I have been having fun going to Thrift Stores and have noticed there is a great abundance of scrubs and men's Haiwiaan shirts.
They are made out of cute fabric and good quality cotton.
I am considering making charm pack and selling them.
What do you quilters think about this new adventure??
Would you buy recycled fabric if it were in good condition???

I use recycled fabric, but I would buy it myself from the thrift store and cut it myself. I would not by precut used fabric. My experience with charm packs is that half of them I will never use so I don't buy them.

You have some great fabrics there! I'd just put them to use and enjoy them myself!! :)

I have used scrubs purchased in a thrift store for projects. Cutting the fabric into charm packs would be a lot of work and you would have to sell them for less than "new" packs. (little profit) I don't think most people would "buy" used fabric even though they may buy used fabric that they can see.

Heck yes I would use recycled fabric, though like others, I wouldn't buy it sight unseen. I want to get my hands on it and get a good look at it.

I plan on making a quilt of all recycled fabrics soon. My BF has only requested that I not use old bedsheets. I know of a lot of crafters who use old sheets for various projects, but he's kind of grossed out by the idea of sleeping under a stranger's old linens. :roll:

Same here - sorry - besides I have barrels full of 100% shirts just waiting for cutting up and use.

I buy my own making very certain that it's LIKE NEW fabric - no fading whatsoever.

just a thought !!!!!!

and trying to help stay green :-D :-D :-D :-D

Just another thought .... if you were wanting to re-sell, others might be more interested IRL, than online as then they can touchy-feel it and know what they are getting.

Plus, you might be better to leave the fabric in as large of pieces as possible, so the end user is not limited to charm pieces! Cut off the excess around seams, buttons, collars, hems, etc. and where there may be wear (eg. underarms? crotch?) then square up to whatever shapes are left along with some spray starch/sizing.

With all that work, could you sell it for a profit?

I paid very little for the scrubs almost given

I used to make scrubs, especially plus size scrubs. there is over 2.5 yards in each one, and most of the time I prewashed the fabric first, becuase plus size girls don't like shrinkage. LOL. That is a super idea of buying to use for my quilts that I donate too. Thank you for the idea./

I would agree with this. Many years ago, I tried making charm packs (from new fabrics) and selling them on eBay. They did all sell, but I decided that it was really not worth the time spent.

Had I not spent the time washing the fabrics first, and then having to iron them, well then it might have been worth it, at the time. Now with eBay's fees so high, I can't see that there's much point to selling low-priced items.

I know that charm packs made by the fabric manufacturers are not pre-washed/pre-shrunk... but on eBay, is it the same case? Or do the charm packs made by individuals consist of pre-shrunk fabrics?

One time I hit a resale shop that was having a $5 bag sale on clothing...:) :) :)

It was amazing how tiny I could roll XXL men's shirts!

I buy clothes all the time and cut them apart for quilts.

I haven't yet, been shopping in my stash, but will soon.

I think making/using/buying precut, recycled squares is a good idea. After reading the Classified rules, maybe you could make up some and try it here. Dunno

Same here and I agree with you. I've only bought one charm pack and used only about a third of the pack.

I don't think many people would buy charm packs of used/recycled fabrics. Remember that often times charm packs are made to introduce an entire collection of coordinating fabrics.

Now if you cut that stuff up and made rag quilts - you might be able to sell those as finished quilts made with previously loved fabrics - and of course they would be great for charity quilts.

Yes, I've been collecting mens shirts for a quilt for my Dad. You can't find a good variety of masculine plaids and stripes in the fabric stores lately.

You might be able to sell charm packs at a local craft show where the customer could examine the pack. I would never buy them sight unseen. There might be a huge difference in our opinions of "slightly used".

I agree with the others. I wouldn't buy charm packs made from used clothing. You don't really know just from pictures what the quality of the fabric is.

By the way, good Pictures of the scrubs. The fabrics are very unique.

I buy recycled fabric from Goodwill all the time. Wash it and never have had a problem.

I feel the same way....

I do( use recycled clothes) but i cut them up myself... .....doing one with scrubs now...only 100% cottons ones though...can`t find a darn Hawain shirt anywhere...guess not too many people wear them up here!! LOL

DITTO!!!!!!

Your gently used fabric is great. Enjoy using it. I wouldn't buy used fabric either - never know what is tucked in the middle. Great idea - buying scrub shirts!

Thanks for the idea. I have looked at the scrub tops dozens of times and thought what nice fabric. Now I have an idea of what to do with them. They have such cute fabric that would be great for a child size quilt. Plus I don't mind recycling fabric at all. I think that is a super idea.

I would make sure you label it a recycled. Gosh it would be really neat if you could make lap blankets for nursing home residents out of recycled scrubs, nice circle there, ya know?

I buy a lot of fabric at Thrift Stores. Mens' PJ's ( flannel ) are great for a winter quilt. Wool from many mens' jackets are great for penny placements, etc. I find a large variety of these and have cut & sort by color in baskets. Shirts which are 100% cotton are great for quilts in mens' and womens sizes. Sometimes you can find these pjs for .50 each. I use the plastic cutting mats, front & back of notebooks, covered social studies boards, etc. All of these are great for bottom of purses. The idea of using plastic canvas is great to. So many good ideas on this site.

I could kick myself because I worked in a surgery center and I had sooooooo many really cute scrubs. I kept buying them because I liked the fabric,(I am a fabriholic) so all mine were like new. But I went brain dead and sold them in a garage sale after I couldn't work any longer......such a dummy. I should have kept them and made some really cute quilts. I wouldn't want to buy charms because I would want more of the fabric than just a little square.

I would not buy used charm packs. I don't care for new ones, due to too much variety, although I do get intrigued enough to try a few new ones. But, as someone pointed out, one person's gentle is more gentle than another's.

Some organizations do not accept items made from recycled fabric, so check first!

You are showing some really cute fabrics in those pictures!

I use re-cycled fabrics for myself, But do not think I would give as a gift to another unless it was a family member :) I like your materials

Yes, I recently found some men's 100% cotton vintage car shirts and have deconstructed them and added some Rt 66 fabric and some coordinating colors for a quilt. It is fun!

I agree with most of the above comments. I would not buy charm packs out of used clothing. It really would be time consuming to go to the work of cutting them apart and squaring up and reselling. Not much profit that I can see.

Hahaha.. just what I have been doing.. in fact I think I have the same whale fabric!!!... I have been getting a certain color of Hawiaan shirts to make my husband a quilt but so far do not have enough yet... but scrubs.. they are great.. have five to cut up right now... I don't think I would buy a charm pack, but that is just me, so all you can do is try it out & see what happens........

It's a good idea that you came up with on the charms and no worries on the fabric raveling because the fabrics has been washed already.
And depends on the size of charms you will be cutting.
I like the bigger size cut (6.5") because it's easier and quicker for me to use a size 6.5").
The popular size is 5", but I like 6.5".

Give it a go and take it from there.

I made a baby quilt out of receiving blankets and they appreciated the fact that I used recycled blankets.

times are hard $$ is scarce time to go green and recycle
I would not buy faded scrubs I believe I have good taste
I mostly use quilt shop fabric for my projects but I hate to see all this pretty fabric go to waste
That is why I thought I would do this and use for charity quilts :-D :-D :-D :-D

That would be a perfect way to use the wonderful fabrics you can buy in the thrift stores. I'm sure you buy them looking like new (and probably sometimes with the tags still on them) After all - how many 'youngones' want to iron 100% cotton shirts to wear - I know I don't! :shock:

Go for it!

Sorry, but I probably would not purchase used fabric without being able to check it out in person first.