Up Cycle This! What Does That Mean? If I take the Blue Patchwork Shorts and Transform them into a Quilt?

Is is Up Cycling? Recycling? or Reclaiming?

Am I  "up cycling"  when I take an old shirt or clothing item and turn it into a quilt?

Upcycling is the process of converting waste materials or useless products into new materials or products of better quality or a higher environmental value.* 


Or am I  "recycling"  when I take an old shirt or clothing item and turn it into a quilt?
Recycling is processing used materials (waste) into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution (from incineration) and water pollution (from landfilling) by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse gas emissions as compared to virgin production.^[1][2]Recycling is a key component of modern waste reduction and is the third component of the "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle" waste hierarchy.*


Maybe it is that I am  "reclaiming"  the fabric when I turn a old clothing item into a quilt?
re·claim tr.v. re·claimed, re·claim·ing, re·claims
1. To bring into or return to a suitable condition for use, as cultivation or habitation: reclaim marshlands; reclaim strip-mined land.
2. To procure (usable substance2s) from refuse or waste products.*
de·con·struct 
1. To break down into components; dismantle.*

tr.v. de·con·struct·ed, de·con·struct·ing, de·con·structs

First, I deconstruct the clothing items as part of the process. I reclaimed the fabric. Then I recycle it by using it again and finally, I up cycle it into a usable item.

The simple "Transformation Process" from clothes to quilts:

• Cut apart the Blue Patchwork Shorts and several denim shirts.  
• Rotary cut the shorts into squares of assorted sizes from 2 inches to 4 inches square.
• Rotary cut the denim shirts into strips 2 1/2 inches wide with the remaining strips in smaller sizes.  
• Then I stitch the strips around the blocks to form larger blocks.
• Assemble the blocks together to create a quilt top.  
• Quilt it and bind it, thus resulting in a one of a kind "Up Cycled Quilt".

The denim shorts and  several denim shirts.

This "Up Cycled Quilt" isn't done yet .... Nope! What do I mean? 

I am NOT sewing the strips together... 

Why???

Part of the creation process is making changes as you create!  Believe it or not I am going to cut apart the strips (not seam rip) and deconstruct some more clothes and then reclaim the fabric and add/recycle them into this quilt!  

I have learned a very important concept over the years.  "Pause and View!"  Look at your project at different stages --- If it is not right, then make changes... I have that "original vision" in my head and this isn't it... so I make a change!

Sometimes it is kind of scary creating and writing about it at the same time.  I don't know for sure how it will look when completed, but I have that "original vision" in my head ... So hang in there with me as I create this quilt...........

Marcia

Stay tuned for more up cycling quilt projects - "Up Cycle This"


*Definitions from Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia And The Free Dictionary by Farlex 


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