DIY, Upcycle & Recycle Sewing Patterns and Finished Products
I've always been a DIY/make it myself kind of person. But what really jazzes me is making something awesomely functional and attractive from upcycled and/or recycled materials. It makes me smile to realize that as we enter this 26th year of doing business, I've come full circle. I am so excited to begin developing and offering more of my pattern designs in this category as well as a limited number of finished items that I have sewn myself. The purpose of this page will be for promoting useful DIY sewing patterns as well as finished items that I have sewn using upcycle and/or recycled materials. If you're curious about the savings by the numbers that our family has personally experienced related to the No-Sponge Scrubber pattern, please scroll down below the product listing(s).
Why DIY-Upcycle-Recycle?
| DIY-Upcycle-Recycle SAVINGS is in the numbers. It's been well over 14 months since I developed my test model No-Sponge Scrubbers and began using them in place of a well-known name brand synthetic scrubber that is widely available in retail stores. We are still using them today and they are still in great shape with a lot more life left in them. We have found the No-Sponge Scrubbers I made are far superior to the commercially produced synthetic scrubbers in every way. They don't scratch surfaces. They clean better. They are just as absorbent, if not more. They don't stink after a few days -- we're still using the same ones 14 months later because I can wash them. They wash and dry beautifully in our regular laundry every week. ALSO, they can be used in so many more ways than those commercially produced, synthetic things. They make great scrubbers for bathroom and beyond. Not only for cleaning the bathroom surfaces, but also as really nice, personal scrubbies for your skin. I typically purchased at least 1 new 6 pack of the name brand synthetic scrubbers every month--sometimes 2 or more of them if we had big projects going on our micro-farm. But for the purpose of this calculation, I will stick with low end/conservative numbers. One package of 6 name brand scrubbers at our local discount/retail store averaged $6.00 (sometimes more, sometimes a bit less if on sale), so I'll use the average in my calculation. Sew our SAVINGS by the numbers: 14 months x $6.00 = $84.00 We saved a minimum of $84.00 because I used up leftover/scrap fabrics and recycled towels, etc. I used old beach & bath towels we were no longer using, also some thick hand towels and wash cloths that had some worn spot or stains that I just cut around. The only item I needed to purchase (and actually, I didn't need to purchase for the first 4 scrubbers I made because I had leftovers from my Got Sudz soap bags) was the soft polyester mesh which is available in a BUNCH of awesome colors. NOTE: One package of the polyester mesh will make a LOT of No-Sponge Scrubbers if you bulk-cut the entire package of mesh to maximize usage. "Not only have we saved money, I've actually sold a few hundred dollars worth of finished No-Sponge Scrubbers locally in 2025 without even trying." Last Christmas, I sewed up a few extras and gave them as gifts to friends who would appreciate them. Virtually all of those friends have come back to me asking to buy on multiple occasions so they could gift to their friends because they found the No-Sponge Scrubbers are superior. You can sell too! I encourage folks who purchase my patterns to make and sell finished items. Not only have we saved money and even made some money, I feel fantastic about doing my part to reduce toxic synthetic chemical waste. I know my dear Grams (my grandmother who I lost over 20 years ago) is smiling about that too. She recycled out of necessity--long before recycling became cool. I'd say this pattern is a great success by the numbers and one I'll continue using for years to come. If you haven't tried it already, I hope you'll consider it. |