You could win a Fiskars Rotary Cutter and Cutting Mat.

This is a reminder of the ongoing Recycling Challenge.  The post with all the information can be found at http://www.sewstitchcreate.com/2012/10/15/recycling-re-purpose-challenge-contest/

There are 21 days left in the Challenge, what are you working on?  What ideas do you have?  What materials will you be working on?

I am working on recycling an old boat cover and turning it into re-usable shopping bags.  The boat cover was replaced because my father-in-law decided to try to pressure wash it to remove the mold.  Not only did it not work, it removed all the water resistance from the cover.  Making the cover useless.  So we bought a new one.

The old one was in REALLY bad shape.  It was pretty big too with elastic around the edges.  So to get started I cut it up into manageable pieces.  I then zig-zagged the edges so it didn’t fray during washing.

Here is the before picture:

I first tried washing the pieces in the washing machine.  Then, I tried washing it with bleach – not once – not twice – but three times.  This was as good as it was getting; still not presentable for a bag – even a junky bag:

Next, I soaked it in a plastic tub with bleach and water.  I did 1 part bleach to 9 parts water.  I let it soak for 2-3 hours.

Now that is a piece I can do something with!  It still has markings of the mold, but it smells fresh and the marks look more like a design.  And, it is super soft.

I did a close up comparison photo below.  I hope this helps you come up with different ideas for materials that can be re-purposed.