Circular Fashion
UPCYCLING FABRICS USING DIFFERENT CRAFT TECHNIQUES
It’s been over 70,000 years since the first human started to wear clothes, by draping around them. Later people started wearing clothes that are constructed according to their shape that also created comfort for the individual and were not at all sustainable crafts, which eventually created a lot of waste while constructing resulting in pollution in different forms.
HOME DECORS:
The art of making your home aesthetic means certain artwork or craft supplies that blend with the theme or colour of your home. There are a lot of techniques which we can develop decors the gives stunning results when they are applied properly. Upcycling fabrics requires a lot of patience as a beginner as the beauty of the product lies in the hands of the individual. There are a few interesting techniques that are discussed below.
MACRAME:
It is a form of art that is developed by using knots. The major source of raw material for developing this craft are yarns. The craft is basically sequential knotting that creates a decorative finish of the craft. It can also be done by recycling fabric in the form of fabric strips. These can be used as an alternative to yarns and by doing this we can make small products like key chains, earrings to large products like curtains, wall hangings, holders and more.
BUNCHING AND STITCHING:
Collecting the scrap fabrics that can be obtained from different means of production like stitching, cutting, manufacturing units or any fabric which is felt useless can be bunched and stitched in groups and can be used as artificial flower garland or can be wrapped in frames. To result from this craft in an awesome way, the fabrics that are collected can be in a theme, adding props with respect to the theme can be a valuable addition to the craft. For example, if we are making a garland for Christmas Eve, the fabrics can be colourful with a lot of reds and props like bells, lights can be added to make it more aesthetic.
QUILTING:
Quilting is the technique where foam is sandwiched between two pieces of fabric. This can result in artworks that are developed with a theme or inspiration. In simple words, the process starts with Ideation of the expected artwork which is sketched Collecting different fabrics that can be collected from scraps or old clothes They are cut in a way based on the requirement Start stitching the fabrics along with the foam and supporting fabric. If someone is got expertise in stitching skills they can eventually create texture by developing designs and stitching over the quilted fabric which can be value addition.
FUNCTIONAL PRODUCTS
The products can be used for some reason by means of physical contact. Products like mats, baskets, organizers can be examples of this. As this product has to sustain the tension given by the physical contact the product has to be strong enough to handle. There are a few techniques that are listed below that can retain the parameters of the functional product.
WEAVING:
The unwanted old fabrics or reuse of old clothes to be stripped and twisted/ braided together so that it looks like yarn and can be ready to weave by interlacing together which eventually create strength to the fabric and can be used as carpets, doormats, baskets, coasters and more. The length of the strips can be made according to the size of the expected product.
ACCESSORIES
Accessories like headbands, hair bands, collars, bracelets, bands can be done using upcycling fabric.
Headbands: it can be done by taking a broader fabric with the required length and stitching the edges together. We can also create textures by braiding or twisting and stitching which can be a value addition.
UPCYCLING OLD CLOTHES
Old clothes like shirts, skirts, trousers and more can be reconstructed into another garment or home textiles. For example, reconstructing the shirt into cushion covers can be a creative and productive way of reusing it. Reconstructing the garments like skirts, shirts into tote bags is another efficient recycled clothes ideas.
DEEPIKA R (NIFT, Chennai)
@pen_cil_s_pics | ATIIRO
I am very much interested in sketching and stuff which gave me the motivation to enter the field of designing. During my course at NIFT, I got to know how the fashion industry is affecting the environment, therefore I tried to do my projects and time pass stuff by keeping sustainability in mind. I have also come up with projects using waste fabrics to do appliques, doormats using old dupattas, vertical organisers, bookmarks etc.
