My sewing closet. . .
Gee, is it a mess in there. My sewing closet is actually the guest room closet. When we have overnight guests, I have to stash some of the stuff elsewhere, so our visitors can have a bit of room to hang garments.
This winter, I've decided to tackle this closet and get it looking halfway decent. I'll settle for halfway at this point. But the thought of just plowing through it all in one afternoon is not very appealing. I'd likely throw out bunches of usable fabric scraps and worn clothing that still has life.
So instead, I'm taking it on, one week at a time. Once per week, I am going through the lot and picking out one item that I can re-purpose. This week, it's flannel pjs.
These pjs have been scavenged for fabric once before (hence the half leg missing), when patching a flannel lap throw (aka baby blanket, still a favored item) for one of my girls. So, they are already pretty chopped up.
What do you think flannel would be exceedingly good for?
It makes cozy clothing, bedding, liners for tea pot cozies, and. . . . . .
it makes fabulous dusting cloths. Flannel grabs the dust so much better than my micro-fiber cloths. I know a lot of people swear by these micro-fiber cloths, but mine just spread the dust elsewhere. Flannel, being brushed, doesn't scratch delicate surfaces, and is so soft to the touch to use. (In winter my hands get very dry, and some dusting cloths actually seem to catch on my dry skin, yuk!)
I thought about just cutting these pajamas into squares, leaving them unhemmed. But I know in just a few washes they'll fray and make a mess of the laundry. Rolling the hem sounds too tedious for this. After some thought, I opted to make these dusting cloths double-layered, trapping any fraying ends inside, like a little pouch.
After cutting the pjs apart along seam lines, I found I have enough usable fabric to make a 14-inch square, double-layered cloth. I cut two 14-inch squares.
With right sides together, I sewed 3 complete sides, and 1 almost complete side (leaving about a 3-inch opening to turn the pouch right side out). I turned this right side out.
I fingered pressed the little opening edges under and together and stitched close. (Perhaps you can see, I did this all in a hurry and my stitching is not straight. That won't matter, as this is strictly utilitarian.)
Last, I stitched a large X diagonally across the square, to hold it all together in the wash and dry.
Voila, one very soft dusting cloth, and just a bit less junk in my sewing closet. What's next for this coming week? I'll have to see what strikes my fancy.
What do you do with too worn clothing?
A tip for cleaning electronics, which draw dust to themselves -- if you use dryer sheets or liquid fabric softeners in your laundry, they can help repel dust on electronics. A used dryer sheet can last through several dustings. A few drops of fabric softener on a cloth will also work.
If you enjoyed this post, consider subscribing to creative savv. I'd love to share more about my creative and fun-filled life with you.
