Sustainable Sewing - Plush Addict Blog

How To Use Waistband Extenders – No Sew! Care & Repair Series #2

by Kellie Rose | Apr 27, 2022 | Care and Repair, Fabric Guides, Fabric Information Guide, Product Guides, Sustainable Sewing

Welcome to post number 2 in our Care & Repair Series! Today we’re offering a solution to a common problem – how to really quickly and easily extend a waistband… without any sewing! We’ll highlight this little wonder product and run you through why you might need them and how to use these waistband extenders.

Let’s be real. The pandemic has meant that many of us have put on some extra pounds and clothes might have become a little snug!

Or perhaps you’re in the early stages of pregnancy and could do with an extra bit of room before buying some maternity clothes?

And let’s not forget – some days we’re just bigger than others… This can be due to our monthly cycles, or perhaps eating certain foods can make you bloat.

You might need some extra comfort post-surgery, or just after a jolly good meal! Or perhaps something has shrunk in the wash (that old chestnut…!)

Our bodies can even fluctuate in size from day to day so a quick temporary fix can help ease discomfort.

We wanted to bring this little wonder products to your attention – who knew they were even a thing?!

And as these nifty little extenders are a NO SEW temporary fix it means they can even be switched between garments to extend their life.

With this series of Care & Repair blogs we really want to bring into focus ways in which we can all reuse, repurpose, repair and rejuvenate the clothes that are already in our wardrobes.

300,000 tonnes of discarded clothing goes to landfill every year in the UK, making up 5% of the UK’s carbon and water footprint, according to Wrap, the waste charity. There’s never been a more important tome to make do and mend.

Being able to easily adjust the size of waistbands can help give them an extra lease of life and also improve their comfort by adding a little extra room. The wasit band extenders generally give you and extra will extend the waistline by approximately 2.5cm- 5cm on your waist band and are suitable for trousers, jeans or skirts.

No need to replace perfectly good garments that haven’t worn out; this is better for our wallets and for the planet – win win!

Extenders are not permanent fixtures to your garments so they can easily be switched out as required. Just make sure you remove them before laundering!

The waist extenders come in a variety of options…. make sure you select the best match for your garment.

You can also link multiple extenders together to achieve the level of fit you require – read to the end of this post to see this in action…

How to use waist band extenders

Select the Waist Band Extender product which best matches the fastening and colour of your garment. There are button, hooks and jean button products to choose from

Waistband Expander

2. Thread the existing fastening through one of the holes on the extender piece

3. Thread the fastening on the extender through the garment hole

Voila! Extra comfort at the waist in a jiffy!

Check out Hemline’s video here to see how the hook product works

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Linking Waistband Extenders Together

Should you need even greater ease at the waistband, the extenders can be looped together to create a larger stretch like this.

See how easy it is to prolong the life of your garment if it’s become a bit snug!

How to Repair Bra Hooks: Care & Repair Series #1:

by Kellie Rose | Mar 19, 2022 | Care and Repair, Product Guides, Sustainable Sewing, Tutorials

Have you ever wondered if you can repair bra hooks when they get mangled in the wash? Or how you can save a bra that’s perfectly fine, but needs its bra clasp replacing? Keep reading and we’ll give you instructions on how you can quickly & easily complete a bra hook repair.

In this post you’ll find a full colour tutorial on how you can replace a bra back – it’s really not that tricky either. Yay!

This is the first post in our new Care & Repair Series…. we hope you find the series useful

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Reusable Fabric Gift Tags

by Kellie Rose | Jul 7, 2021 | Fabric, My Makes, Project Ideas, Sustainable Sewing, Tutorials

This year you have plenty of time to make up these reusable fabric gift tags you can bring out year after year, not only saving you time & money BUT also lots of waste that just ends up in landfill. Because here at Plush Addict, we are always looking for ways to be kinder to the planet. Christmas will be here before you know it!

Just scribble the name in chalk or chalk pen and then wipe it off and reuse them year after year!

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How to make reusable Christmas bags: Sewing Tutorial

by Kellie Rose | Jul 5, 2021 | Fabric, My Makes, Project Ideas, Sustainable Sewing, Tutorials

How will you be wrapping your Christmas gifts this year? Will you be on ‘bin bag duty’ again collecting all of the used wrapping paper & throwing a glitter & foil mountain out to landfill? Or will you be getting your Christmas All Wrapped Up with Reusable reusable Christmas bags tutorial?

Making beautiful reusable fabric gift bags and tags means you can to keep them years to come!

All the effort you put in making these will come back to you – we promise! Make these and be your future friend next year when your gift wrapping will be complete in a fraction of the time – whoop!

