Recycling The Materials

Of Love

By Nancy K. Crevier

Marjorie and Ron Czarsty’s time together as a married couple was brief, just five years, “but we packed it full of good memories. It was like we had waited our whole lives for each other,” Ms Czarsty said recently.

Ron Czarsty died three years ago from cancer and Ms Czarsty has recently moved from Waterbury, where she was a pharmacist, to Newtown where three of her eight children live.

In going through her husband’s personal items after his death, Ms Czarsty knew intuitively that she had to save his shirts and sweaters. “I couldn’t bear to give up everything, even though at the time I didn’t know what I was saving them for,” she said.

Whether it came to her after a night’s sleep or in some other manner, she does not recall, but one day she suddenly knew what she would do with the shirts.

“I started making them into skirts for myself. It keeps him close to me,” she said.

The self-taught seamstress, who has been involved in needlework of various kinds since a child, designed her own pattern and has since made several three-tiered skirts. Some are made from sections of Mr Czarsty’s lightweight, cotton dress shirts, others from his cozier flannel shirts, perfect for fall and winter wear.

“Once I decided what I was going to do, it just flowed,” said Ms Czarsty.

Then, in a knitting group, she saw a woman with a knitted bag.

“I thought that I’d like a knitted bag too, and was going to make one. When I got home, I saw my husband’s sweater and realized I could have one without all of the knitting. So I felted it and turned it into a purse.” The wool bag is lined with yet another of her late husband’s shirts.

She saves the labels and buttons from each of the clothing pieces that she uses as well, and incorporates them artfully into the finished items.

In September, when she was invited to the University of Rhode Island College of Pharmacy’s 50th reunion, she created a flowing skirt somewhat different from the others she had made. Strips of her husband’s pale pink and grey shirts, rather than the squares she normally uses, were pieced together, and trimmed with lace and sequins. Then she made a dress bag from scraps of the same shirts, braiding the buttonhole bands into a handle and using the shirt pockets to make compartments within the bag. A purchased velvet top completed the outfit, a salute to her husband at the special occasion.

The remnants from her husband’s clothing are not extensive enough to make the many creatively sewn items for her large family, though. Sewing for eight children, 22 grandchildren, and one great-grandson requires  a lot of material.

So Ms Czarsty supplements her material by buying good flannel sheets at thrift stores that she turns into pajama pants for the family’s Christmas and birthday gifts. Because the bag made from her husband’s sweater was so successful, she has since picked up colorful wool sweaters at thrift stores, felted the wool, and turned them into one-of-a kind bags.

When a close friend also lost her husband, Ms Czarsty turned to another of her talents: doll making. Utilizing that woman’s husband’s shirts, dressed the doll in clothing made from them.

Her skirts and bags draw attention everywhere she goes, said Ms Czarsty, but she does not have the time to create similar items for everyone who has asked, “But if I pass this idea on, others can do it themselves,” she said.

She would be happy to share her ideas and answer questions about creating similar bags and skirts, she said. Contact her at meczarsty@hotmail.com.

“I know how much comfort doing this has brought me,” she said. “Wearing these skirts and using the bag from Ron’s sweater brings me happy memories, even if I’m feeling sad.”