Green Options » fabrics

Fab Fabrics: Organic Prints from Baby Bird Designs

Becky Striepe — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 15:00:32 +0000

How sweet are these organic cotton prints from Baby Bird Designs? I ran across Emily’s shop over the weekend, and I’ve got to say: I’m swooning from cuteness!

Simple, Stylish Fabric Bags from Lucky Crow

Wenona Napolitano — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 21:53:21 +0000

Looking at these lovely fabric gift bag samples from Lucky Crow makes me wonder why everyone doesn’t use such crafty, beautiful and reusable bags during the holidays.

Sure some people really need that wrapping paper rip to feel like they are opening a gift but these bags are so beautiful they are a gift themselves.

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Fab Fabrics: Organic Cotton Screenprinted by Showpony

Becky Striepe — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 11:00:14 +0000

I am totally falling in love with these nature-inspired prints from UK fabric designer Showpony!

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Fab Fabrics: Indian Summer Collection from Betz White

Becky Striepe — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 11:00:41 +0000

Did you dig her Family Cottage collection? Get ready to fall for Betz White’s new Indian Summer line of eco fabrics!

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Handmade Holidays: Stockings Made from Scrap Fabric

Wenona Napolitano — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 14:20:11 +0000

Holiday stockings don’t need to be made from plush furry fabric or rich red velvet. They can be made from any fabric you like that reflects your style, eclectic tastes, or interior decor.

A long time ago I worked for a furniture store. One day they were clearing out all the sample fabric swatches and books that had been discontinued. And what were they going to do with it all?

Toss it in the dumpster. Stacks and stacks of rich, fancy, and fabulous pieces of fabric. All to the trash. I just couldn’t let it happen.

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Fab Fabrics: Recycled Wool Felt from Feltwerker

Becky Striepe — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:00:45 +0000

Fall is officially here! It’s cool and blustery, and we’ve got cozy fabrics on our minds. What better way to welcome in the lovely changing leaves and chilly weather than with some beautiful recycled felt? Feltwerker, a Chicago fiber artist, offers beautiful recycled wool felt scraps that you can incorporate into your Fall and winter projects!

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Fab Fabrics: Coconut Fiber

Becky Striepe — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 11:30:57 +0000

We are obsessed with food-based fibers around here! From banana yarn to pineapple cloth, I’m starting to wonder if we’re feeling more hungry than crafty.

Of course, when Kelly hipped me to coir, a natural fiber made from coconut, I couldn’t pass it up!

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Fab Fabrics: Scrap Ecochic

Becky Striepe — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 11:00:50 +0000

We’ve talked about the awesomeness of crafting with fabric scraps before, but not everyone has a shamefully stuffed scrap bin like the one in my craft room. If you’re not a hoarder of fabric scraps but still want to get your craft on, don’t fret! Etsy seller Scrap Ecochic has you covered!

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Helping You Craft Green: Translation of Sheet Sizes to Fabric Yardage

Julie Finn — Wed, 14 Oct 2009 18:29:16 +0000

I thrift a lot, and I sew a lot. When I sew, I try to use primarily thrifted or recycled or otherwise unwanted materials, and when I thrift, a large part of what I’m searching for is material to sew with–T-shirts, button-down shirts, pants, sweaters, pillowcases, curtains, sheets, etc. If I find any of these items in good shape and at a good price, and if they sport an especially appealing pattern or image, then I add them to my fabric stash for later crafting.

One of the trickier components of sewing using these thrifted items, however, is knowing how much fabric there actually is there, and therefore what you can sew with it. I know from experience that I can sew one skirt and and one pair of matching leggings for my three-year-old from one adult-sized stretchy cotton or acrylic sweater, but is the queen-sized sheet that I picked up at a yard sale last summer enough to make matching pajama pants for me, my husband, and both our girls?

Questions like that are much easier to answer when you know the standard yardages for standard-sized sheets.

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Fab Fabrics: Vintage Finds from Rope

Becky Striepe — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 11:30:20 +0000

How sweet are these fresh, vintage fabrics from Rope?

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A Blank Canvas Book Awaiting Your Creativity

Wenona Napolitano — Sat, 10 Oct 2009 13:53:58 +0000

The Ready To Go Blank Canvas Book is a great craft project that can be used to create memories, gifts and more.

