Go Green for Earth Day!

Quilters are some of the most resourceful, green people we know! We are always saving up scraps and asking other quilters for ways we can reduce, reuse, and recycle quilting and sewing materials. We never want to throw anything away if we don’t have to!

In recognition of Earth Day and being green, here are a few ways that we choose to reduce, reuse, and recycle to demonstrate our support for the environment!

Found Fabrics

Found fabric is fabric that you can find . . . anywhere! Make a trip into your closet, into a loved ones closet, to the closest thrift store, or have a stash swap with friends and start cutting up and stitching the fabric back together to create something new and beautiful!

Jean quilts, like the one pictured below, are great found fabric quilts! Take some old jeans, cut them up, and you’ll have a quilt that will last! Bust these out during a camping trip, outdoor sporting event, picnic, or outside play time and they’re perfect for staying warm and dry. The sturdy material won’t pick up dirt and debris as easily as other fabrics can – it’s the perfect outdoor blanket!

Jenny Doan and granddaughter Katie on a jean quilt.
Jenny and granddaughter Katie enjoy some sunshine out on the jean quilt Jenny made years ago!

Jeans are not the only clothing item that can be used as quilting material! Shirts of all kind (T-shirts, plaid shirts, flannel shirts, and more!) are great fabric sources. Who knows, you could find the perfect missing piece for your next project in your very own closet!

T-shirt quilts and memory quilts are perfect ways to hold loved ones and warm memories close for years to come.

Scraps

Don’t let those scraps go to waste! There are plenty of ways to make use of small pieces of fabric.

Do you have tiny scraps from a project that you just can’t bear to throw away? Do you have a stray block sitting around that you don’t know what to do with? Make a pincushion! Those tiny pieces are perfect for stitching together to create a cute new home for your pins – make a new one for your sewing space or make a few and gift them to your quilting friends!

Do you or a loved one have a pet? Make a fabric scrap animal bed! Do you want to use those scraps to make something bigger than a pincushion? Try crumb quilting! There are countless ways to make use of those tiny pieces that we may not think twice about as we sew along on other projects. What is your favorite way to use up scraps?

Re-Purposed Items

Many items around you can be re-purposed into something new. The possibilities are endless!

Do you have a cute little cup or pot that needs a new home? Turn it into a cactus pincushion!

Easy Cactus Pincushion project by the Missouri Star Quilt Company.
Easy Cactus Shaped Pincushion project.

Are you in need of an ironing station closer to your sewing machine? Use a TV tray! Simply grab a heatproof surface such as the Missouri Star Wooly Betty Board to lay on top of the tray and you have the perfect portable ironing station so you can iron as you work! There are so many ways things around us can be re-purposed and transformed into something new. What items have you transformed?

For even more inspiration on how to go Green this Earth Day, check out our Celebrate Issue of BLOCK Magazine! This issue is filled with projects you can stitch up using your small pieces and scraps. Download the digital version and get started on a t-shirt quilt, wall hanging, denim bag buckets, adorable little aprons, and more – today!

Tell us how you go green while quilting in the comments below!

Scrap-Busting Holiday Crafts

It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas in downtown Hamilton! With wreaths and candles in every window, a living tree adorned with lights, ornaments and ribbons, and window displays in all the shops, our little town is overflowing with Christmas cheer!

On Saturday, we celebrated the season with a town-wide Christmas festival, featuring make and take fabric crafts in the Missouri Star Quilt Co. shops. Some of our talented team members showed off their creativity with mug rugs, fabric bracelets, felt poinsettias, fabric scrap ornaments and fabric holiday cards.  

We enjoyed diving into our scrap stash and creating these festive projects so much that we wanted to share with all of our friends far and wide how to create a couple of them as well! Read on to learn how to create our Felt (or Fabric) Poinsettias and Fabric Bracelets.

Fabric Bracelets

Courtenay from our Sewing Center showed us how to create these fashionable fabric scrap bracelets that would be awesome to show off remnants of those most loved fabrics you have in your scrap bin.

Supplies

Cotton clothesline

Strips of fabric (½ inch. 30 inches long)

Hot glue gun or fabric glue (either will work)

Assorted beads and trims

Scissors

Painter’s Tape  

Steps

1. Measure wrist with clothesline. It doesn’t have to be perfect, and be sure to allow a little room to slide the bracelet on and off of your wrist.

2. Tape the two ends of the clothesline together with painters tape to form a ring (make sure you use about a two-inch wide tape, such as painters tape or duct tape to ensure the ring holds).

3. Put a small bead of hot glue to one end of the fabric strip.

4. Start wrapping the bracelet.

5. Once you are finished wrapping the entire ring with fabric, add another bead of glue at the end of the fabric strip to secure it on the clothesline

6. Embellish as desired. Courtenay added a thin metallic cord or thin craft wire to her bracelet. Just add a dot of glue to one end and start wrapping it around like the fabric and voila, a fashionable fabric bracelet!

You may have noticed that we filmed a Facebook Live of Courtenay creating these darling accessories, and you can watch the video below or on our Quilting Deals Facebook page!

 

Felt or Fabric Poinsettias

Heidi, a member of our Product & Sales Team, and who you may recognize from our Facebook Live videos created lovely Felt Poinsettias in the Main Shop. She used felt and a Sizzix Fabi machine along with a circle die cutter to make these beauties, and was inspired by the DIY Candy tutorial that you can view here.

We recreated the poinsettia ornament using some leftover batiks from another project. You don’t need very much fabric to make this, and although we used Christmas-themed fabric, we would love to see these flowers made in other colors too!

Supplies:

Fabric or felt (2 colors preferably)

Jute, twine or string

A circle template (we used the bottom of a spool of thread)

Scissors

Buttons

Hot glue gun

Mini orange peel template

 

Steps

1. Cut out 18 circles from one of the fabrics. We used 16 circles to create the petals and 2 more in later steps. Depending on the size of your circle you may need more or fewer than the number we used.You can use a Sizzix like Heidi did, but we traced our circles and cut them out with a pair of fabric scissors.

2. Fold the right side of one circle over to the left side to create a cone shape. You will alternate folding one side to the other, so left to right and then right to left to create the petals. Be sure to keep the end of cone fairly tight, and add a small dot of hot glue to secure it. 

3. Arrange the petals in a circle shape to make sure you have enough to make a flower.

4. Glue the petals together, and be sure to use as little of glue as possible.

5. Turn the petals over and glue a fabric circle to the back to add stability to the flower.

6. Using a mini orange peel template, cut out two leaves and glue them to the back of the flower.

7. Cut off a 6 to 8 inch piece of jute, string or ribbon, create a loop and glue it to the back of the flower. Using the last circle cut out, cover the glued ends of the string on the back of the poinsettia.

8. Turn the poinsettia over and glue buttons or a small circle of fabric to create the center of the flower, there you have it, a fabulous fabric poinsettia ready to adorn a Christmas tree!

All of us from Missouri Star Quilt Co. want to wish you happy holidays and a very Merry Christmas! We hope you enjoy these fun, fast and festive fabric scrap projects!

Be sure to share your scrab-busting holiday crafts with us on social media using #msqcshowandtell!