JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN, DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD: TOWELS FOR EXAMPLE.

Only yesterday I had proof that my husband doesn’t follow all my blog posts. Or if he reads them, he sometimes glosses over them or misses the message. Just something less than two years ago, I wrote about the need to downsize on bathroom towels. At the time, I gave a lot of - what I thought were - good reasons for doing it. You can read it (link below) and decide for yourself just how good the reasons were. And they still are good reasons as far as I’m concerned.

But, back to my first comment, it all happened when my husband came home for lunch and saw me crocheting the edge of a towel. You’ve undoubtedly seen those towels. They are rather small and made of thin cotton. That’s just the point. Since my decision two years ago to downsize on towels, I’ve had to purchase a couple of thin towels for myself. I found them at the dollar store. My husband continues to use the old “regular” ones that we bought ten years ago and, by some miracle, continue to tolerate frequent machine washing. He wouldn’t let me get rid of his plush treasures when I did my first post on towel downsizing. So, I’m the one who uses thin ones.

On seeing me crochet yesterday, he asked what I was doing. I said: “ I’m crocheting an edge on these cheap, dollar store towels because if I don’t, they ravel out and look terrible. With this edging, they hold up just fine.”

Dollar store towels look pretty good with crocheted edging.

His reply was: “ We can afford to buy good bath towels.” Roughly translated, I suppose he meant that I was AGAIN wasting my time on a rather useless project. I answered him, saying: “I like these towels and do this to keep them serviceable for a long time.” That was enough to quiet him, especially since I got up right then and got busy serving lunch.

But some hours later, I thought that - maybe - I should post more about my decision to use thin, cotton towels rather than the usual fluffy ones. Like my husband, maybe my readers missed that post – so far back in time. Or perhaps I didn’t explain myself as well as I should have. So, here I am with another post the subject of bath towels.  The theme for this one is: JUST BECAUSE YOU CAN (afford to buy fluffy towels), DOESN’T MEAN YOU SHOULD (buy them).

It has everything to do with the harmful effects of the cotton industry

Cotton is a natural product. “Natural” sounds like, maybe, ecological. Unfortunately, cotton growing is not earth-friendly. Being “natural” doesn’t mean that it’s something sustainable.

The sad truth is this.  Cotton growing involves the most intensive pesticides use of any agricultural product in the world. The annual cotton crop accounts for 22.5 percent of all insecticides, herbicides and defoliants used at the global level. And all those toxins end up harming wildlife and contaminating other foods that we eat.

Water use is another concern. Growing enough cotton for one T-shirt requires 257 gallons of water. Think about how much water goes into producing the plush towel that seems like such an good buy for $6 to $10. The polluted wastewater emissions from cotton fields and textile industry also weigh heavy on the environment. What’s more, due to the intensity of cotton farming, cotton in many poor countries makes up for a large percentage of agricultural land - so much so that the local population can’t even cultivate their own food.

If that wasn’t enough, there’s the question of genetically modified cotton. GM cotton hasn’t got much world attention because cotton is falsely considered to be a non-food crop. But food is also an issue here. Cottonseed oil is used for cooking and in animal feed. 
 

We all can make better choices.

So, that’s why I choose thin towels over plush ones and the reason that I want my towels to last for a very long time. And besides all that, the shell-crocheted edge makes my simple towels more attractive – something that I like. After all, it takes me only about three relaxing hours to finish crocheting the edges of a towel, and the cotton yarn I'm using is left over from an earlier project.
 

Fluffy bath towels are among the things you can easily acquire but that, most likely, you shouldn’t (now that you know some of the problems involved.) But, of course, the same can be said of a huge number of other “convenient” consumer products that - thinking more clearly about it – seem to be motivated more by personal vanity than by need. Other examples (and even bigger ones) that come to mind are brand new cars, wide-screen TVs, smart phones, all-round sound systems, etc. But those are subjects of future posts, if I ever get around to them.

