Prep Items Made with the Straight Stitch & Scraps

     Since I posted a tutorial on the simple straight stitch, I thought I might follow it up with some items you can make using just this one stitch.  A pouch is a portable storage device.  So is an extra pocket where you need one.  Quilts and warm coverings are storable goods used for warmth and barter.  Breathing life into old items is another way to survive another day.  Remember first day of Social Studies?  Man needs food, clothing, shelter.  Well, THIS woMAN also wants warm sturdy clothing and coverings as well as portable storage 
    
     There may be no source for raw materials and I cannot see myself weaving cotton into cloth.  I like to take a pair of jeans and cut them down into their elements for future use.  Jeans may wear or tear at the pressure points like the knees.  When a hole happens and the jeans have been mended beyond being mended again, they still leave several useful areas to work with.  The patch pockets on the back are good to save.

www.cutoutandkeep.net 

      Cut around the pockets at least one half inch to one inch all around.  One pocket can be applied to a purse, pouch or backpack to make more storage compartments for gear.  A single pocket is also a thick sturdy patch for a pair of worn jeans. Those smooth back no pocket jeans will wear thin after a while and a pocket back there adds storage and a sturdy patch.  A pocket from a pair of jeans makes a good pattern for making pockets and patches from other fabric.  Two pockets facing each other make a pouch.  

www.cutoutandkeep.net

  Apparently, two pockets and some of the legs also make a nice pair of slippers.  I am adding this site so you can see the use in something others would have thrown away.  Preppers trash nothing if it has good use left in it.  In a day when there is no extra, no more coming for a while, if ever, knowing how to make something out of nothing is a good skill.  Keep looking at those jeans.

berrybakewell.blogspot.com

simplejoycrafting.blogspot.com -

If your jeans wear out at the knee, cut them off at the knee.  Add a triangle from a second pair of jeans at the front and back and you have a new skirt that will wear forever.  


     You can also cut off the jeans at the hips and add fabric to make a skirt.  

Rag Quilts - How to make a Denim Rag Quilt

dianeinside.hubpages.com 

Prairie Harmony: Recycled Jean Quilt

prairieharmony.blogspot.com 

The jeans themselves offer many pieces of fabric for making patches for patchwork clothing or patchwork quilting.  All these photos can show you is a guide to possibilities.  If you live in cold country, denim patchwork is for you!  It is warm and insulating as many lighter fabrics are not and the weight of the seams are great for trapping and keeping the body's heat. 

Recycled cargo backpack Realtree hunting by KarensKreations22

www.etsy.com 

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     Of course these techniques can be made on a sewing machine if you have mastered the straight stitch on the machine, you are golden.  These ideas also translate to other fabrics.  If you are an avid hunter, and have Real tree or other woodland cammo, these ideas also translate into useful stylish garments.  

You can keep patches or strips of real tree camo for making a ghillie suit or a hunting blind.  

hangingonbyaneedleandthread.blogspot.com 

     Keeping it truly simple, a triangle of fabric and a shoe lace is a head cover


     I like to start with the 'easy s' first.  I like people to feel they have accomplished something truly cool when they see their final product.  I cannot assume everyone is stocking up on fabric for TEOTWAWKI.  Just me, so far.  You may have to think about saving what you have to make more from it later.  So, if you have no fabric stock, look at your clothes closely.  
     I give clothes to charity if they are still good and useable, free from stains and tears.  If they are flawed, I cut them into scraps fro use later.  I have half a quilt in a shoebox waiting for two more pairs of jeans to die!