Hello and wishing you a happy day!
"Orts and Cabbage" may sound to you like a foreign recipe but it's not. It's just another chapter in words I find that I love.
"Orts" are leftover threads from your sewing, usually embroidery threads. There is a movement to reuse these pieces in a variety of ways. They are usually collected in jars.
These pieces of threads are then recycled in a variety of ways. Many sewists use them to "make fabric" and cover the orts with a piece of tulle or lace.
The pretty colors of the scrap threads makes an interesting background to the lace or tulle.
I've seen orts used in a variety of ways.
Christmas balls above or ort beads below:
These are very clever uses but I won't be partaking in saving orts this way. At this point in my life, I've become very respectful of Murphy's Law. I just know that if I don't wrap my extra threads on the appropriate cardboard bobbin that I'll need a wee bit of a certain color of thread at a later date...and I don't want to be digging through a pile of threads for it.
Cabbage is a different term that Beth taught me years ago. It's apparently an old European term for fabric scraps. The word "garbage" was also used for these bits of scraps. There's a great article here.
These days, I do see people "making cabbage" with their scraps. They cut the fabric into small bits to use as filling in pillows, dog beds, and pincushions. Even Olfa (rotary cutters company) has a pattern for a cushion that uses "cabbage" here.
Have you heard of these terms? The ort term seems more prevalent now with more people cross stitching. When I cross stitched in the 1980s, I don't remember anyone referring to orts then.
Wishing you a safe and happy day!
I've always thought "orts" meant little leftover bits of anything. Never heard of "cabbage" but when you think of making something with little bits of fabric it's kinda like slaw.
ReplyDeleteNever heard of orts but I don't do counted cross stitching. The only cabbage I know of is the kind grown in a garden. Thanks for educating me!
ReplyDeleteJust love this post. Know all about orts but I had no idea cabbage could have this meaning! Thanks for this interesting post, Michele.
ReplyDeleteI learned the term orts when I got into quilt blogging and reading other blogs. But, no, I'm not keeping those! Cabbage is new to me, but it does make sense. I was just wondering the other day if I could stuff a pillow with fabric scraps!
ReplyDeleteOrts I knew but not that use of cabbage. Thanks!
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