Upcycling clothing and home decor for quilt fabric
 

I'm a "budget" quilter. Rarely spend full retail price for quilting cotton. I'm very much into upcycling cotton clothing; mostly men's button-up shirts. I know it's becoming a popular trend to do this and there are several on-line videos demonstrating the different ways people dissemble the shirts to "harvest" the fabric. I've seen some that use rotary cutters and mats and others that use fabric scissors.

My preferred means to cut up shirts is with scissors. Partly because I very seldom do the task at home with access to my rotary cutter and mat. I keep 3 plastic shopping bags in my car along with my tailor's sheers (a high-end pair I invested in about a year ago), a cheap pair of dollar-tree craft scissors, and a small plastic food container with a lid. 1 bag has "unprocessed" shirts, 1 bag is for the cut-off waste, and the third bag is for the harvested fabric. I tend to arrive early most places I go so I sit in my car and make several cuts while I'm waiting.

I don't save any parts of the shirt from which I can't get at least a 2 1/2" square (i.e. collar, cuffs, etc.). I remove the buttons using the cheap scissors so that, if I accidentally clip the button, it doesn't damage the cutting edges of my expensive ones. Buttons go in the small food container. I usually remove the pieces in the same order each time.....collar first, then the yoke, sleeves, front panels (pocket side first), and lastly the back. I roll the harvested fabric into a bundle and tie it with one of the cut-away seams. When the bag of bundles gets full in the car, I take them inside at home to be cut to my needed sizes and used.

Some pointers for thrifting shirts:
1.) Be selective. I stay away from cotton blends and only buy 100% cotton shirts. I only buy colors/prints that work with my current WIP or colors/prints I'm lacking in my stash. I don't buy anything smaller than XL; the only exception being a smaller size in a print or color I absolutely cannot live without.
2.) Look for small, local thrift stores. The national chain thrift stores in my area (i.e. Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc.) price their shirts starting at $6.00; however, many of the locally based stores have shirts for as little as $1.00 and often have fill-a-bag sales.
3.) Shop garage/yard sales. If they have a large selection of shirts (or any other useable cotton clothing), I will sometimes ask if the proprietors are willing to negotiate a reduced price if I purchase multiple items. They agree more often than not.

Other items from which to harvest fabric:
*Any 100% cotton clothing (not just men's shirts) made with shirt-type fabric (i.e. sun dresses, pajamas, nightgowns, etc.).
*Bed linens
*Window curtains
*Table cloths

This is probably all common knowledge among most experienced "thrifty" quilters, but some newcomers to the art may be struggling to build their stash at today's exorbitant designer fabric prices. Some of the most beautiful quilts I've ever seen are made from cast-off clothing and household items. I simply love the idea of taking something that would end up in a landfill and using it to create wonderful quilts. If you use any other sources of repurposed fabrics, please post a comment and share!

I know how to do that
But it really pains me to cut up a perfectly good garment.

Using cut off hems, salvaging something that was stained or torn is another matter.

Way back when, really poor people would just salvage the shirt tails because they had not gotten faded from the sun when the elbows and collar were worn out. There was still some "life" left in that part of the garment.



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Good point, bearisgray. I'll admit I've occasionally felt a twinge of regret when I cut into a nice, high-quality garment. I justify it to myself like this: 1.) Someone has already gotten all the use out of it they wanted, 2.) If the price is right, I don't turn up my nose at a gently used, lightly stained, or slightly damaged garment. Much like they did in the old days, I will cut around any flaws, and 3.) Someone will still get use out of it, not as a garment, but in the finished quilt.

Thrifting can be a wonderful way to obtain fabric. I mostly look for yardage but have also harvested garments and have done projects with Hawaiian and Plaid fabrics, and one with "ugly" ties. Make sure to check out the linen department for UFOs and aprons can be an amazing source of vintage fabrics. Linens is usually where yardage/scraps are kept but they can be in crafts area too. My feeling is once it hits the thrift stores, it's value is whatever it is wanted for... if I am wearing someone's "Too Good for Everyday Wear" sparkly Christmas sweater while I'm doing dishes, well -- it cost me $5 and I'm happy. If I cut apart shirts or even wedding dresses, it's getting used. I haven't actually done the wedding dress thing myself -- but I have helped friends salvage what they wanted on several.

Goodwill and the other large chains typically have "color" tags for their items, they come in on one color, stay a month and then that color goes on sale. In the Seattle area, Tag day started on Thursday with a slight discount (like 10%), half off by Sunday and often there would be a Monday morning special whatever it was would be $0.99-$5.00 -- even if it was a couch or sewing machine or whatever!

In large areas, you might also have a "Buy the Pound" or final stop. Caution, wear gloves in those piles. Is amazing how dirty "clean clothes" can be.

Not all thrifting is equal. Large cities have large selections, smaller towns not so much. Even within the Seattle area I had Goodwills that rarely had what I was looking for and not worth my time to check on a usual basis. But when we are out and about traveling we will often stop in small towns and I will be very happy with something I find.