A New Generation of Upcyclers! Day 56 Use What You've Got

A few weeks ago I was asked to speak to some students at a local school about sewing with upcycled materials. They have an assignment this term to sew something from upcycled materials and the teacher thought that hearing from someone who did lots of this might inspire them.

I spent a lovely lesson with the kids talking about what I do, how I got started and showing them some of the things I've made.

A couple of days ago the teacher contacted me to say the students were nearing the end of their assignment and would I like to come and see what they'd come up with.

I jumped at the chance and I have to say I was super impressed with not only the ideas they had come up with, but how well their projects were made.

They have very kindly allowed me to share some photos of their  assignment projects. So here they are.

Fabulous cushions upcycled from jeans by Lynette:

They are so well made - and I love how the seams of the jeans are a feature and that there is a pocket on each pillow!

A tablecloth by Shahni:

Made from her mum's old cushion covers. The patterns and colours work so well together and I'm impressed at how well she's completed such a large project. I know how hard it is to work with such a large item when you're sewing!

A rather cool make-up holder by Kirralee:

The main part is a pillowcase - the perfect size! The pockets are patchwork from t-shirt fabric. Flowers add decoration and hide minor imperfections, and a mirror held on with velcro!  Just brilliant!

And here's one more in progress..

A cute pot holder made out of old denim from jeans made by Jennifer:

I wanted to say a huge thank you to Ruth and her students for welcoming me into their classroom and for allowing me to share their projects here on my blog. I was so impressed with all of them, and hope that it has inspired them to create more fabulous upcycled things!

Upcycling in Education

I love the fact that creating something from upcycled materials is a school assignment in high school. 

At age 4 or 5, schooling begins with kids making things out of recycled materials. If you've had kids at Kindergarten or Pre-School, then surely you've taken in old cereal boxes, yoghurt pots, toilet paper rolls etc for the kids to craft and create with.   If only we could continue teaching our kids to 'use what they've got' throughout their schooling.

If we can educate our kids to reduce, reuse and recycle instead of just always buying new things, imagine the difference that could be made in the world with a

 whole new generation of upcyclers!

Jill