I have become quite the collector of fabric — most of it organic, and some of it secondhand. I rarely know what I’m going to use it for. Only that I eventually will use it. My fabric stash thus far has come in really handy for making cloth napkins and handkerchiefs for my daughter to take to school, and I’m made my fair share of pillow covers. This fabric is a good candidate for the collection.

While I tend to avoid florals like the plague, I have taken a newfound interest in patterns like this one from Harts Fabric. As frilly as it is, the pattern manages to mix modern and traditional in a way that will open you up to endless combination possibilities. It would look great paired with solids in brown, blue, tan or creme, or even with a bold stripe in any of those colors.

I personally can’t imagine repeating it throughout a room, but it is a good starting point for a color palette. And I’ve learned from experience that outside of ModGreenPod, Daisy Janie and precious few other designers, good upholstery weight organic cotton fabric is hard to find.

Why It’s Green:

• Made of organic cotton

Price: $41.99/yard

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Pretty & Patterned: Organic Cotton Floral Upholstery Fabric

I’ve never been much of a fan of quilts, and I’ve never even remotely considered making one. But give me a free afternoon and you just might find me at the nearest quilting store looking for fabulous new fabrics to use in various home projects. I wouldn’t recommend quilting weight fabrics for heavy upholstery, but there’s no law against using them for curtains, pillows, art, etc. So when I discovered that…

1. Mod Green Pod makes organic quilting weight fabrics, and
2. That those fabrics are less than $9 a yard (at least at this retailer, compared to $39.75/yard for upholstery weight fabrics)

…I thought I was in heaven!

You can get some of MGP’s gorgeous patterns like Aspire, Bloom and Delight in bright new colorways. There are also a few new patterns that I hadn’t seen before, and I’m equally captivated by those! The fabrics are available in Spring, Summer and Garden collections, each with coordinating color palettes for easy quiltmaking. While I don’t plan on using them for this purpose, I can think of at least a dozen other ways I could use them around the house. And at this price for organic fabrics from a company that is committed to sustainability, you better believe I’ll be taking advantage of the deal!

Why It’s Green:

• Made of U.S.-grown organic cotton
• Printed with non-toxic, low-impact inks

Price: $8.25/yard

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Green Steal of the Week: Mod Green Pod Organic Quilting Fabrics

Lately, I’ve been a little sewing and fabric obsessed. I’m not the best seamstress, but I’m capable of simple projects, like making pillows, curtains and cushion covers that are presentable. I had to do all of these in my daughter’s room, and I’ve been working on some other projects around the house that I will reveal soon. To fuel my newfound obsession, I’ve been hunting for more gorgeous, and affordable, eco-friendly fabrics. While I’m not above paying $60-90 a yard for a really special project or a pattern I can’t live without, that kind of pricing isn’t practical for most of my everyday needs. These quilting-weight fabrics from Cloud 9 are just $16.50/yard.

The whimsical patterns and soft colors of their Beyond the Sea collection (shown above) would be appropriate in kid-friendly and adult spaces, and I can already think of a couple ways I’d like to use them. And while their previous collection, My Happy Garden, does feature some sophisticated stripes, overall, it is probably best reserved for a nursery or other child’s space. Of course, there’s no rule against using toadstools and tiny polka dots in grown up spaces, so use them where you see fit

Why It’s Green:

• Made of organic cotton
• Use environmentally responsible, solvent-free inks and dyes for printing
• GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) certified

Price: $16.50/yard. Available from a variety of online and brick & mortar retailers.

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Happy Patterns: Cloud 9 Fabrics’ Organic Collections

I have realized something in my for interior decor perfection: There is no such thing. I am not exaggerating when I say I have been searching for the perfect pillows for our sofa for months. I have an idea of what I want them to look like, but I’ve been unable to find pillows that fit my vision AND are green. So I started thinking I may just have to make them myself. That line of thinking led me to revisit the drop-dead gorgeous organic fabrics from Daisy Janie, designed by Jan DiCintio.

