I wear a brooch and a scarf almost every day. I think it’s just that I love the feel of decorative textiles.
Making brooches from repurposed fabrics is great fun, and you use more of your stash. Plus, it’s a wonderful way to express creativity while being environmentally conscious.
Each brooch becomes a unique work of art. It tells its own story through the colors, textures, and patterns of the fabric. You can experiment with different shapes and embellishments, adding beads, buttons, or embroidery to enhance your designs.
These brooches make for cute accessories. They also have the potential to become treasured gifts for friends and family. They showcase both your thoughtfulness and artistic flair. them into wearable pieces of joy.
I guess I should explain about these pieces. I don’t have them now I give most of them away.
They are made from very old button down collars. I’ve cut one collar into three and I get three brooches. The collars are like drawing on cardboard, the cotton has been so heavily polished and they feel wonderful.
The collars were produced in Troy, NY, by a workforce comprised entirely of Irish immigrant women. Notably, the collar industry was the first to allow women unionists. When these women threatened to strike, the men, concerned about their appearance, ultimately agreed to their demands.
The collar factories in Troy, NY, were known as the “Collar City.” They played a pivotal role in the garment industry during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Troy’s collar factories were renowned for producing detachable collars, an essential part of men’s fashion at the time. A housewife named Hannah Montague is credited with inventing the detachable collar in 1827. She wanted an easier way to clean her husband’s shirts without washing the entire garment.
This innovation quickly caught on. Troy became a hub for collar manufacturing. Many factories sprang up to meet the demand. The city’s strategic location along the Hudson River allowed easy access to raw materials. Its proximity to New York City facilitated access to markets. This further boosted its prominence in the industry
Of course I use other fabrics, an old apron, pieces of old Kantha as a background. This PDF will walk you through the process.
Just click on the first page of the notes.
When I first met my husband he wore detachable collars and some were made of paper. Where on earth do you find them?
Sue Buxton
OH my goodness, I have no idea, these were made in the 20’s and are thick polished cotton (as stiff as cardboard) in the download I show that I use old embroidery pieces on Kantha quilt scraps.
Thanks for sharing the brooch idea. What do you suggest as the ideal stitch length when stitching the designs? Do I lower the feed dogs??
It’s free motion, so don’t change it. If you change the stitch length to 0 you will just put them to sleep. I don’t drop the feed dogs so it’s me who controls the stitch length as I sew.