Green Options

In Kelly’s recent post Tools To Use: Batting, she outlined several organic and sustainable choices for quilt batting - including my favorite, Hobbs Heirloom Organic Cotton Batting. Kelly was curious, though, about re-using old blankets or sheets instead.

Being creative with your quilt ingredients is part of the history of quilting. Now granted, many of the choices that early quilters made were due to economic constraints. I suspect that if the pioneers had sewing machines and fabric shops readily and affordably available, a lot of them would have taken advantage of those options. However, quilting does have a historical ethic of conservation and re-use. Quilters today manifest this ethic through the obsessive saving of fabric scraps too small for any reasonable project, “just in case.”

So if you’re willing to look past batting, there are other earth-friendly alternatives for your quilt’s insides. Your linen closet, thrift stores, or donations from other people’s sewing supplies may provide just what you need.

It is hard to talk about stuffing and not talk about batting. They are practically the same material, except the former is loose and used for pillows and plushes and the later is formed into flat layers perfect for quilting.

Like the world of plushes and softies, quilting is another craft that I have been keeping an eye on, but have yet to fully try out. The concept seems easy enough, but I’ve never been very patient and can’t quite get the whole measure twice, cut once, thing down. A friend of mine recently made me a quilt and I am in awe of the time and talent that she put into it.

Quilting is definitely on the move in the crafting world and quickly becoming the hip craft to do. The exploding popularity of Amy Butler and Denyse Schmidt have propelled this craft into the lime light and it is easy to see why.

One craft that I have yet to delve into is the art of making a softie. These cute creatures, some with faces only a mother would love, abound on the internet. I would even say that there is a softie explosion of popularity happening right now with all the attention being made to creating your very own cute and cuddly creature.

There are several books devoted to softies and plushes, as well as quick and easy tutorials on creating a softie. And don’t forget the plethora of amigurumi. Heck, there’s even a gallery showcasing some of the best plush makers around.

With all the craft love for the softie, how can we make them a bit more lovable for the Earth? It’s all in the stuffing.