Get more life out of old sweaters It can easily...

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Your daily source of inspiration for creative reuse and mindful consumption.

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[Background on, & press coverage of, Unconsumption can be found here and here.]

Consumption is a word used to describe acts of acquisition – generally, the acquisition of things, in exchange for money.

Unconsumption is a word used to describe everything that happens after an act of acquisition.

Unconsumption is an invisible badge.

Unconsumption means the accomplishment of properly recycling your old cellphone, rather than the guilt of letting it sit in a drawer.

Unconsumption means the thrill of finding a new use for something that you were about to throw away.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a service like Freecycle (or Craigslist, Goodwill, or Salvation Army) to find a new home for the functioning DVD player you just replaced, rather than throwing it in the garbage.

Unconsumption means enjoying the things you own to the fullest – not just at the moment of acquisition.

Unconsumption means the pleasure of using a pair of sneakers until they are truly worn out – as opposed to the nagging feeling of defeat when they simply go out of style.

Unconsumption means feeling good about the simple act of turning off the lights when you leave the room.

Unconsumption is not about the rejection of things, or the demonization of things. It’s not a bunch of rules.

Unconsumption is an idea, a set of behaviors, a way of thinking about consumption itself from a new perspective.

Unconsumption is free.

CONTRIBUTORS:

Founder & Editor: Rob Walker, journalist, Savannah, GA

Editorial & Community Manager: Molly Block, marketing and business development geek, Houston, TX

Brian W. Jones, designer & writer, Göteborg, Sweden

Kashvi Kumar, Environmental Studies and Economics major at New York University

Deirdre Nelson, ever threading artist, Glasgow, Scotland

Shanna Trenholm, writer. catalyst. force of nature. San Diego, CA

* * *

Alumnus & Unconsumption logo creator: Clifton Burt, graphic designer, Portland, OR

Further information about Unconsumption can be found here.

9:19 am - Sat, Jan 7, 2012: 146 notes

Get more life out of old sweaters

It can easily happen: A wool sweater gets included in a load of laundry that’s machine-washed in hot water and dried in a dryer, making the sweater shrink so it’s way too small to wear. The upside of having one or more such sweaters is they’re great to cut up and use in craft projects; the dense weave of felted wool tends not to fray, and the sweater pieces are pretty easy to stitch together or onto other material.

If you haven’t accidentally felted a sweater lately, you could intentionally felt one, e.g., wash and dry a sweater you’ve outgrown or purchased at a thrift store. If you haven’t felted something before, the process can leave a fiber-y residue in your washing machine (and water line) — I suggest reading Diane Gilleland’s felting tips on the Craftystylish blog first.

Want project ideas?

See earlier Unconsumption DIY posts on making a patchwork cover to use on iPads and other things (here), and a holiday wreath (wreath #7 in the group shown here). This Threadbanger post features several ideas with links to tutorials, as does this Pinterest board. (From the looks of that Pinterest page, I’d say Marta McCall is a felt fan!) As for me, I’m going to keep things simple and cut out circles to make both a miniature holiday tree for next year and coasters.

(Mitten photo, via Food & Crafts on Pinterest, which links to this MarthaStewart.com post with how-to info for mittens, a patchwork blanket, a basket, and more; hat photo, via Vintage Indie, which includes a brief tutorial.)