Shopping Bag pattern with all of us.

Recycling fabric into quilts and other useful things to give away helps not only the people who receive the gifts, but the rest of us as well. The average American throws away more than 60 pounds of fabric a year, and discarded textiles take up four percent of our landfills. A quarter of the insecticides used globally each year are used on cotton crops, so growing new cotton to replace what we’ve thrown away is also bad for the environment. The resourceful crafters I interviewed for Quilting for Peace have found many sources of free fabric to use in their projects. Here are a few:

Intercept clothes on their way to Goodwill
Ask friends and coworkers to give used clothing to you instead of Goodwill (or your local charity shop or op shop). Cotton shirting fabrics – solids, stripes, plaids, etc – are perfect for quilting projects. Corduroy is great for tote bags and to add a bit of texture to patchwork.

Help quilters replenish their stashes
Put up a sign in your local quilt store asking for fabric donations. Most quilters buy far more fabric than they can possibly use. Deciding to give some away makes them feel less guilty when they’re in the middle of buying more.

Seek professional help
The textile, clothing, and interior design industries throw away a huge amount of fabric. Contact fabric companies, clothing manufacturers, and design showrooms and ask for donations of samples, offcuts, or discontinued materials. Fabric and sewing supply companies may be willing to donate materials in return for publicity too.

Don’t forget sheets
Sheets softened by use make great quilt backs or whole-cloth quilts. Hotels are required by law to replace bed linen on a regular basis. Some regularly donate “gently used” sheets to homeless shelters; it’s worth asking if they’ll save you a few. A friend recently upgraded from a queen to a king bed and gave me three sets of perfectly good sheets to use for the Sleeping Bag Project.

Find a craft supply junkyard
In some cities, nonprofit groups collect art supplies — including textiles — and redistribute them to schools, artists, and volunteer crafters. In New York City, for example, Material for the Arts (http://www.mfta.org) has a warehouse full of amazing materials. In San Francisco, there’s SCRAP: Scroungers’ Center for Reusable Art Parts. Freecycle and craigslist are also good sources.

If you don’t have time to make a whole quilt, you can still craft for a good cause. Here are a few ideas:

Stitch a softie. A handmade toy is a great gift for a kid who needs comfort. Mirabel the Owl on page 85 of Quilting for Peace may be made out of scraps, but she has plenty of personality.
Whip up a shopping bag. With a little practice, you can make a simple tote bag out of recycled fabric in less than half an hour. Found here and on page 106
Sew a baby bib. You can finish the bib and burp cloth on page 76 in a couple of hours. If you make them out of plain fabric instead of patchwork, they’re even faster.

For a list of organizations that quilt for peace, justice, change, the environment, and just about anyone in need of comfort, go to www.quiltingforpeace.com/get-involved/