04 May We need your fabric please to fill up our craftivism suitcase :)
This big suitcase I got off ebay is where I put all of our fabric supplies. We are running low on supplies and need your help please to fill our suitcase back up with pretty cotton fabric we can use (20cm x15cm is the smallest size we can use). Can you or someone you know help? Do you have fabric hidden away that you are not using? Old patterned shirts we could use & even turn the sleeves into craftivism kits?
Fabric donated by Rachel Taylor who ordered samples for her son’s Boy Scouts Club activity and didn’t need these.
I’m hyper-conscious of the mark the Craftivist Collective make on this planet. I worry about the fact that we are putting more ‘stuff’ out in the world & I hope it won’t end in a landfill. That’s why I’m always keen to upcycle & recycle unwanted fabric as much as possible, use donated embroidery needles & thread/floss where possible, & use the most eco & ethical suppliers we can find for the other elements such as our paper instruction sheet, kit packaging, postcards & stickers (all using recycled paper, made in the UK & suppliers who pay a living wage to their employees).
Image from our @craftivists Instagram gallery of one of 6 pots of craft resources for our last workshop – If you have anything similar you no longer use, we would love your donations (white bobbin card bottom left of the image, embroidery thread & small scissors or needles in the jar)
Some of the suitcase is packed with 20cm strips of fabric I’ve spotted in shops (we are on a budget so can’t buy by the metre, sorry shopkeepers!) I thought they would be perfect for our mini protest banners or bespoke projects for charities & organisations we work with because of their colours, patterns, or objects on the fabric that help convey the message we are trying to put across (e.g objects from nature to encourage us to love the environment, superhero icons to encourage us to be the change we wish to see in the world rather than relying on a superhero, pretty patterns in hopeful colours like yellow that just make our craftivism pieces too pretty to ignore). But the suitcase is mainly filled with donated pieces to help us create ethical sustainable kits. Some donations come with such lovely heartfelt letters from people who are no longer able to use the fabric whether that’s for health reasons or lack of time. Some come from resource centres who hold back their small patches for us. Some are from people who have samples they’ve ordered and no longer need .
Look how happy you can make fellow craftivists by donating your unwanted craft supplies to our little social enterprise ;p x
What we need:
- Thin cotton fabric with small patterns on (20cm x 15cm minimum size)
- Embroidery needles size 6 (or around that size- not too small)
- Embroidery thread/floss black
- Bobbin thread cards
- Eyelets size 5mm diameter
- small Scissors
- $upport us in other ways here – we would really appreciate your help to keep us going
Please post to:
Sarah Corbett,
Craftivist Collective c/o
Hawkhurst Vault (who are a brilliant & supportive ethical local independent cafe)
240 Brick Lane
London
E2 7EB
Please do share this post with your friends, family or any crafty contacts you think might be able to help x
Nina
Posted at 15:34h, 04 MayAre plain cotton fabrics any good? I’ll see what I’ve got. When you’re buying fabrics it would be amazing if they’d been produced in a way all us craftivists would be happy about – maybe the people at organiccotton.biz would give you a deal on fair trade, organic remnants??
Louise Presley
Posted at 21:40h, 04 MayI have a large collection of donated fabrics and haberdashery items that are in need a good home. Email me if you want more details or to organise delivery.
Craftivist Collective
Posted at 00:19h, 05 MayGreat news Louise, will do 🙂 Thanks so much x
S.Shoebrook
Posted at 16:30h, 30 JulyI have several embroidery threads and small scissors that I no longer use ,would you like them?
If so I will post them on to you.
Craftivist Collective
Posted at 20:54h, 30 JulyThanks so much for your offer but our suitcase is currently too full with no more space craft resources. But thank you so much for your offer 🙂
Sylvia Perich
Posted at 21:56h, 17 MayI have large collection of old embroidery flosses that I don’t need anymore. Dimensions and DMC cotton flosses. I tend to make Dimensions counted cross-stitch kits as gifts, and this leaves me with a lot of floss that I’m not very likely to use. I would love to share with with crafters who would like to use them instead of having them take up space, and perhaps ultimately get tossed. Would this be something that you would be interested in?
Craftivist Collective
Posted at 12:59h, 18 MayHi Sylvia 🙂 Thanks for your lovely offer. If you could email sarah@craftivist-collective.com with a photo of the floss (it can be must on a smartphone) then we can see if we can use them. Like you, we don’t want to keep thread we can’t use so please do email & we can see what is best. Thanks so so much 🙂
amelia richardson
Posted at 17:00h, 12 OctoberHi there,
I work for a retail supplier called Poeticgem – based in Watford. We currently have around 10-12 maybe more full bin bags of clothing – men’s and women’s, which we do not need.
We also have around 15 boxes/bags full of fabric scraps of all different lengths.
If you would be interested in these, let me know and we can arrange for you to come and collect.
This can also be a monthly donation as we usually have these kinds of chuck outs quite often.
Let me know,
Kind regards,
Amelia Richardson
Craftivist Collective
Posted at 18:56h, 31 OctoberHi Amelia 🙂 Thank you for your kind offer. However we are a small social enterprise so cannot take on that large amount of donated textiles. I hope you find a good home for them and thanks again for your offer. Best wishes x
Jas
Posted at 22:29h, 14 MayH
I hsve saree and silk materials,do you want these ?
Kind regards
Jas
Craftivist Collective
Posted at 18:08h, 23 MayThanks so much for the lovely offer Jas but I think your material would be better suited elsewhere. It sounds lovely but we need patterned cotton in particular. Good luck in finding them a lovely home 🙂 x
Karen
Posted at 16:59h, 23 MarchDo you still collect sewing supplies and fabrics? Sorry I have no idea how old these posts are.
I’m looking for a place where I can donate some fabrics that put them to good use.
Thanks
Craftivist Collective
Posted at 20:44h, 26 MarchThanks for offering Karen 🙂 At the moment I’ve got a full suitcase of fabric so can’t hold any more but do follow us on Twitter, Instagram and/or Facebook to see if/when I put out a future request for fabric. Please do consider donating to Traid or Oxfam in the meantime
Anuradha Deacon-Varma
Posted at 18:18h, 24 FebruaryI am having a turn out of old unused fabrics and new fabrics that weren’t quite how I expected. I have a mixture of large and small scraps and quite long lengths. They are mostly light cottons but there are some slightly heavier fabrics and a small amount of fine corduroy.
I’m very happy to post to you if you can use them I’ve been giving remnants to our local hospice shop but I feel you could make good use of them. Are you interested in trimmings too?
Craftivist Collective
Posted at 15:34h, 09 MarchThanks for your kind offer Anuradha 🙂 I currently have a large vintage suitcase full of donated fabric I use and no more space for more donations at the moment so please do donate your remnants to your local hospice shop but thank you so so much for thinking of us 🙂 When I need more fabric I post on social media with specific types of fabric and embellishments we need. Do keep an eye out on Instagram & Twitter @Craftivists and/or Facebook @CraftivistCollective.
All my thanks for your kind offer
Sarah x