I found Daisy Janie a long, long time ago, and for some reason neglected to share them with you. Most of these patterns debuted last spring, so I guess I’m just in time for the changing of seasons this year. If this is your first time seeing these fabrics, I’m sure you won’t be disappointed. I’m becoming quite the do-it-yourselfer when it comes to textiles and soft furnishings for our home, and I have to stop myself from stockpiling beautiful fabrics like these when I come across them.

If you’ve never wanted to pick up a needle and thread or use a sewing machine, these are just the fabrics to make you think about trying it. They make me want to pull out the staple gun (and my patience) and find a chair to reupholster. I couldn’t decide which pattern or colorway to feature because they are all so beautiful. So instead of trying to force feed you my opinion, I’ll just let you admire the entire collection in all it’s bold, colorful glory.

Why It’s Green:

• Printed on organic cotton canvas and organic cotton sateen. Certified organic by GOTS and the Texas Department of Agriculture
• Made in the U.S.

Price: Fat Quarters: $14-16; Yardage: $56-64/yard. Also sold in the Daisy Janie Etsy shop.

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Get in the Mood to Create: Daisy Janie Organic Fabrics

Finding stylish organic fabric is becoming easier these days with the proliferation of companies like Mod Green Pod and others who all make beautiful prints that would make any home beautiful. Finding organic solids, however, is a slightly tougher task, particularly if you want any color other than “natural.” The ladies of Mod Green Pod clearly saw a gap in the market and started offering a wide range of solids not long ago.

They offer colors that are tough, if not impossible to find anywhere else, and for this I’m thankful. The new solids are: cherry, chocolate, earl grey, licorice, mushroom, natural, raspberry and water. And they do look just as tasty as they sound.

All I want is to find an organic solid in yellow, orange or green and I’ll be happy. Are you listening Mod Green Pod?

Why It’s Green:

• Made of 100% organic cotton canvas
• Grown and woven in the United States
• Uses non-toxic pigments
• Mod Green Pod is a member of the Organic Trade Association (OTA)

Price: $29.75/yard for solids

Bonus! Use coupon code “TOTELOVE25” and get 25% off all MGP organic cotton fabrics, vinyl-free wallpapers and tote bags. Exp. 11/15/09. I just used this code to order some of their gorgeous Aspire fabric. You’ll see what I’m using it for soon

UPDATE: I used the chocolate fabric to create an upholstered headboard for my daughter’s vibrant, eco-friendly bedroom. See how I did it, and how it looks in the finished room!

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Mod Green Pod Now Carries Solid Organic Fabrics

A little more than a week ago, my mother and I pulled the sewing machine out of her closet, where it had been hiding literally for years. My daughter’s preschool had requested that the students bring in small pillows, rather than full-size bed pillows, this year to save storage space. So I needed to cut down some old pillow cases to fit the decorative pillow she’d be taking to school. That project took me a total of about 5 minutes (minus the sewing machine setup, which took a lot longer than that while we tried to remember everything). But those 5 minutes were long enough for me to catch the sewing bug. I now have an urge to create something — anything — from pretty pieces of fabric. And Betz White’s fabrics can be described as nothing less than gorgeous.

I found her beautiful organic prints via Tiny Decor, and I can’t get enough of them! I’m also loving her slogan: “Stitch beautifully…tread lightly.” Isn’t that perfect for a woman who makes organic cotton fabrics? And the story behind her line is inspiring. She couldn’t find a large fabric manufacturer who shared her commitment to print on organics, so she decided to produce the line herself. That’s the kind of eco-ingenuity that paints a positive picture of our future.

The fabrics are available exclusively through her Etsy store. My personal favorites are Sprig & Sprouts in blue and green and Wood Pile, which features colorful concentric circles that look very much like the ends of cut wood. Now if I can just decide what to make…

Any suggestions?

