Upcycled With Boo and Lu
Earth Day is approaching, which got us thinking about sewing sustainably.
There are lots of ways you can think about adding sustainability into your sewing, but today we’re talking about our two favorite ways to do that: preserving paper during the pattern cutting process and creating upcycled projects by reusing old materials to make new garments.
SAVING PAPER
A note from Boo and Lu on saving paper:
“We at Boo and Lu believe in protecting our environment by saving paper wherever possible, therefore, we provide cut charts for most rectangular pieces on our printable patterns. Projector files include all rectangular pieces, including skirts.
Did You Know?
Paper waste accounts for approximately 26% of total waste at landfills. The environmental effects of paper production include deforestation, the use of enormous amounts of energy and water, as well as air pollution and waste problems.”
For our customers who print their patterns, we provide cut charts for all rectangular pattern pieces. This way, instead of printing out many pieces of paper to create one large rectangle, you can simply cut your fabric to the required dimension and save on paper, ink, tape or glue, and time!
Additionally, every Boo and Lu pattern comes with a projector file optimized for use with a projector, so that you do not need to print anything at all! See this post for a full explanation of sewing with a projector, how to find a great one for your needs, and the basics of using one.
UPCYLED SEWING
Upcycling is a term used for taking something old, or used, and giving it new life. When we refer to upcycled sewing projects, we are talking about sewing new things using existing materials. Common examples are scraps, vintage fabrics, household linens, thrifted finds, and old clothing. There are material sources everywhere if you get creative about looking, and using existing materials puts them to use instead of them ending up in a landfill. In a world full of fast fashion, handmade clothing is creating something that will stand the test of time, and by sewing something out of existing materials instead of new, you can take that sustainability even further.
Now don’t get me wrong, I love buying new fabric as much as the next sewist! The idea here isn’t that you have to make this your sole source of fabric, but rather to show the fun that can be had when getting creative and reusing and repurposing old things. Here are some great examples for inspiration!
Using Your Scraps
Scraps. If you sew, you’ve got ’em. And it’s always a debate of whether to save for later or toss. But there are actually a lot of great ways to use up all those scraps! Here are a few ideas:
Sewing With Vintage Fabric
Vintage fabric can be a great source of fabric. When you sew with vintage fabric you are giving purpose to something that was made a while ago but not yet used. There are so many absolutely gorgeous vintage fabrics you can find and create something new with!
Repurposing Household Materials
One of the most memorable moments in the classic movie “The Sound of Music” is when Maria and the Von Trapp children dance through the hills and town singing “Do Re Mi” while wearing outfits Maria sewed out of old drapes. You can still source fabric from household materials today, just like Maria! Household linens like sheets, tablecloths, pillowcases, and more, can make great sources for fabric. And one thing that is really nice about these is that you can often get a couple yards out of a single piece!
Check out some of these gorgeous makes using materials from around the home.
Reusing Old Clothing
Taking old clothing to make new clothing is one of the most popular ways to bring upcycling into sewing. Whether it is an old favorite getting holes that you can give new life to, a vintage find you want to update, a hand me down that you want to feel new, or maybe a special old piece with sentimental value that you want to keep wearing, reusing old clothing is an amazing way to sew new garments while using existing materials. Take a look at some amazing makes with upcycled clothing here:
I hope you enjoyed this roundup of ways old materials can be upcycled into new garments! There are so many ways to reuse existing materials, and whatever material you’ve got, Boo and Lu probably has the perfect pattern to go with it. If you decide to create something using upcycled materials we would love to see! Tag us on instagram @booandlupatterns or share in our Facebook group, and use the hashtag #upcycledwithbooandlu
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