Every Last Scrap

This is a quick overview of twelve existing techniques for repairing, repurposing, and recycling existing fabric. I describe the general techniques and equipment, plus examples of when you might use each; you can pick up the basics from the suggested books, YouTube videos, or web tutorials. You can add greater skill and additional refinements with practice and further research. Also, your local fabric or yarn store may also offer classes, or know where willing teachers might be found.

Why Conserve?

Decorative fabric arts are enjoying a rise in popularity, with new techniques and equipment, books and classes. We know how to make our clothes, accessories, and home furnishings look creative, stylish, and individual. We have the choice to make it from scratch or buy ready-made supplies, to replace our wardrobes on a whim, and to fill our closets with options.

As long as the inexpensive supplies keep coming, it's business as usual. When imports are less frequent, however, we'll probably want to make sure we get the most out of our existing fabric, because it's time-consuming to make items from scratch. We can practice these skills ahead of time, as there is a learning curve and sometimes specialized equipment.

As energy availability declines, the way we use our fabric may also change dramatically. Fitted, fashionable clothing could be less important than useful clothing that provides warmth, sunscreen, or protection from skin damage. Our options may become more limited due to budget, storage, or seasonal availability. Perhaps highly-skilled weavers and tailors will become common once again; however, all of us could benefit from simple strategies to stretch our fabric assets.

By the way, it can take a lot of time, skill, or effort to make your repairs invisible, or make your repurposed/handmade clothing look as if it were made by a machine. Instead, I recommend that you enjoy what the Japanese call 'the beauty of practicality' (yuyo-no-bi).

Types of Fabric

Many of these techniques apply to more than one type of fabric, and some to only one type in particular. For instance, you wouldn't use reknitting techniques on a cotton t-shirt or jersey skirt. In this paper, I will use the following terms to make differences clearer:

fabric

Thread or yarn joined together to make a continuous piece; could be woven or knit
cloth: Fabric made with fine thread or yarn; relatively stable (you cannot easily move individual threads around); could be woven or machine-knit
knitted item: Fabric with easily visible knitting stitches; could be handknit

Any number of general sewing or knitting books explain the functional differences between types of fiber (cotton, wool, silk, linen, etc.), which may be useful.

Repair It: Mending, Darning, Reknitting, and Patching

"A stitch in time saves nine"; otherwise known as fixing small holes before they get big. If you take the time to inspect your clothes after you wear them, and set aside some hours each day, week, or month to keep them in good repair, you can avoid larger problems that take more time and resources to fix.

Mending: Sewing it up

Good for: Small or linear tears, loose or detached buttons, frayed buttonholes

Not so good for: Medium to large holes

Fiber: cloth or knitted item

Tools/supplies: Needle; sewing thread for cloth (polyester/cotton blend is common, white/grey/black can work for most items) or yarn for knitted items; scissors; pins (optional)

Prices: Inexpensive for a simple sewing kit, or minimal supplies

Techniques:

Tears. Use needle and thread, and the basic running stitch, to sew a folded tear together, end to end.

Loose or detached buttons. Use needle and thread to connect the button to the fabric, several times for strength.

Frayed buttonholes. Use needle and thread, and the basic running stitch, to outline the frayed buttonhole. Then, use a blanket stitch to cover the inside of the buttonhole.

Darning: Weaving over a hole

Good for: Small to medium holes

Not good for: Large holes, holes on the sole of a sock where the edges need to be smooth

Fiber: cloth or knitted item

Tools/supplies: Darning needle (larger than a sewing needle, with a large eye); scissors; darning egg (or other moderately hard, smooth-sided object that can be slipped inside the garment to support the darning in progress; wooden Easter eggs work, or smooth-sided small jars or small, conventional light bulbs); embroidery thread or fine yarn (match as closely as possible to clothing in color and thickness)

Prices: Inexpensive for minimal supplies

Technique: Use needle and yarn to outline the hole for stability, then create horizontal rows to cover the hole. Turn the fabric sideways and weave the remaining yarn over and under the first set of rows until the entire hole is covered.

Reknitting: Grafting or picking up stitches

Good for: Repairing any size hole in knitted clothing

Not good for: Nonknitted items

Fiber: Knitted item

Tools/supplies: Knitting needles, double-pointed (small enough in diameter to avoid stretching the existing stitches); darning needle; crochet hook; scissors; matching or complementary yarn (try to match the diameter of the existing yarn); contrasting color of thread

Prices: Inexpensive for minimal supplies; knitting needles come in a range of affordability

Techniques:

Grafting. For holes no deeper than one row and less than eight stitches wide. Use the Kitchener technique, or another method of pulling yarn through the loops to mimic regular knitting.