Why It’s Green:

• Printed in the U.S. on an organic cotton/hemp blend fabric
• Digital printing process uses water-based, non-toxic pigment dyes and minimizes waste and water consumption
• Heat and pressure used to finish the fabric instead of harsh chemicals
• Printed on demand to prevent fabric waste

Price: $18/fat quarter, $68/yard

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

The Result of a Journey: Betz White’s Organic Fabrics

As a graphic designer, I revel in customization. When I create designs for myself, with no client to answer to, I love being able to have the final result exactly as I envisioned it. As an interior designer, I often wish I had the means to customize my projects in the same way. Thanks to Spoonflower, I can now print my own fabric designs on organic cotton fabric.

The Spoonflower service has been around for a while, but only recently did they start offering organic cotton as a printing option. Want to hear the best part? It costs less than $30/yard. With many companies offering organic cotton prints for $75/yard and up, this will be welcome news to anyone who has the means to create their own patterns. This makes sustainable textile design accessible to many, many people.

I’d personally love to print a bold black & white pattern. I created the one shown above for a project a few months back, but never wound up using it. I think it would make a great lampshade or pillow cover.

Why It’s Green:

• Printed on organic cotton
• Print-as-needed process saves waste
• Fabrics printed in North Carolina

Price: $27/yard for organic cotton

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Print Your Own Organic Fabrics with Spoonflower

Lately, I’ve been getting the itch to do a DIY project, big or small. Making pillows is easy enough, but I think I want to do something different, but equally as simple — like making a piece of wall art by stretching fabric over a frame. When I found these fabrics by Home Sweet on Etsy, that desire sparked up inside of me again. After all, prints as beautiful as these deserve to be put on display — works of art in themselves.

Jennifer Nelson designs and makes the fabrics at her Delaware home. They are block printed by hand with eco-friendly inks, and the bold, retro-leaning patterns are right up my alley. They are incredibly simple, yet still intricate and attention-grabbing enough to make a great home decor statement. If you’re not inclined to try your hand at crafting, you can purchase a variety of products already made with these fabrics, including gorgeous pillow covers and table linens. I think I’ll start with a few small swatches of fabric and work my way up from there. I’ll let you know what I come up with.

Why It’s Green:

• Patterns are block-printed onto hemp/organic cotton blend fabrics using water-based inks
• Handmade in the U.S.

Price: $9-70 for fabrics swatches of varying sizes. Approx. $70/yard

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

How Sweet It Is: Block Printed Fabrics by Home Sweet

As idealistic as I was when I started Green Your Decor, I always had a nagging question in the back of my head. Would I eventually run out of products and designers to write about? Would the trend toward greener living eventually fade into the past? Would everyone just go back to doing things the “conventional” way, chemicals and all?

It is product designers like Jenny Lee-Katz who give me renewed hope that the future — for me and everyone else — is indeed a greener one.

According to her site, Katz always had a love for textiles and design, but was appalled at the amount of waste created by the manufacturing process. She soon discovered that instead of the traditional dyeing process, textiles could printed digitally with eco-friendly pigment dyes that are printed directly onto the surface of the fabric, leaving almost no waste.

Jenny has taken care to make sure that every conceivable aspect of her products are eco-friendly and easy on the Earth. And on top of the great respect I have for this attitude toward the environment, her textiles are absolutely, drop-dead gorgeous. Her collection includes beautiful printed fabrics made of hemp, organic cotton and linen, and a variety of housewares utilizing these fabrics, including throw pillows and eco-friendly floor cloths, a great alternative to an area rug. Also in the works is a line of kid-friendly prints and matching products, along with a collection of beautifully designed handbags.

Is there anything Jenny Lee-Katz can’t do? That remains to be seen, but I’ll definitely be keeping my eye on her site.

