Sustainable Living 1 - Make Do And Mend
14th May 2018
What do you need to be a good allotmenteer? Plant knowledge? Green fingers? Or an ability to see potential in rubbish?
Two very old plastic buckets were given a new lease of life today and will continue to be used on the allotment for a few more years to come.
In a world of ‘new and improved’ and trend-led design, it felt good to return to hands-on upcycling and repairing, extending the life of products which would have gone to landfill.
The handles of these buckets had snapped and the blue one was looking particularly worse for wear.
We replaced them with ones made from an old skipping rope and pieces of hose. Very comfortable to carry, strong and, most of all, usable once more. I’m really happy with them because I won’t have to buy new ones and they won’t go to landfill just yet. Win, win!
A point to note is that my DH is doing the work, but then, someone had to take the photos didn’t they?!
What are you about to throw away? Can it be rescued and repaired?
MMMay18 - Week 1
My pledge for MeMadeMay18 is to wear something I’ve made four times per week throughout May. I also pledged to shop my stash and to make things I need, not just fancy making on a whim. The latter is so difficult!
I’ve had reason to go to a fabric store near my university several times over the last week and each time I’ve seen something lovely, and colourful, haptic, and desirable! I’d better not tell you if I succumbed or not, I’ll leave you to guess!
So far, the Me Made garments have included a long-sleeved Lark Tee, from Grainline Studio, which I made from scrap fabric left over from making a dress. I had to introduce an extra seam down the front (because I was using up leftovers) but I can live with that.
Next came the refashioned Uniqlo striped tee shirt (1997 vintage) which I married with a cast-off work shirt of DH’s. The shirt is gorgeously soft cotton and works well making a back and sleeve detail for the tee. I’ve always found Uniqlo garments to be made of good quality long-lasting textiles.
Third was this cotton jersey dress which I made about four years ago. Again, good quality fabric that is lasting well. The weight is just right and the dress is staying the right length, unlike some jersey dresses which I’ve bought in the past which started life as calf-length and ended as ankle-length!
The pattern is this one, but without the side splits.
Finally for this week is this 100% woven cotton sundress which has a print I absolutely love.
Unlike the black and white jersey dress, this is a dress which has not stayed the same length. Or width. It fitted perfectly until I washed it, then to my horror, I realised I had forgotten to wash the fabric before making it up! I know, Golden Rule broken. It was rather snug to say the least, but I had enough seam allowance to let it out enough to be able to breathe again, ha! It’s a little shorter than I’d like but I plan to wear it mainly on holiday in warmer climes so that all good. I used this pattern:
MMMay18 has really made me think about the clothes in my wardrobe. Despite a big sort-out last year I still have things that I don’t wear and yet I also have gaps. I buy less than I used to and try not to buy without planning but there still work to do to knock it into better shape.