Weaving. For holes of 2-4 rows and less than eight stitches wide. Use a darning needle and thread to graft the top and bottom stitches loosely, then weave one length of yarn per row over and under the thread, alternating rows. Use a crochet hook to chain all the stitches up to the top. Graft the last row to the top of the hole.

Duplicate stitch. For reinforcing weak areas or covering small holes. Use a darning needle and yarn to follow the path of stitches around the area, including a margin of several stitches all around.

Reknitting. For holes of more than four rows or more than eight stitches wide. Secure the loose ends around the hole. Use a double-pointed needle to pick up and knit the stitches at the lower edge of the hole and either pick up stitches on either side as you go, or leave the sides and seam them to your new knitting later. Graft the last row to the top of the hole.

Patching: Covering it over

Good for: Large holes, pre-emptive protection on knees and elbows of garments

Not so good for: Tiny holes

Fiber: cloth or knitted item

Tools/supplies: Needle; sewing thread (polyester/cotton blend is common, white/grey/black can work for most items); scissors; small pieces of matching or complementing cloth cut (match or exceed the durability of the original fabric, or you'll be patching again very soon.)

Prices: Inexpensive for a simple sewing kit, or minimal supplies

Technique: Cut a square, rectangular, or circular patch to cover the hole, plus about an 1/2" extra all around for optional hemming (so it will not fray or unravel). Use needle and thread to sew a basic running or hemming stitch all the way around the edge of the patch, twice around for strength. See Appendix A for an example of patching raised to an art form, with Japanese boro fabric.

Reuse It: Altering, Repurposing, Felting, and Quilting

The next stage in conserving fabric is modifying an item so you can continue to use it. Lengthening or shortening a sleeve, letting out a waistband, or raising or lowering a hem are all useful applications. Or maybe the garment doesn't fit at all, in which case you might consider whether you can make it into something else. A pair of men's pants could turn into shorts or a skirt, a coat into a vest, or a flannel shirt into pajamas. There are endless possibilities.

Altering: Making clothes fit better

Good for: Making large clothes smaller or small clothes larger

Not so good for: Too great a change in either direction

Fiber: Cloth or knitted item

Tools/supplies: Needle; sewing thread (polyester/cotton blend is common, white/grey/black can work for most items); scissors; Optional: additional matching or complementary fabric

Prices: Inexpensive for a simple sewing kit, or minimal supplies; inexpensive for used clothing

Techniques:

Shortening. Turn your item inside out, fold over any raw edges, fold your fabric edge up to the desired length, and pin. You can also cut off excess fabric and use it elsewhere. Use needle and thread, and the overhand, hemming, or running stitch, to sew the folded edge.

Lengthening. Turn your item inside out, and unpick any hem seams. Fold over any raw edges, and sew a new smaller hem with the overhand, hemming, or running stitch, or sew on a new strip of matching or complementary fabric (matching fabric could be taken from another location on the same garment).

Repurposing: Turning one thing into another

Good for: Converting an item into one or more other types of items

Not so good for: Keeping sizes the same (there's some loss involved in transformation)

Fiber: Cloth or knitted items

Tools/supplies: Needle; sewing thread (polyester/cotton blend is common, white/grey/black can work for most items); scissors; pins; additional matching or complementary fabric (optional)

Prices: Inexpensive for a simple sewing kit, or minimal supplies; inexpensive for used clothing

Technique: Depending on what you plan to make, it can help to unpick some or all of the seams and lay the item out flat for planning, cutting, or pinning. Use pattern pieces (commercial or handmade with brown paper bags), other much-loved clothing, someone's measurements, or your imagination to create something new. Consider using one garment to make multiple items, such as a sweater that could provide leggings, a vest, and wrist warmers (or diaper covers, mittens, and a hat). Use multiple items to create one new piece of clothing, such as several pairs of wool pants that become a single warm coat. Other fiber techniques such as felting, quilting, and weaving can also be of use here.