Earlier posts

THINGS TO DOWNSIZE RIGHT AWAY: CASE #1 – LARGE, FLUFFY BATH TOWELS
HOW CONSUMERISM (STILL) TRIES TO FOOL US

  

DECORATE A T-SHIRT WITH CROCHET AND BEAD CHAINS

Even though I’m a dedicated minimalist when it comes to clothing, occasionally, I'm inspired to adorn things in my closet. Last weekend was one of those times. And, in a crafty binge, I decided to branch out from my usual (of-late) crochet bracelet-making to include a design for an embellished tee. I’d wanted such a tee for some time and spent a little time figuring out how to make one for myself. Here was my thought. I generally don’t like to wear necklaces – especially in this super hot weather. But now and again I want to wear a decorated tee-shirt with something distinctive on the front. And, in a moment of inspiration, I decided to hang strands of beads on two buttons attached to the front of the tee.

Armed with one of my favorite $5 tees, 2 buttons, some beads and heavy nylon thread from my bracelet craft stash, I crocheted three separate strands of beads, tied together in  single chain circle that allows the beads to dangle from the buttons on the either side of the neckline. So, now I have a fancy t-shirt to wear with my two gathered waist, mid-calf skirts. With this new creation, I'll feel comfortably cool but still dressed up enough to go out to a friend’s house in the evening or to a restaurant for dinner. And since the beads are easily detachable from the shirt, there will be no problem for regular machine washing.

All-in-all, the project was an easy one. It took just me a little patience to pull all three strands into one single chain “hook” just the right size. I’m pleased with the results of my efforts.

So, try this idea to spruce up an old tee and create a unique top for a special occasion. The bead chains bring color and texture to the front of the tee without going through the sewn beading process that takes a lot of planning, patience, and skill. Beyond that, if you don’t have the crochet skills to make this project, you might get something of the same effect by wiring together two or three separate chains with beads or links (that you already have) and hanging them off of sewn on buttons. Also, I’ve seen beads that were glued on a tee to form a design. So, that might be another way to get the look of chains without the work of either sewing or crocheting.

How to make the bead-chain for the tee
Materials

Two buttons. I decided on rather plain ½” wood buttons. Flatter, simple ones work better, and won't come off so easily with multiple washings.

Nylon crochet thread - whatever thickness and color(s) you like

Bunch of colorful beads. I used different colors and sizes for each chain.

#2.5 crochet hook (or size that better fits your thread)

Craft needle to thread the beads

Instructions
- Decide how long you want each chain. (Mine dangled a bit, so they were about 14, 16, and 18 inches long.) Multiple that length of each chain by 7 to be sure to have enough material to finish out your crochet. If you're doubling the thread, like I did, then you'll need about 14 times the length of each chain.

- Make your crochet chains, adding beads as you go. (I like to start by tying in the middle bead and crocheting out on both sides. That way, I can make adjustments as I go and end up precisely at the length I've chosen.)  If you’ve never crocheted with beads, there are several good Youtube instructionals for how to do this. That’s how I learned.

- Attach the last two links of each of the three strands of beads to a final short crochet chain. Knot the chain together to form a ring just big enough to go around the button. Do the same for the other side.

That done,  put on your tee, hang the beads off the buttons, and you’re ready to go out in a one-of-a-kind shirt. Also, this would make a nice gift tee for a friend. Or just make up a gift “kit” of buttons and bead chains, along with a sketch or photo of how to wear the chains. Your friend can put it on whatever shirt she chooses and do her own (minimal) handiwork.

