How to reuse cotton clothing for future sewing supplies

Do you love the look of quilting but you just can't afford the fabric to make the quilt. With the cost of EVERYTHING rising for no apparent reason this is a way to use what you have in your closet to make something that you can use for quilting supplies to save money!

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Used cotton clothing
• Basic sewing supplies
• Scissors
• Creative imagination

1. 
   Save your clothes

   To reuse cotton clothing for a quilt or another project is quite easy to do since all you have to worry about it removing all the seams, buttons and collars. But many women have a hard time identifying different types of cotton for example: 50% cotton/ 50% polyester, 50% ramie/ 50% cotton and many other combinations that are out there on the market currently.

2. 
   How tight?

   One thing that most people don't realize is that you need to also examine the garment to see how tight or loose the garment weave is. This an important detail because each individual weave of fabric has a specific purpose for it that it CAN and CAN'T do. Tight cotton weaves are wonderful for piecing for a quilt while a loose weave can work wonderfully for a large squared t-shirt quilt. Both types are beautiful and useful at the same time.

3. 
   Write notes

   Once that is all said and done, it is a good idea to learn the differences between the types of weaves and cotton combinations that are out there by making yourself a small notebook so that you can teach yourself the different types before you start on a project.

4. 
   Save them all!

   First off, remove all the buttons off the garment. Save those for future projects that you might need for a blanket or a decorative piece. Some people save buttons and make all sorts of items with them or they sell t heir collections on Ebay to make a few bucks. The humble button is a valued item in today's economy when everything is tight when it comes to sewing supplies.

5. Cut all the garments seams apart that are on the garment. I personally do not keep these seams because I have no use for them but you might feel different, it is all up to you.

6. 
   Easy access!

   Press and cut pieces into standard size shapes. Organize into color families and tie with a ribbon and store for future projects.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't worry if you don't have a sewing machine most cotton squares can sewn by hand with just a few basic skills you can learn very easily.
• Once you have a starter group of squares try branching out to larger or smaller sizes of squares for variation.
• Never cut garments with dull scissors because you can get hurt, always keep your scissors sharp for easy cutting.

Resources

• Salvation Army
• stock xchng