Felting: Thickening and strengthening

Good for: Making something stronger or warmer

Not so good for: Keeping it the same size (you can easily lose up to 30% when the fabric shrinks)

Fiber: Any wool fabric, with the following caveats

Some percentage of synthetic fiber will prevent felting; but you need to experiment to find the exact percentage for each blended fiber

Wool that has been treated to remove scales, such as superwash yarns, may not felt

Wool fabric that has already been fulled or felted will not continue to felt further

Tools/supplies: Hot water and soap; a method of agitation (washer, plunger, hands); rinse buckets or sink; towels or place to air-dry

Prices: Inexpensive for used clothing; the other equipment is not specialized

Technique: Wash your wool knit in hot soapy water with plenty of agitation. Check the item frequently to see if it is the size or texture you want to end up with. Shocking the wool with dramatic changes of temperature (hot to cold) will also felt it. Rinse, press out extra moisture by rolling the item in towels (optional), and let dry. You can stretch the result out a bit again with a hot iron, or by stretching while wet but the fibers have locked together and there is a limit to the stretch available.

Quilting: Layering and insulating

Good for: Creating thicker clothing or blankets

Not so good for: A hot climate

Fiber: Any cloth, but generally light to moderate-weight cloth, in pieces no smaller than 2" (suggested) and up to 1" larger than the desired size (to allow for seams); the total amount should be at least twice the size of the finished result, depending on the number of layers

Tools/supplies: Needle; sewing thread (polyester/cotton blend is common, white/grey/black can work for most items); scissors; pins

Prices: Inexpensive for a simple sewing kit, or minimal supplies; more or less expensive depending on your source or type of cloth

Technique: You can prepare a top layer by sewing smaller pieces of cloth together; there are hundreds if not thousands of traditional patterns for doing so, but simply sewing everything together as it comes to hand (also known as crazy-quilting) is a viable option. Your top layer can also be a single piece of cloth, either yardage or a finished garment; same for the bottom layer. Pin your top and bottom layers together, along with an optional insulation layer of cloth or batting. With a threaded needle, stitch through all the layers and use your stitch of choice to cover the item. The object is to keep the layers from shifting around, and getting out of alignment.

Don't stitch too closely together unless you are also stitching to strengthen the cloth (in a vulnerable location, or where the weave is weak). You can also draw loops of yarn through the layers at regular intervals and tie them off instead of stitching the quilt (also known as tying a quilt). See Appendix A for an example of quilting stitching used for strengthening and decorating, in Japanese sashiko.

Recycle It: Deconstructing, Spinning, Twining, and Weaving

When all other options are less desirable, you can still conserve your fabric in many ways, some of which involve breaking it down into smaller components and then combining them again. You can also change the texture or thickness, to make it more useful for a specific purpose such as keeping you warm or protected from the elements.

Deconstructing: Breaking it down to smaller pieces

Good for: Breaking down worn fabric to more usable parts

Not so good for: Situations in which time is limited

Fiber: Cloth or knitted item

Tools/supplies: Scissors; seam ripper (optional); rotary cutter (optional); cutting mat (optional)

Prices: Inexpensive for used clothing, more expensive for the rotary cutter and mat

Techniques:

Unraveling (knits). Turn your knitted item inside out and look at the seams. If they are machine-sewn, you may be better off shredding and not trying to get a continuous length of yarn; try to take a seam apart and see how it looks. If they are mattress-sewn (zigzag between pieces), then gently pull two pieces apart near an edge and cut one part of the zigzag connected thread. Gently pull on the loose thread and try to get it to unravel in either direction. Cut more threads carefully, if you need to. Undo all the seams. Figure out which is the end of the piece (a knowledge of knitting is helpful here but many sweaters are worked from the bottom up), and unknot the end of the bound-off yarn. Pull loose and wind into a ball. If there are no seams, find the end of the piece and unknot the end of the bound-off yarn. After you're done, you can wind the yarn into one or more skeins, then wash and air-dry. This helps the yarn relax again, and reduces some of the kinkiness.

Stripping (cloth). Undo any seams. Use a rotary cutter, scissors, or ripping to create strips of cloth. The width of the strip depends on what you want to make. Thick strips are good for rugs; thinner strips make better blankets, vests or coats. See also the weaving and SAORI sections.

Garnetting (cloth or knits). For smaller pieces of cloth or knits, or where the other deconstructing techniques won't work, you can use a rotary cutter, scissors, or other cutting implements to shred the fiber into much smaller pieces. The results can be used to stuff casing for rugs or trim, to stuff pillows, or to provide insulation in layers. You can also add shreds to your handspinning for color and texture.

