- We spent a few days at the Outer Banks with my family. While we were in Manteo on a grey and blustery beach afternoon, I stopped at the Endless Possibilities gallery, which I’d read about in Niche magazine. From their own promo: “Endless Possibilities is an innovative recycling project that utilizes castoff fabric from the Hotline thrift stores to weave fabric that is then transformed into rugs, handbags, totes, and other useful, attractive items.” Years of volunteering at local thrift shops have given me an eye for the rejected items–clothing too worn or dirty to sell; clothing that won’t sell. I could see it all in the rugs in the gallery. The weavers cut strips of clothing and use them as the weft in their looms, selecting colors to coordinate. (Most of the rag rugs sold in big-box stores are made from similar raw materials–many thrift shops sell rejected clothing by the truckload to processing centers.)
- One of the newest knitting books on the shelf has a pattern for making pillow covers from sliced t-shirts. I tried cutting up a sweatshirt from the dump, but the yarn was too bulky for the needles I had and I abandoned the effort. I am inspired to continue. I don’t want to set up a loom, but weaving isn’t the only way to make fabric. Both knit and crochet can be used to make fabric directly, and both can be used to incorporate thicker fabric strips as “filler.” Endless Possibilities had rugs woven from ties and clients can commission a special weaving made from particular ties on the occasion of a retirement or other life-changing event that decommisions a tie wardrobe. The examples were wonderful. At .75 or $1.50 (poly or silk, respectively), I’m not going to be buying thrift shop ties to experiment with my own version of a tie rug, but I’ll keep my eyes open for dump donations.
- Originally published on June 7, 2006