Related posts
MAKE A BEADED BOOKMARK FOR A FAVORITE BOOK
A FRAMED PICTURE COLLAGE MAKES AN EYE-CATCHING WALL DISPLAY
MAKE A FAMILY MEMORY BOX
A GIFT IDEA FOR A “CLOTHESLINE” WALL-HANGING MADE FOR A CHILD
DOING HANDICRAFTS IS USEFUL AND FUN
MAKING HEART-SHAPED PILLOWS FOR LITTLE GIRLS
MAKE BEAUTIFUL BEADS FROM RECYCLED PAPER
CREATE A PERSONALIZED, EMBROIDERED PICTURE FOR A CHILD

GIVE AN OLD T-SHIRT A NEW LIFE AS A SHOPPING BAG

When you think that the average family returns from the grocery store with 10 or more plastic bags, that’s a lot of plastic. It’s bad for our environment and ends up adding more costs to the food budget. (You are, of course, paying for those bags – they’re aren’t gifts!) The same plastic shopping bags are used about 30 minutes from the store to the home, and then they’re stashed somewhere, and usually end up in landfills. Even with recycle bins at the big stores, only about 1% ever get recycled.

Plastic bags are a big source of pollution, and in some areas of the country, they have even prohibited their distribution at grocery stores. Reusable bags don’t contribute to pollution. For this reasons, many stores sell the reusable cloth bags at a cost of $.50 to $1.00. But, of course, to help the environment, you need to be organized enough to have and carry your reusable bag or bags when you go shopping.

The good news is that you can your make your own shopping bag from a recycled t-shirt with almost no money and with just a couple of hours of work. It’s a great way to use t-shirts from a previous year. So, here I include instructions on how to re-purpose an unwanted t-shirt into a reusable shopping bag.

Your shopping bag will be the exact same size as the recycled t-shirt, and any good-sized t-shirt will do fine. Your need for sewing skills are negligible. With some cutting and just two seams – hand or machine sown – you’ll create your bag. The part left where you removed the sleeves and the scooped out neck will fashion the handles for your bag and the bottom part will hold your groceries. You’ll use it for grocery shopping, but it also can be a tote bag for all kinds of things like library books, cleaning supplies or anything else you need to carry around. The plus is that your t-shirt bag will be strong and totally washable!

You’ll need only a few tools and materials:
Heavy-weight cotton T-shirt
Pins
Sewing machine or hand sewing needles
Thread
Large mixing bowl (to help trace out the circles to be cut)
Water-erasable marking pen
Scissors

Here's how to make your t-shirt bag:

(If your not sure whether your t-shirt is clean or not, put it in the wash before you begin this project.)

First, turn the T-shirt inside out. Line up the bottom hem of the shirt, use pins to hold the front and backsides together, and sew the bottom edges together. All the sewing is done with the shirt inside out. To have stronger seams that hold up better, add an extra line of stitching. You may also want to box-in the corners. You can do this by sewing a triangle across the corners at the bottom of the bag.

Next, flip the shirt right side out and lay it flat on table. Make sure all the seams are lined up and place the mixing bowl below the neck hole. Using the marking pen, trace the edge of the bowl. Cut along the outline. This is the opening to your bag. Make sure that the scoop that you cut out is large enough to fit the groceries into the bag.

Then, line up the hems on the sleeves and cut off both arms, including the sleeve seams. Use pins to hold the edges together while you make the cuts. These will form the handles for your shopping bag. For extra strength, you can reinforce the handles of your bag by stitching across the shoulder seam once or twice.

Luckily, most t-shirts are made of knit-jersey and don’t usually fray, but, if you like, you can hem the edges of the t-shirt bag - that will give it a more finished look. (I crocheted a simple chain stitch all around the edges to give it a more finished look).

Turn the bag right side out again and your ready to go shopping.

There are all kinds of variations that you can do to have a more attractive bag. You can:

Fashion your bag so that an interesting logo is displayed on the front of your bag.

Decorate your bag with embroidery or a crocheted edge. (I single-crocheted an edge around the entire bag including the handles. It took about 5 hours, but the result was attractive and it made the bag much stronger.)

Use pens to write a “get green’ slogan on your bag – something like: “ I used to be a t-shirt.” or “I’m not your usual plastic bag!”

Add two pockets to the bag using the material from the t-shirt sleeves. Make the pockets as deep as possible so that they can hold a lot of small items.