Re-using Sentimental Fabrics
I often get asked what to do with sentimental items of clothing that you want to keep because they bring back wonderful memories and tell special stories, but they’re being stored away in a cupboard or wardrobe and never being seen!
It could be that jumper your Grandmother knitted for you, your wedding dress, or your child’s first comfort blanket. It could be garments that belong to a loved one who is no longer with you which you can’t bear to part with.
It would be a real shame to keep these items and memories hidden away, instead they should be cherished and enjoyed every day, but how?
I was talking to Lorna, a neighbour of mine recently who has a great solution – Lorna makes beautiful cushion-covers, quilts and wall-hangings from her old sentimental pieces, up-cycling the material from the old garments and making them into new functional items that can be used or put on display around the house, bringing those old memories back to life.
This is a decorative apron that Lorna has made form her late husband’s silk ties. Lorna felt the ties were too good to give away after he died and they were a fond reminder of her husband, so now when she wears this new garment she can be re-living the memories.
These cushions are made from her late husband’s bow ties (the patterned material) and the orange fabric is the dress that her mother-in-law wore to their wedding. The dress was too small for Lorna to wear, so ended up stored in the loft until Lorna re-purposed the material for these cushions.
This quilt is made up of fabrics from several occasions and milestones in Lorna’s life, going back to before she was married in 1967. Every time Lorna looks at it, it sparks another joyful memory from her past. It includes material from Lorna’s wedding dress, items of old clothing, curtains and household furnishings from a house she and her husband cherished. It’s still a work in progress for Lorna, but once it’s finished it will be used as either a wall hanging or a single bed cover in her house.
This second quilt was made by Lorna for her Granddaughter. The little dresses in the quilt are made from material from her Granddaughter’s baby clothes. She’s now 12, and uses it on her bed. Lorna notes that each dress is made from 7 pieces of material – quite a challenge to make but well worth the result!
This is made from an Arran Cardigan that Lorna had knitted for her husband. After he died, she made it into this cushion. Lorna found the idea in a book and wanted to make a feature of the pockets and buttons. It’s a favourite with Lorna’s daughter (and the family cat) and now proudly sits on display on a chair in her daughter’s house as a fond memory of her late father.
Lorna has also made this ‘fidget quilt’. It’s necessarily not a piece made from memorable items, but is based on a design used in hospitals for people with Alzheimer’s – the patients get easily agitated and pull at their tubes, so a quilt like this with buttons, bows and bells gives them something to hold and play with instead. Similar designs are also used in premature baby units. Lorna made this one for her Granddaughter who saw one at a textile display and wanted one herself. All the materials and embellishments on the quilt were chosen by Lorna’s Granddaughter from items she had lying around the house.
Lorna belongs to a group called the Wimbledon International Quilters that meets every 2 weeks. Mostly people have planned their work using fabric bought specifically, or from their ‘stash’, but using re-purposed or up-cycled loved fabrics is part of patchwork and quilting too. It is a lovely sociable way to practice the skill of quilting and meet up with others to learn new techniques and share ideas. There are some examples below of the challenges that have previously been set.
On the left is The Silk Challenge: The lifecycle of a silk worm. The writing is actually printed onto the fabric from a normal bubble jet printer.
On the right is The Log Cabin Pattern: This is from when Lorna was learning to quilt. Every time Lorna got something wrong, the teacher would tell her to do it again. This piece amusingly shows how many times it took Lorna to get it right!
Wimbledon International Quilters will be holding a show to display all the quilts made by the members throughout the year. Quilts will be on sale to the public and there will be a charity raffle to win one of the quilts. It is being held on the 3rd and 4th October in Wimbledon (location TBC).
Of course not everyone has the skills to make these fantastic up-cycled memory items, but below are a few links to websites offering these services. Lorna has also undertaken small commissions for people in the past so if you are interested please contact me for her details.
https://www.thelovelykeepsakecompany.co.uk/collections/clothing-keepsakes
https://www.lovekeepcreate.co.uk/grown-up-keepsakes/
https://lilygracekeepsakes.co.uk/collections/memory-cushions