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We are super excited to share with you this fabulous eco-conscious way of gifting your loved ones this year. Our reusable Christmas bags gift bags have three different sized bags you can create, here’s what you’ll need for each one…

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How To Sew A Waterproof Mattress Protector

by Kellie Rose | Apr 27, 2021 | Bamboo towelling, My Makes, Sustainable Sewing, Tutorials

You never quite realise how much your child moves around in their sleep until you reach the toilet training stage. Once that plastic protector is on their bed every movement is exaggerated with the crunchy rustle of plastic! And if that isn’t enough, the poor lamb suddenly finds themselves overheating from the added insulation.

A mattress protector like this is designed to fit on top your main sheet to help you change your child’s bed quickly and easily in the middle of the night. Your child will sleep with cool cotton against their skin and when soiled just whip this protector off and replace with another OR if have a separate bed sized waterproof protector under the main sheet of the bed you can literally just whip this off and get back to sleep!

The finished mattress protector is machine washable; make 2 or more and there will always be a spare on hand for those blurry eyed bed changes. The top and sides are cotton, giving a huge number of styling options, and it fits over a bed sheet instead of under, for speedy switching in the middle of the night.

Another advantage if using this protector is that it will reduce the size of your laundry load as these are around half the size of a full sheet.

This tutorial runs you through how to make a mattress protector of any size. It combines absorbent bamboo velour, non-rustling and breathable waterproof PUL fabrics for a quieter, cooler night’s sleep along with some pretty quilting cotton to make it super pretty!

Boring Legal Bit: If you follow any tutorial or guidance found in this post, or on this blog, you agree to be bound by our disclaimer which can be viewed here

A Sewing Project for Confident Beginners

You will learn:

How to sew bamboo velour fabric
How to sew Waterproof fabric

You will need:

Measure the length, width and depth of the mattress in cms:

Cotton top layer: Mattress width + 3cm x Length to be covered + 3cm
Absorbent layer: As per topper
Waterproof layer: Mattress width + 3cm x length being covered + 7cm
Cotton side panels: Mattress depth + half Mattress width +3.5cm x Length being covered + 4cm
Thread
Walking foot

We used*

Topper: 93 x 103cm Quilting Cotton
Bamboo velour: 93x103cm
PUL: 93x107cm
Side panels: 68.5x104cm [20 + 45 +3.5] x [100+4] Dashwood studios: Twist – Pumpkin
Thread

*The single mattress being covered was 190cm long, 90cm wide and 20cm deep

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Important notes

1.5cm seam allowance throughout, unless directed.

For steps using machine sewing, straight stitch, backstitching at the start & end using stitch length 3.5 unless otherwise stated.

Prepare your fabrics as per manufacturers care advice – Bamboo velour should be prewashed without fabric softener.

DO NOT iron waterproof fabric.

Disclaimer: PUL and waterproof fabrics are a suffocation hazard, always check the sheet is firmly fitted before every use.

Tips on how to sew waterproof fabric:

Use clips or pin within the seam allowance – pin holes will remain visible.
Waterproof fabrics can slip; we recommend a walking foot is used for this project. Otherwise try a Teflon or roller foot, or a strip of Scotch ‘magic tape’ stuck to the bottom of a standard foot.
Sew with tissue paper over the side that is slipping, and tear it away after.
Use an 80/12 needle

How to make a Waterproof Mattress Protector

1. Cut out the following using the measurements calculated above:

Topper
Absorbent layer
PUL
Side panels

Prepare the hem

2. Hem the 2 short sides of the side panels and 1 long side: With the fabric facing wrong side up, turn over 2cm of fabric along each side and press.

3. Fold the raw edges under to the crease and press forming a 1cm border.

Mitre the corners

Never mitred corners before? Check out this video to help.

4. Mitre the 2 hem corners on each side panel: Starting at one corner, open out the 2cm hem on both sides with 1cm of fabric still folded.

5. Fold over the corner, the creases will have formed a small square. Align the 2 sides of the small square with the two 2cm creases on the underside of the panel.

6. Finger press along the crease.

7. Unfold the corner and mark out the fold line.

8. Fold the corner in half, bringing the 2 right sides together.

9. Pin and sew along the marked line.

10. Trim the seam allowance to 3mm and clip the end.

11. Turn out the corner, use a turner to shape the point

12. Press then sew around the inner edge of the hems to secure.

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Assemble the Mattress Topper

13. Align the fabrics in the following order:

Waterproof fabric: Shiny side up
Topper: Right side down
Absorbent fabric: right side down

Please note: the waterproof layer is longer to create a lip at the edges of the finished mat.

