With the growing issue of textile waste and storage space, Sew Positive is only able to accept limited donations of fabric and equipment.
The amount of textiles we are offered can be overwhelming and it takes a lot of work to transform a pile of textiles into usable fabrics. We have to travel, collect, wash, dry, unpick and then store materials before we can even think about making them into something new.
However, donations of good quality natural fabrics like 100% cotton – for example, dressmaking cotton or cotton duvet covers (not polyester) which can be used across our services – are invaluable, providing they are freshly laundered and moth free. We don’t generally need smaller fabric scraps or furnishing weight fabrics as we currently have plenty, or do call-outs on social media for what we need.
We want to be able to use everything we get and we have to be mindful of storage, so we have to be selective about what we take.
For sewing machine donations, we accept nearly-new Janome/John Lewis machines in good working order, with accessories so that we can interchange accessories across our services. Older machines and other models can be donated to Emmaus, who have a service to service and resell them.
We are looking for a Juki industrial machine that can be delivered to Cambridge. Alternatively, you can get your machines serviced locally or fixed at Repair Cafes.
Contact Sew Positive via this contact form to request to donate fabric or equipment, and if we are able to take the donation, we will ask for photographs, and ask you to arrange delivery to Cambridge.
Sew Positive’s ethos is that everyone needs to take personal responsibility for textile waste and think about what you need rather than just buying more, but we appreciate being offered fabric and machines to support running our charitable services.