Fabric and textiles surround all of us, from our clothing to your carpets. Color, design, texture and layout affect both our mood and our own pocketbooks.
Everyone has cloth scraps. They are inside clothes that will no longer fit, or curtains that are being changed. As a frugal homeowner, you can take these types of scraps and make pieces of value.
I have seen several old drapery panels sell for large amounts on craigs list. They are either being used to decorate homes with a retro or cheap chic design, or even are being cut down regarding pillows.
- Potpourri Sachets. For very utilitarian sachets, I simply take my old potpourri, and wrap it up inside a scrap of fabric and tie it having a ribbon. Then I place it in drawers or perhaps below cupboards. There's plenty of scent remaining for those enclosed places.
You can make these together with fresh potpourri, and give them as gifts. Make them as decorative as you like by seaming the sides and also adding lace across the edges, or ribbons accents.
If you are good with a crochet hook, you may make rag rugs. There are many techniques also, including just tying items of fabric into a piece of rug canvas. This is a URL with some images of these: http://www.ruglady.net/
- Waste can be made into sheets for the kitchen/dining room. You can make potholders, napkins, place exercise mats, table runners, as well as tablecloths, piecing when necessary.
- You can use fabric regarding both fabric fine art and decoupage. If you stiffen the fabric with Modge Podge before you cut it, the ends will not ravel. Books on fabric art can be purchased at the store or leased from the library.
: Fabric scraps can be used as wrapping presents. Put it to use like paper, or even make into present bags. You can make an even more formal, structured reward bag, or simply produce a drawstring bag. Or, eliminate shapes from the style of the fabric, and use to embellish gifts wrapped in plain brown paper. You can also tear the fabric directly into strips, and use it since ribbon.
- Material scraps can be used in crafts for residence accessories. Make from picture frames, checkbooks, record covers, eyeglass circumstances, and book covers, to bowls and xmas Ornaments. All these can be gifts.
- Use your cloth scraps to make lifelike dolls and doll clothing. That is another business I was involved in for a while. I made toys and sold all of them on the Internet.... and that has been before eBay.
- Make use of your scraps to cover create cardboard boxes through craft stores and to line the inside. Or perhaps use shoe containers. These decorated bins are great for open storage areas.
www.designerliving.com/Rugs-C19.aspx - Help make duffel bags for your kids laundry. Help your children learn to sort their own clothing by making different colored bags for the way you want your clean sorted.
- Warm up your home office/work rooms through covering office add-ons with bits of fabric. Some things you might cover- computer mouse pads, pencil as well as tool holders, pots, Kleenex boxes- all will alleviate up a home workplace.
Imagine how it should be to have a 6x6" piece of fabric from all the clothes you wore when you had been a little child. Would that be of value to you now Even though you can't use them today, save your scraps. Insert them in a box, and hang them aside. You might be very glad sometime.
About the Author: Nikki Willhite, mother of 3 and an interior design move on, has been writing and publishing articles on the topic of frugal living for over a decade. Visit her at www.frugalhappyfamilies.com - in which you will find hundreds of cheap living tips as well as articles. Frugal Happy Families- more than just money! Write-up first published at www.allthingsfrugal.com