Why It’s Green:

• Textiles printed with pigment inks on organic cotton canvas, hemp and linen
• Non-slip rug pads are plant-based
• Floor cloths finished with an ultra-low VOC, soy-based protective coating
• Bags finished with a water-based sealant

Pricing

• Fabrics: $90/yard
• Floor Cloths: $170-470
  
• Pillows/Pillow Covers: $126-160
  

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Designer Spotlight: Jenny Lee-Katz

Since we moved, I’ve been spending a lot more time outdoors. It could be because the weather is nicer, but its also because I just enjoy the smell of cut grass, moist dirt and wind blowing through the hedges. Spending all this time outside has made me realize just how sparse our outdoor decor is. It’s sad, really,  considering how much I love decorating. I keep thinking if I could just add some pillows to our boring wicker love seat, it would make a huge difference. Finding outdoor pillows that are also eco-friendly has proven nearly impossible, so I decided to make my own. Eco-friendly outdoor fabric isn’t much easier to come by, but Mio’s great graphic Loop textile is a great option.

Their Loop By the Yard in the MoireDot pattern technically isn’t a fabric, but it can be cut, sewn, wrinkled, folded, pierced, hung or hemmed, just like you would with other textiles. It is made from Tyvek, which you may recognize as the same material used to make the flexible postal envelopes that are almost impossible to tear by hand. For years, it has been collected and recycled, and Mio ships Loop with a prepaid recycling envelope so you can send back the scraps for recycling.

Loop is waterproof, so I’m thinking the bold dot pattern would make some great outdoor pillows, not to mention indoor projects like placemats. I’m more than a little tired of stripes and florals for outdoor decor, so this would be a great departure from the norm. At $13 a yard, it is just within reach of my budget, and I’ll probably use existing pillows for the fill. Mio offers lots of ideas and patterns for items you can make with Loop, including a tent, bookcover, poncho and kite.

Why It’s Green:

• Recycled material
• Recyclable. The seller, Mio, ships Loop with an envelope for customers to return scraps for recycling.
• Closed-loop manufacturing

Price: $13/yard

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Versatile Textile: Loop By the Yard, MoireDot Pattern

I’ve been getting the itch lately. It’s actually more of a combination itch — the desire to decorate and the desire to make something myself. We need some window treatments, both in our room and my daughter’s room, and I’m determined to make them. Of course, it would help if I had a sewing machine, but I’m still determined. So when I recently found that Mod Green Pod not only has a couple of new fabrics but that the price per yard has also been drastically reduced, I was more than a little thrilled!

The three newest additions to the Mod Green Pod family are Aspire, Bloom and Glimmer, and I love them all! Aspire is a whimsical, deep gray fabric featuring a swirly pattern that would be perfect for pillows or a duvet cover. Bloom features vibrant orange poppies on a natural background. Glimmer is Aspire’s smaller-scale cousin, featuring the same calligraphic loops in blue on white with a slightly more random placement.

All of Mod Green Pod’s fabrics are home decor weight, so they are ideal for projects like upholstery, cushions, pillows, curtains and pretty much anything else you can think of. I’ve been wanting to make a custom, fabric-covered bulletin board for my daughter’s room, and a yard of Bloom will do the trick nicely. With the price per yard reduced to less than $40 (MGP’s fabrics used to cost about $100/yard), they are now in the realm of the affordable. We should see more adjustments like this as eco-friendly products become the rule instead of the exception.

Why It’s Green:

• 100% organic cotton canvas
• Grown, woven, and printed in the United States
• Uses non-toxic pigments

Price: $39.75/yard (down from about $100/yard)

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

DIY’er Alert: New organic fabrics from Mod Green Pod

A little while back, I found a great, simple tutorial on making fabric wall art. Ever the aspiring crafter (who has yet to actually make anything), I’ve been keeping my eye out for a great piece of fabric that I won’t mind having on the walls for a while. While I’m at it, I may go hunting for a thrift-store chair to reupholster in the same fabric or recover a couple of throw pillows, so it has to be something I really like — and it has to be sustainable.

I have two words: Etsy and Australia. There seems to be lots of handmade, eco-friendly fabrics coming out of Australia, and I can’t complain. This beautiful Swirl fabric by etsy seller hollabee is right up my alley, and it comes in a variety of colors.  The sizes are metric, and the fabric is sold in half-meter quantities. So if you want to buy a yard of fabric, purchase 2 half-meter units.

