Green Options

Y’all, it turns out that there are a lot of us shorties out there! I am clearly not the only one who’s found herself standing in front of the mirror hours before a hot concert date wearing brand-new jeans that are at least six inches too long.

Thank god there’s a solution, or we’d all end up looking like me in my sixth grade class picture, with those big ole’ cuffs on my jeans and the ugliest hairstyle you’ve ever seen on a 12-year-old.

And sure, the controlled fray is quick and easy and awesome, but let’s say you’re looking for something a little more polished. Friends, I have that something: it can look invisible or stand out, it’s also fairly quick and fairly easy, and it leaves no fray.

I introduce to you the Bias Tape Method.

The other day at Goodwill I found some sweet, butt-clinging, ample-hip-hugging (but not too much!), faded, boot-legged, artfully frayed jeans. Waist size? A perfect 36″. Length? A perfect…38″? Friends, I am 5′2″ balanced up on my tip-toes. Should I give up my second-hand search altogether and go get my bootylicious self over to Lane Bryant?

Friends, I should not. And you know why?

Because I have been kissed with the crafty bug.

There are several pretty easy and cool-looking ways to hem jeans, in particular, that I can tell you about, but the method I’m going to use today, primarily because I’ve got a lot of stuff to do today and I also want to wear these jeans to an Old Crow Medicine Show concert tonight so that Ketch can look down from his sweet fiddle and appreciate them, is something that I like to call the controlled fray.

What do you do with your old jeans when you’re done with them? If you’re one American manufacturing company (Bonded Logic), you make household insulation out of them.

Okay, so remember when I said that there’s nothing more festive than a bunting? Well, I lied. There is one thing on Earth that is more festive than a bunting: a PERSONALIZED bunting! Follow along with me as I totally become the birthday party hero by making personalized buntings for two of my daughter’s little friends (You know what they say about November birthdays, right? Happy Valentine’s Day!).

You will need: your recycled denim bunting, freezer or sticker paper, pre-washed wool or acrylic felt (wool felt will shrink a lot!), matching thread,  a glue stick, a free-motion presser foot if you’ll be doing machine-applique

You totally know that a bunting makes a party more festive, right? There’s nothing happier than those little triangular flags, gaily waving in the breeze.  But do you know what would make a happy little bunting even happier? If it was made from your skinny jeans. Live in the moment, my friends; love your body, and I’ll show you how to upcycle your old jeans into some party flags.

You will need: a pair of jeans; double-fold bias tape (or you can make your own!); cardboard; rotary cutter and mat; sewing machine and thread

Healthy Child Healthy World contributor, Stop Global Warming campaigner, breast cancer survivor, new single mom, and now fashion designer, Sheryl Crow is teaming up with Western Glove Works (aka Silver Jeans) to create casual eco-chic looks that are both eco-friendly and affordable. It comes as no surprise that this country-girl-at-heart will focus the line around denim, while integrating organic cotton and fair trade materials.

The collection is said to be vintage-inspired and will be named “Bootheel Trading Co. by Sheryl Crow”. No launch date has been announced, but rumor has it she’s flying to Australia this October to meet with her partners about the line.

Welcome to the first Carnival of Green Crafts!

For more information about the Carnival, please see the Carnival of Green Crafts home page here at Crafting A Green World.

We’re pleased as punch to announce that the next Carnival will be August 9th at BlogHer, courtesy of Hobbies, Crafts & DIY Contributing Editor Debra Roby. Send in your posts via the carnival submission form today!

Thanks so much to all the crafters who shared their posts with us for this Carnival.  Let’s dig in!

The name of the website is Organic Cotton, the company behind it is Fabrics Ltd. in Mid Wales. Either way, this is an amazing find. Their collection of organic cotton fabrics blew me away. Solids, plaids, and stripes. Unbleached calico. Four colors of denim. Sateen. Jersey. And my favorite, a blue on white ocean print!

If anyone should be put in charge of the craft supply store of our collective dreams, I nominate these people. Surely we can convince them to expand from fabrics into notions and other supplies if we’re persistent.

Why am I such a fan, even though I haven’t ordered anything (yet)?

I know, I know, it’s like we’re obsessed with denim around here. Gavin showed us how to patch our jeans if we’re not ready to let them go, then Leslie showed us how to recycle a pair into a sexy miniskirt and use the leftovers to make a shopping bag. (Personally, I’m waiting for Gavin to upcycle HIS jeans into a miniskirt…)

My favorite jeans have finally died, and before I saw Gavin’s post I was planning to start a denim quilt. Denim quilts are heavy duty for picnics and playing on at the park, and I was just at Goodwill this past weekend so I’m inspired by the availability of cheap denim that needs a second chance at life.

Then I started to think about my “dead” jeans from a green point of view. The mantra Reduce, Reuse, Recycle doesn’t include the word “repair,” but it probably should. Reducing is best, reusing or repairing is good, recycling is a last resort. I had decided to recycle my jeans rather than repair them because I had this notion that patched jeans look “run down.” It’s like I’ve been trained by society that if a repair is visible, it makes the garment worthless.

Let’s get serious, people. I am a stay-at-home / work-at-home mother of an eight month old baby. I spend most of my waking hours in my own house. I get spit up on a lot. I crawl around on the floor to retrieve pacifiers and toys. Who the heck is going to put me on What Not To Wear for sporting a pair of patched jeans? I thrifted a “new” pair to replace them for going out, but if I can get more life out of the old ones, why not do it? Also, that way the new ones won’t be worn every day and they’ll last longer for occasions nicer than than cleaning pureed sweet potato out of someone’s hair.

I’m not saying that I’m going to spend all day in clothes I hate in order to be green, but I think it’s time for me to fight my way out of the trap that equates repaired with flawed.

At this point you may be thinking “Um, excuse me, wasn’t the title of this post DENIM QUILTS?”

Yes! Even though my favorite jeans aren’t going to be included, I still want to make a denim quilt.

I have never met a woman who loves shopping for jeans. Finding a pair of jeans that fits can involve endless shopping trips, trying on pair after pair in the unflattering light of dressing rooms. Even in low-rise styles, finding the right hip to waist ratio can be maddening. But if rips or patches don’t really fit into your personal style and your current jeans are falling apart, at some point you have to bite the bullet and shop.

Once you replace the well-worn pair of jeans, though, what’s next? Since I’m currently facing the demise of my favorite (and only) pair of jeans, I thought I would take a spin around the web and see what I could do with them.

First up is this recycled blue jean organizer, perfect for craft supplies.

Designer Harmony Susalla has created fabrics for everyone from Target and Costco to Hot Topic and Tony Hawk. In 1998, she co-founded Harmony Art Organic Design and launched her own line of organic fabrics.

The current line of fabrics includes 28 fabrics in a variety of solids and prints in sateen, twill, denim, interlock, and even a couple of flannels for those cozy sewing projects. There’s a clearance section for flawed fabrics which may work for smaller scale projects. You can also check out the upcoming new fabrics on a page of their web site that is just as creative as the fabrics themselves. Take a look to see what I mean!

Why organic? In Susalla’s own words: