Waste Not

My family would call me "thrifty" - they might even call me "cheap". My husband is a saver but doesn't mind to pay when he wants something now. We compliment each other this way - I encourage him to look around for a better deal, he encourages me to buy a little more impulsively. But some things you can't take away from a girl. Like my inherited philosophy of "waste not" from my grandmother and her twelve depression era siblings. They certainly couldn't afford to let one item go to waste on the farm.

In keeping with that notion, I made a few things from items that would otherwise have been tossed out, and thought it might spur ideas on how you can recycle items usefully. I'd love to know (i.e. borrow) your ideas too!

Dust Mitts
Made from old undershirts, double layered and sew into rectangles with one side open for hand. I like using these more than torn up shirts.

Hankies
Sewn into squares, embelished with different colors in decorative topstiching.



Jean Skirt
Made from holey jeans, great tutorial here: Savvy Seams










Coffee cup wrap
Ok, so Starbucks doesn't fit the thrifty theme, but I go to our neighborhood coffee shop every couple of weeks when we walk the dogs on a specific path. This wrap works the recycle theme two ways: it's made entirely from cutting scraps and it's one less item to throw away with that coffee cup. I used a cardboard wrap as the pattern and secured the tabs with Velcro.