1 meter= 1.0936133 yards

$20/yard is very reasonable for an organic cotton/hemp blend fabric, and hollabee says it is appropriate for housewares and even kids’ bedding. But…and there’s always a but…if you are in the U.S., you have to consider the environmental impact of shipping from Australia. I’ll let you weigh that one on your own.

Why It’s Green:

• Made of a blend of organic cotton & hemp
• Hand-screenprinted
• Printed with environmentally friendly, solvent free inks

Price: $10/half-meter (about half a yard)

Would you buy sustainable fabric from a seller in Australia or overseas in general? What factors did you consider in your decision? Leave a comment and tell us!

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Whimsy by the Meter: Swirl Fabric by Hollabee

I may have mentioned that I’ve been wanting to find an inexpensive, used piece of upholstered furniture to restore. Of course, if I’m going to do that, I want to do it in the greenest way that I can — zero-VOC paint, non-toxic finish, and organic or recycled fabrics, etc. The problem with the latter, of course, is that many organic fabrics are pretty pricey. I can’t see spending $90+ a yard on fabric to reupholster a $10 chair. So finding a more cost-effective option has been a bit of a challenge.

And as with almost all design challenges, etsy has delivered a solution, though I really have to thank Skye over at Crafting a Green World for this find. Pippijoe makes limited edition, hand-screenprinted fabrics in lively patterns on hemp and hemp blends. I personally love the bird prints on pink, blue and white, but there are lots to choose from. Because they originate in Australia, you won’t be able to buy traditional yardage. Rather, the fabric is 136cm (53.5 inch) wide and sold in 25cm (9.8 inch) quantities. Still pretty reasonable considering the competition.

Why It’s Green:

• Hand-screenprinted with environmentally-friendly inks
• Fabrics are either 100% hemp or a hemp/cotton blend

Price: $19.50

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

A Pattern is Emerging: Pippijoe Fabrics

As much as I love Amenity’s bold nature inspired bedding and great pillows, I can’t believe I never realized they also sell their fabrics by the yard! I have considered buying my favorite Amenity duvet cover, then diassembling it to make my own custom, eco-friendly window treatments. Thank goodness I now know I won’t have do that.

Compared to many of the other designer-quality green fabrics on the market, they are a relative bargain at $65/yard. If you’re thinking “$65/yard is a bargain?! You’re kidding?!”, you’ve probably never bought (or considered buying) organic cotton at $90 or $125 per yard.

And since I’ve been itching to find a consignment store chair or bench to refinish and reupholster, now I’ll just have to make sure I find a piece I can complete with just one yard

Why It’s Green:

• All fabrics are made of hemp and organic cotton
• Printed by hand with non-toxic, water-based, eco-friendly dyes

Price: $65/yard

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Style at your Fingertips: Amenity Fabrics

The marketplace for eco-friendly window treatments is still fairly small, and the ones that are available tend to be very expensive, sometimes costing more than $100 for one panel.  It may be OK to splurge like that once in a while, but for more practical, everyday eco-friendly curtains, a much more practical solution may be to simply make them yourself from eco-friendly fabrics. Those can get expensive too, so I was exstatic to find these gorgeous fabrics by Kirin & Co, thanks to the lovely ladies at Crafting a Green World and Tiny Decor.

The bold, bright patterns are hand screen-printed by independent Melbourne-based designer Lara Cameron on fabric that is a blend of organic cotton and hemp with eco-friendly, solvent-free inks.  I can easily imagine any of these fabrics turned into a gorgeous set of curtains. The Flowing Dots fabric in orange would have been perfect for the unisex nursery I did last week.

With the Flowing Dots and Riverstones patterns both available in 2 colorways, they just might inspire you to pull out the sewing machine, or, in my case, the hem tape. I like shortcuts

Why It’s Green:

• Hand screenprinted on fabric that is a blend of 55% hemp, 45% certified organic cotton
• Uses eco-friendly, solvent-free inks

Price: AUD $17 or about $15 USD per half meter

© 2009 Green Your Decor. Do not republish any items from this feed without permission.

Patterned After Nature: Kirin & Co. Eco Fabrics