Part two of the @ecotrain Question of the Week revolves around waste and seeing what creative ways can be found to deal these excesses.
In the western world we create unfathomable amounts of waste in clothing. Cheap clothes at almost disposable prices are par for the course, shipped in from producers in other countries whose workers don't even make a living wage. I once asked at a charity shop what they did with the clothes that were stained or damaged and couldn't be sold on and they said that they are collected by a charity which cleans and fixes them as best they can then sends them to poorer countries to be sold low cost to those in poverty. I wondered if that would be to the same people and countries who make them for a pittance in the first place. I feel rather ashamed of this is the case.
So clothing waste is something I'm very conscious of. When something is to worn, stained or damaged to wear, rather than send it to the charity spots I try to salvage as much as I can of it. Buttons and zippers get removed, stained cotton fabrics become rags and dish cloths and the clean fabric is salvaged for other projects. When a button goes missing on an item still in use, then I can usually find a replacement in my collection.
Denim is particularly good for making new, patchwork fabric up.
I can then use this fabric to make other items, such as bags.
With a little creatively and imagination many things can be incorporated into practical new items. Other than thread, I rarely have to buy in anything new for projects like this if I can make something from what I already have.
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Love how the pocket is captured in this patchwork. Does that make it a functional "pocket"?
If so, really well designed :)
Thank you. I can't stand none functioning pockets, so everyone of them functions. However, there is a patch which had the pocket removed from it and it's left behind the original colour in the shape of that pocket. It's the blue one on the large side pocket, so if that's what you're referring to, then sorry, it's an illusion!
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Wow! U made that bag!! This is so cool, and i bet the stitching is good too! Nice job!!
Thank you. I sewed it on my favourite old hand cranked machine. I love it and it has less issues than my modern one. It certainly handles the thick denim better! They made things so much better back in the 50s... or earlier. I don't know exactly how old it is, but there was a sheet of newspaper from the 50s in the bottom when I got it.
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Wow, what a gorgeous bag!!! I can't see a thing.
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Errrm, you can't see or sew? Okay, I'm reckoning sew because I just swyped that and see came up.
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Swyped? 🤣🤣🤣
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Do you not use android? Swype keyboard is a thing. 😁
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That’s just brilliant. I need to get my wife on this platform. She loves doing such things and hates wasting/throwing anything. 👍🏼
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Sounds like she'd fit right in here. 😁 I hope you can talk her into it.
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SUPER Pro job on the bag, @minismallholding!! I'm allergic to patchwork having had it foisted on me by my very thrifty mother, but here in Thailand they crochet the coolest floor and bathroom rugs from thin strips of upcycled fabric. Really nice contribution to the challenge!!! And yes, Chiang Mai, Thailand has 4 HUGE over-sized Bunnings-Home-Depot sized second hand clothing stores (called Tiger Second Hand) which sells second hand clothes from primarily Japan and the USA. To people here who work in factories MAKING that crap but who could never afford it.
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Thank you. I have admit that patchwork isn't something I'm normally attracted to. I refuse to make it from just any fabrics tossed together, but denim I can about cope with and a bag has a use. I'm not sure I could wear it (unless you count when I patch my jeans). I don't think I could just slap any colours together, either.
I think I've seen rugs like that. Not generally something that appeals to me in the living room, but as a bathroom rug, now there's an idea.
I was rather hoping my theory on the second hand clothes was wrong, but I'm not surprised it wasn't. Thank you for confirming that from the other end.
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This is really cool and well made! Love seeing things being recycled given a new lease of life
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Thank you. I do too. Some people can do amazing things with recycling!
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This is really amazing and i think you may want to connect with our @ecodesigns.
Thank you. Taking a look now.
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That is a really cool-looking bag! Discussing bags, I have com to the conclusion that there is no such thing as the perfect bag. Each person and each purpose requires its own shape, size, pockets, etc. So making your own is the best way to meet this specialized need, and using recycled clothes is the most sensible way to do this.
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I believe you're correct. I designed my bag with perfect pockets for my needs. I currently have one I bought, which has lots of sections, but not really suitable and I end up searching through various ones to find what I'm after, they all look so alike! Unfortunately, my homemade one wore out and hubby didn't like it, so I had to buy something he liked or face constant complaining about my "disgusting bag."
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