Saving Thread

It is a strip of fabric about 6” long and has seven different color threads wrapped around it.  I found it in a sewing box that I purchased from an estate sale.  The sewing box has a handle and is made of woven plastic.  They were a stable in most homes during the 20's and 30's.

Inside the basket is a removable plastic tray with compartments to keep the sewing tools neat. The bottom section holds spools of thread and it is here that I discover the strip of fabric. I often find wooden spools with multiple thread strands wrapped around them but this is the first time I have seen something like this - such a careful and deliberate display of thrift. 

As I look at the fabric, I think about the time when people saved thread. People actually saved thread.  Think about this for a moment and think about all that we throw away on a daily basis. There was a time, not that long ago, when people saved thread.

 

The thread may have come from a larger spool, but most likely it came from a garment that was taken apart. The buttons were cut off, the shirt cut into squares for quilts and the hems were unraveled for the thread. When a garment was no longer wearable, every part of it was re-used.  Nothing was wasted or thrown away. 

 

The comparison to how we live now could not be more startling.  Now, clothing is not made to last - it doesn't have to because the fashion industry has created a culture of ‘trends’.  The trends are always changing and consumers are conditioned to think that if you are not wearing 'the latest', you are not fashionable. 

 

Because the trends change so quickly, cheaper fabric and inferior workmanship are now acceptable.  Even if a garment lasts past a few washings, it goes out of fashion and is replaced with the next trend.  The garment gets passed onto thrift stores, or, as in most cases, it is simply thrown away.  When you have not paid a lot of money for something, you hold no value in it. It simply becomes another piece of trash to be disposed of.  

I keep this fabric piece in my "Treasure Jar" so that I can see it often. It reminds me to be cognizant about what I consume and about what I purchase.  And to be aware of the path I leave as I pass through.