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Just in the last week I’ve been reading pieces about how traditional craft skills are coming back into fashion in The Times and The Guardian. Knitting is not just for nannies, as trendy groups such as Stitch’n’Bitch are demonstrating, and the internet is full of craft blogs. The return of the ‘make do and mend’ mentality is great news for the environment. Here are a few things you can make with stuff you probably already have lying around the house (and might throw away otherwise).
Got an old woollen jumper you could do without? Put it though a hot cycle in the washing machine to make felt. Felt is really versatile, you could cut shapes (stars, flowers etc) to stitch onto bags and clothes or sew yourself a purse just for starters.
Customise a cloth bag using beer bottle tops - you should be able to get enough from one house party. Place a top onto one side of the fabric, and press a two-pence piece into the back of it from the other side to hold it into place.
You can make beads out of paper by cutting long strips that are wider at one end than the other. Cover a strip with glue and start rolling it up from the wide end, remembering to leave enough space in the middle of the roll for some string. By the time you get to the other end you should have a roundish bead. Experiment with different sizes and differences in width. I find that old gift wrap works best, but you could try with newspaper or even old exam notes!
You can’t recycle old juice cartons in York so make wallets out of them instead. Here are some instructions. Alternatively, if you bring me a carton, scissors and stapler I promise I will show you how.
So go crazy, you can do all sorts of things with a little imagination: cut off jumper sleeves for leg-warmers, sew ties together to make a skirt, knit yourself, well, anything. Of course, there’s always a risk that you’ll look like me and Ella, but homemade things cost less financially and environmentally. Forget revision, teach yourself to sew.
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