Helen explains how she made this pretty Christmas tote bag from donated materials.
THERE’S no such thing as an unwanted scrap of material for crafting enthusiast Helen Ward.
With imagination and nimble fingers she can take fabric remnants, old tablecloths and unfashionable doilies and transform them into everything from quilts to Christmas gift bags, tags and stockings.
And her creative efforts – all made from donated fabrics - are now adding to the sales at our Broomhill vintage store, with Helen volunteering alongside a full team of crafters.
“The upcycled items are always made from donations to St Luke’s which we would not be able to ordinarily sell,” she explained.
“For example, some of the embroidered linen that comes in is badly stained or has holes in it and that case, we can cut up the embroidery and repurpose it to use elsewhere and create something beautiful.
“People are getting real bargains - hand-made, hand-embroidered quilts for only £25 to £30, which is extraordinarily cheap!”
And to make sure that every last scrap of fabric can be put to good use, leftovers of linen and cotton are now packaged and sold to people working on their own crafting projects.
“I make bags constantly out of things like table mats and anything that is not going to sell that I think I can repurpose,” said Helen. “And the great thing is that all the money is going to help the St Luke’s cause.”
The St Luke’s Broomhill vintage shop is at 3 Crookes Road, Sheffield. To join the volunteer team simply call into the store or email [email protected]