14. Align and clip the short edges of the 3 fabrics together, guiding the excess waterproof fabric toward the centre.

15. Sew the 3 layers of fabric together on each side.

16. Understitch the seam allowances 2mm from the seamline, seam allowances overlapping the waterproof fabric side.

17. Add the side panels: Working under the waterproof layer, align the raw edges of the side panel with the side seams of the topper, right sides facing.

18. Clip the side panel, topper and absorbent layers together.

19. Baste with a 1cm seam allowance then press the seam allowances toward the topper fabric. Take care to avoid ironing the waterproof fabric.

20. Repeat steps 17. To 19. on the other side panel.

21. Clip the waterproof fabric to the topper fabrics. 1.5cm of waterproof fabric should extend past each end of the topper.

22. Sew the 2 sides leaving a 30cm turning gap in the centre of one.

23. Turn the mattress protector out the right way.

24. Sew the opening closed.

And you’re finished, well done!

Would you love a duvet cover and pillow to match? Check out the tutorial here.

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How To: Make Reusable Makeup Remover Pads and Waterproof Bag

by Kellie Rose | Apr 23, 2021 | Bamboo towelling, Project Ideas, Quilt Fabric, Sustainable Sewing, Tutorials

Help save the planet with 2 FREE tutorials! Read on for a Reusable Makeup Remover Pads sewing tutorial, and a waterproof bag to store them in until laundry day!

Did you know face wipes contain plastic and make up more than 90% of sewer blockages in the UK? They also end up in our oceans, which causes problems for our marine environment and sea creatures. Do you use cotton pads instead when removing makeup? Single use cotton pads are found to be non-biodegradable too.

Beauty experts say a reusable cloth can be less abrasive on the skin and is less likely to cause irritation to more sensitive skin types and around the eye area, ideal for waterproof mascara. A reusable alternative is sustainable and great for your skin!

Also lets not forget the cost, 50 disposable cotton pads can cost around £3-4, if you bought one for each day of the year you’d need around 8 packs, so you’d spend £32 a year.

So, let’s ditch the baby wipes and cotton wool pads! One very easy swap to make is to replace cotton pads for a reusable & washable alternative. Reusable makeup remover pads are a really quick & easy sew, also a great scrap buster.

We highly recommend using a bamboo fabric to back your reusable cotton pads in. The best choices are bamboo towelling and bamboo velour. We recently shared a fabric guide of bamboo fabrics here on the blog.

Boring Legal Bit: If you follow any tutorial or guidance found in this post, or on this blog, you agree to be bound by our disclaimer which can be viewed here

How To Make Reusable Makeup Remover Pads

You will need..

Cotton fabric – quantity depends on how many you wish to make. You will need 4½ ” square for each makeup pad

Bambo o velour or bamboo towelling – 4½” square is required per pad. We have used (and prefer) bamboo velour for this project as it’s so soft against the face

Thread

Pins

We used the gorgeous Woodland Songbirds fabrics.

Important Notes About Your Bamboo Fabric

Pre-Wash all of your fabrics and dry them as they will be laundered. Don’t skip this step! This is really important for bamboo velour as, like many stretch fabrics, the velour is likely to shrink a little

It is also advisable not to use fabric conditioner when laundering bamboo velour as it can affect its absorbency ofter a while.

Looking for more info on bamboo fabric? Check out our full guide here

Prepare & cut your fabrics.

For each pad you require

One 4.5” x 4.5” square of cotton
One 4.5” x 4.5” square of bamboo velour or bamboo towelling

Take 1 square of bamboo and one square of cotton and place RST and pin

Sew around all 4 sides with a 1.5cm seam allowance leaving a small turning gap of 1-2” *Pro Tip to help with your turning gap later on – When starting off your sewing place the needle in your fabrics 1cm from the raw edge and then pivot your fabric. This makes sewing up the turning hole easier.

Clip the corners on the diagonal and clip the main seams to ¼” – leaving the turning gap with 1.5cm seam allowance
Turn through the gap you’ve left and poke out the corners to a sharp point.
Press and then top stitch a scant ¼” from the edge with a 3mm stitch length, making sure you close up the turning hole.

…and you’re done!

Would you love to make a pouch for them to go in? Let’s make a double pocket waterproof dry bag!

We thought we would share this tutorial to make a waterproof dry zip pouch with two pockets, one which is waterproof, to keep your clean and used make up pads apart. When you’re ready to wash your reusable makeup pads, simply open the zip and put the whole thing into the washing machine.

You’ll need some waterproof fabric for this make, we recommend PUL fabric but check out our Waterproof Fabrics Guide here for more information.

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