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The melting of the polar caps . . . loss of humidity from our atmosphere . . . . disappearing rainforest species . . . . strange bugs in your garden
acidification of the oceans . . . . . bizarre weather patterns . . . . real meaning of 'global warming' and 'climate change'.
Please, do EVERYTHING you can to stop Climate Change .
S a v e . r e s o u r c e s . .& . p r a c t i c e . .t h r i f t . . Hang the laundry out to dry. Take the local bus to town.
Beautify. Don't destroy .
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... . . . . . .4 here's How To Shirret
.. . . . ..If you Teach crochet, add Shirret to your class. Teachers How-To Guide
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Shirret is a meditative activity.
Like gardening, baking or knitting, it summons physical and philosophical riches to share.
Shirret is an art form that speaks of the time and culture we live in.
To Shirret is to be actively thoughtful of the environment by working constructively to create warmth, kindness and beauty.--introductory text from the back cover of the Shirret Instruction and Pattern bookter Shirret, a 40-year-old
Shirret is a unique hobby: It costs next to nothing, yet produces gorgeous heirloom items that will endure for generations. The secret? the fabric strips used in the rugs, chair pads, mats and other items are recycled––cut up from outgrown clothes or tired drapes and slipcovers. What a wonderful way to give new life to faded material, while hanging on to a piece of your family's heritage!
Imagine a colorful nursery rug made from the girlhood dresses of a mother-to-be. Think of a front-hall piece made from the now-out-of-place textiles of a previous home. What about an oval Shirret for in front of the hearth, created from the wool plaid wool plaid and mohair finery of another era? The possibilities are endless!
Shirret is amazingly easy, with just a few simple steps. There is no sewing involved, no canvas to fill in. And it's somewhat mysterious: the cord of double-crocheted stitches that links the fabric strips is hidden, so no one will ever be able to figure out how you made these beautiful rugs!
Read through this book, go through those closets, and pick up your Shirret needles and cord. That's all you need to begin creating soft and thick rugs that will last a lifetime . . . and beyond !---introductory text from the large color poster that is included in every copy of the Shirret book:
Shirret (shir-ray') combines shirring and crochet for a new word and a new look in American needlecrafts. Shirret is the lively art of recycling "rags into riches". Clean out your closets! Cut up your old clothes, faded curtains and slipcovers, braiding, hooking, sewing and quilting leftovers, and make shirred rugs. You can turn out-of-fashion into the latest style with SHIRRET.
SHIRRET is a simple crochet technique with a special hook that I manufacture that adds fabric folds easily.
The step-by-step illustrated book and the basic equipment are permanent and inexpensive. SHIRRET is luxurious –– it feels extravagent –– yet it is made of recycled fabrics that cost nothing and preserve resources.
Old style plaids and prints and colors, seen on the edge, are disguised in new patterns!
A Word for It
"It developed out of the philosophy of 'Waste not, want not', explains Louise McCrady who combined the practical old American craft of shirring and a more creative technique that involves crocheting. As a result, she and her followers have been recycling their outgrown clothing, old jeans, faded draperies, old tablecloths and sewing scraps by Shirreting them into colorful rugs, chair pads, cushions and wallhangings.
Strips of fabric 3/4" wide are threaded on a special needle to form shirred folds. Each fold is then slipped off and attached witha crochet stitch of cord. The finished piece is surprisingly velvety, lush - with a 3/4" pile - reversible, and filled with unexpectedly splashy patterns. "For instance, striped fabric gives a multi-colored kaliedoscopic effect, polka dot comes out tweedy, and plaids, SWIRLY." ––Boston Globe Sunday Magazine.
From a folk art rugmaking technique she learned from her mother as a girl, Louise McCrady of Connecticut has been creating a needlework movement for 30 years. She coined a word to describe it –– SHIRRET !
Shirret is Easy
Shirret is a simple technique with three easy steps.
1. Cut fabric into strips. Strips are not sewn together so tiny scraps of old or new fabric can be used.
2. Baste strips onto the special needle lengthwise through the center to form shirred folds.
3. Hold the unusual crochet hook between midddle and ring fingers. Make a crochet stitch, then pull a fold off the needle. Crochet stitches make a strong net that is hidden inside the fabric folds. Shirret has last-forever strength on the inside, and luxurious softness on the outside - & it's completely reversible!
Shirret will never be another unfinished project in the closet. Why? At the end of every round or row, it looks finished and you can use your Shirret until the next time you add to it. There's no canvas to fill in. Use it as a hot mat, then add rows for a chair pad, then make it into a small rug, and finally turn it into a room size rug.
©LadyMcCrady2011
