Old baby clothes, wedding dresses or saris you bought for a particular event, all of these may have at least one thing in common: they are of no use anymore. Yet they are objects of such fond memories that one gets reluctant when it comes to disposing them.

Tina Katwal, founder of The Square Inch, has the perfect solution for you. Her new venture, The Memory Quilts, is all about preserving memories. Give her your baby clothes and she will transform them into a charming quilt, and even add a batting of cotton in between so you can snuggle with it.

Celebrating The Square Inch’s fifth anniversary, Tina talks about her early days as a quilt enthusiast. “For me it was a case of playing with scraps from clothes. When I was younger, I used to make my own clothes. Then I started playing around with scraps and turning them into a quilt,” says Tina. Eschewing the more traditional notions associated with the quilt, Tina has transformed it into a symbol of both beauty and utility, bringing out its latent artistic value.

“We have made quilts out of a child’s first year clothes; we have also made quilts for a child graduating out of school with his or her school uniform and sports’ T-shirts. These memory quilts are a great way to preserve and cherish memories and also document events in a person’s life,” says Tina, adding that customers even request her to make quilts in memory of others.

Memory Quilts also uses a range of different materials and fabrics. She has turned ponnadai (shawls) and even wedding saris into quilts.

“We can make them in any style as per the client’s request. They can be whimsical and fun, minimalist, subtle and elegant, or even bold and graphic. We can make it to go with the décor of the room or even the general mood of the house. We try to capture the personality of the person it is meant for,” she adds.

Talking of what inspires her, she says, “A bulk of tailor produce and worn out clothes go to waste as scraps. By making quilts, we are also reducing the amount of waste that goes to a landfill and encouraging sustainable practices all across the textile community.” The financial savings don’t hurt too, and Tina laughs about this ulterior objective.

“Not a single scrap of cloth is wasted here. Everything is upcycled or reused. That is our little contribution,” says Tina.

Till date, Tina has converted about 30 saris and hundreds of baby clothes into memorable quilts, giving people an opportunity to go to bed cocooned in fond memories.

For details, call 9551655776 or visit The Square Inch’s Facebook page

source: http://www.thehindu.com / The Hindu / Home> News> Cities> Chennai / by Pracarsh Rastogi / January 10th, 2019