My problem is that I have a blank canvas in front of me and I can’t decide what to do with it.

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Fab Fabrics: Banana Cloth

Becky Striepe — Tue, 06 Oct 2009 11:30:02 +0000

We’re on a funky fibers kick around here, it seems! From pineapple yarn to spider silk, we’ve been exploring some unusual natural fabric options. I sent my post about pineapple fabric to a friend a couple of weeks ago, and she pointed me to yet another interesting natural fabric: banana fibers.

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Eco-Friendly Reusable Gift Bags by Gift Bags Gone Green

Wenona Napolitano — Wed, 30 Sep 2009 21:07:40 +0000

According to Gift Bags Gone Green every year Americans spend more than $5 billion dollars on gift wrap, bags, and tissue paper of which the majority ends up in landfills.

To offer a unique and green approach to the gift wrap industry Gift Bags Gone Green have created fun and funky fabric gift bags that are washable and reusable. The bags are not only green because they are reusable but they are made from upcycled, reused, and vintage fabrics.

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Fab Fabrics: Spider Silk

Becky Striepe — Tue, 29 Sep 2009 11:15:53 +0000

[Female Golden Orb Spider. Creative Commons photo via quintanaroo]

It is in the name of Fab Fabrics and Halloween that I’m trying to put my fear of spiders on the back burner so I can tell you about the spookiest natural fiber I’ve ever heard of: spider silk.

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Fab Fabrics: …Pineapple?

Becky Striepe — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 12:00:59 +0000

Kelly pointed me to these awesome wedding dresses made from pineapple cloth, and my interest was piqued!

It turns out that pineapple fabric, or Piña cloth, is a traditional fiber from the Phillipines dating back from the 1800’s! So here’s the skinny on Piña.

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Fab Fabrics at Modern Organic

Becky Striepe — Tue, 15 Sep 2009 11:30:51 +0000

Melanie O’Brien loves fabric, and I’m already loving her new Etsy shop: Modern Organic Fabrics. Let’s take a peek inside!

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Fab Fabrics: Repeat’s Hand Printed Textiles

Becky Striepe — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 10:30:40 +0000

I’m pretty much in love with these hand-printed fabrics from Canadian crafty duo Repeat!

Roisin Fagan lives in London and her partner Arounna Khounnoraj is from Toronto. The pair met when they were neighbors at a craft show in Toronto almost three years ago, and they hit it off immediately. After running into each other at several other Toronto shows over the years, where folks kept asking them if they sold their fabrics, they decided to do just that and to do it together!

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Fab Fabrics: Betz White’s Family Cottage Collection

Becky Striepe — Tue, 01 Sep 2009 10:30:19 +0000

Betz White, author of Sewing Green, launched her premiere fabric line this summer: the Family Cottage collection!

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Fab Fabrics: Greenyarn’s Bamboo Ecofabric

Becky Striepe — Tue, 25 Aug 2009 11:30:25 +0000

We talked last year about the pros and cons of bamboo. Like hemp, growing bamboo is easier on the environment than conventional fibers such as cotton. Bamboo is technically a weed, which means it grows fast and requires no pesticides and very little water.

One downside to bamboo comes during the production process. Since the plant itself isn’t fibrous, it’s mashed down into sort of a chemical slurry and then pressed into fabric. The process is similar to making rayon. It’s toxic for workers, and it strips the bamboo of its beneficial antimicrobial properties.

There’s also the trouble that comes with anything that gets popular. Despite its speedy growth, there is still a threat of overharvesting bamboo. According to the U.N., around 600 varieties of bamboo are extinct or threatened.

Wait…that doesn’t sound fab at all! Well, Greenyarn, a new Boston-based company, has a new approach to producing bamboo fabric that’s worth a look!

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Yurt Living - Colors

Delia Montgomery — Sun, 23 Aug 2009 07:45:28 +0000

Designing a yurt entails color decisions. Of course material swatches are always best, but playing with an interactive tool is a great start.

The Colorado Yurt Company has the greatest exterior color tool available. You can play with the roof and valance choices in addition to the bottom band.

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