Spinning: Making new yarn

Good for: Merging fibers for new yarn, making thicker yarn, adding color or texture (and using up scraps)

Not so good for: Quick solutions

Fiber: Small shreds of cloth less than 1/2"; small scraps of yarn or thread; single-plied yarn

Tools/supplies: Spindle or spinning wheel; hand carders or drum carder; additional clean fiber to spin

Prices: inexpensive for drop spindle; more expensive for a wheel or carders

Techniques:

Additions. Use your garneted or scrap fiber and add to the wool during carding or drafting (a pinch at a time). The spinning process will lock in the scraps so they won't fall out. If you are using multiple additions, you can mix up your colors so that you get a consistent colorway, or keep them separate to have a variegated colorway.

Plying. Combine individual lengths of yarn or thread and spin them together to create a new color, texture, or thickness. Ply the opposite of the way the originals were spun; if you are unsure, try plying with a z-twist as most modern fibers are spun with an s-twist. Look at the way the fibers move in the finished yarn; the twist shows up as left-leaning (s) or right-leaning (z). You can ply a single yarn by chaining the yarn as you draft it (like a crochet chain). This method is usually called Navajo plying.

Twining: Twisting it up

Good for: Making rugs, mats, or baskets

Not so good for: Small items

Fiber: Strips of cloth, yarn (worsted or bulkier)

Tools/supplies: Needle; strong sewing thread (polyester/cotton blend is common, white/grey/black), or twine; scissors; lucet hook (optional); bulldog clip (optional)

Prices: Inexpensive for minimal supplies

Techniques:

Twining. Take four thin strands of cloth or yarn and tie a knot at one end. Separate into two groups of two and hold the end-knot in one hand while twisting one group of two away from the other, crossing the groups, and then twisting the second group away from the first. This makes a strong cord that can be coiled or sewn line by line into rugs, mats, or baskets; you can even use it as a drawstring, lacing cord, or decorative trim (couched or sewn on).

Braiding. Take three strands of cloth or yarn and tie a knot at one end. Holding the end-knot in one hand or securing it with a bulldog clip or clipboard, cross an outer strand over the middle strand and repeat with the other side. Thicker braids are easy to sew in rounds or ovals to make a rug, mat, or basket. To curve the beginning section quickly, cross the right outer strand over the middle several times in a row before moving to the other side.

Luceting. Use the lucet hook, wind yarn around the horns, and layer the loops to make knots in the middle. This makes a strong, slightly elastic cord that can be used it as a drawstring, lacing cord, or decorative trim (couched or sewn on).

Weaving: Layering in rows

Good for: Rugs, thick cloth for outdoors or cold weather, small patches, regular cloth

Not so good for: Fibers that are scarce or that you consider precious (there's a certain amount of loom waste)

Fiber: Strips of cloth, yarn of all thicknesses

Tools/supplies: Loom; shuttle; warp (strips of strong cloth or yarn); weft/woof (strips of cloth, scraps of yarn, or continuous yarn); scissors

Prices: Inexpensive for small looms (such as 'potholder' looms) or homemade versions; more expensive for table or floor looms

Technique: This is a complicated craft with many options. The important part to note for this paper is that weaving can be a good way to use random lengths of cloth or yarn to make new fabric out of old. You may also want to explore loom-shaped clothing; when I weave my own cloth, I don't want to leave half of it on the cutting room floor. There are many ways to drape and shape functional and decorative clothing without cutting out small pattern pieces from a length of fabric. See Appendix A for an example of free weaving with Japanese SAORI.

More Exploration Needed

This is only a brief overview of some fabric techniques that will help us conserve the fabric we use and enjoy. I didn't even cover washing, ironing, or storage options, which are also essential for long-term fabric care. You can use the keywords in this paper to look online for more information (URLS are not listed here for the lack of graceful degradability), as well as finding more books than the ones I listed.

Other countries have their own fiber traditions and crafts, such as Swedish trasmattor (rag rug weaving) and Ghanaian kente cloth (narrow-width weaving); I urge you to explore whichever ones interest you, and preserve the skills and tools needed now so that we may pass to our children's children the rich legacy we have available. When we value something, we take good care of it. It would be nice if we valued something that was so useful to us, and helped us express ourselves so colorfully, as our fabric.

Appendix A: Fiber Conservation Techniques from Japan

This section lists a brief description of some techniques from Japan that currently interest me; there are many others that I have not explored yet. In Japanese, mottainai means 'too good to waste', and I've enjoyed learning about other cultural traditions of frugality and conservation.

BORO: The Japanese art of patching

Boro describes clothing or household items that are patched and repaired many times. Eighteenth century hemp farmers in the north of Japan were so impoverished that scraps of cotton fabric meant wealth. Several families would band together to buy a bale of rags from south Japan where cotton was grown and used more widely. After washing the filthy rags with rice-washing water, the wives would patch their families' hemp kimonos, [coats], futon covers, anything that needed more layers or more strength—and they used their precious scraps to beautiful effect, along with patterned sashiko stitching for strength in quilting layers together for warmth. Because the fabrics were mostly indigo-dyed and the sashiko stitches white, multiple patches with different patterns came together harmoniously. Often, a woman's dowry was the bag of cotton scraps she brought with her. For many years, boro items were dismissed as embarrassingly low-status in but several books based on collector enthusiasm and some galleries are re-creating boro as an art form, one that might lose connection to its humble roots for a time.

SASHIKO: The Japanese art of quilt-stitching

Like the boro technique described above, sashiko started out with humble roots, as a way to join layers of fabric together for warmth or strength using white thread and many parallel lines of running stitches. White thread shows up beautifully on indigo-dyed cloth. Perhaps early sashiko weavers made a virtue of necessity and created the traditional patterns (waves, diamonds, and leaves are just a few examples) to call some beauty into their lives. Look at less-recent examples, where the stitches are often uneven and irregularly spaced, instead of books on machine-made sashiko.

SAKIORI: The Japanese art of rag weaving

Many cultures have a tradition of rag weaving, mostly for blankets and rugs. Some of what makes sakiori different is the use of really thin strips, the creation of varied clothing items such as obi (formal ornamental kimono sashes) and hanten (casual coats), and the painting with color. Many sakiori weavers have elevated 'rags' into detailed, exquisite portraits or landscapes. Cotton is the usual fabric; I've found that linen does not shred very well and silk and wool have mixed results depending on the thickness and type of weave. Overdyeing a finished item can help blend less harmonious patterns together.

SAORI: The Japanese art of free weaving

SAORI is a relatively recent weaving technique that is also a creative philosophy. Misao Jo created SAORI in 1968 at the age of 57 when she learned how to weave but grew dissatisfied with the artistic expectations—perfectly straight edges; regular, even beats; and complex patterns repeated perfectly for many yards. She has helped many learn to weave freestyle, to explore their inspiration, and to weave from their hearts. She and her son have designed small, portable looms and other weaving equipment that make it easy for people with a range of abilities to weave, from small children to seniors and everyone in between. SAORI weaving is also exceptionally suited to making good use of scraps and shreds of stray fibers—where a regular weaver might plan for so many yards of this color and so many yards of that one, a SAORI weaver can use what's at hand and enjoy serendipity. SAORI weavers are encouraged to wear and display their weaving with loom-shaped clothing.

Here are the SAORI principles:

Consider the differences between a machine and a human being: Machines are programmed to be perfect; only humans can be creative.
Be bold and adventurous: Use exploration and 'mistakes' to discover new patterns, textures, and color combinations.
Let’s look out through eyes that shine: Be inspired by the beauty around you; let your weaving express who you are right now.
Inspire one another, and everyone in the group: There are no beginners or masters; everyone has something to share.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License.

Every Last Scrap

Monday, October 28, 2013

Every Last Scrap: Making the Best Use of the Fabric You Have

Why Conserve?

Types of Fabric

Repair It: Mending, Darning, Reknitting, and Patching

Mending: Sewing it up

Darning: Weaving over a hole

Reknitting: Grafting or picking up stitches

Patching: Covering it over

Further Reading

Reuse It: Altering, Repurposing, Felting, and Quilting

Altering: Making clothes fit better

Repurposing: Turning one thing into another

Felting: Thickening and strengthening

Quilting: Layering and insulating

Further Reading

Recycle It: Deconstructing, Spinning, Twining, and Weaving

Deconstructing: Breaking it down to smaller pieces

Spinning: Making new yarn

Twining: Twisting it up

Weaving: Layering in rows

Further Reading

More Exploration Needed

Appendix A: Fiber Conservation Techniques from Japan

BORO: The Japanese art of patching

SASHIKO: The Japanese art of quilt-stitching

SAKIORI: The Japanese art of rag weaving

SAORI: The Japanese art of free weaving

Further Reading