The suggestions below are for clothing that is ruined or damaged. I would suggest taking clothes that are still in good shape to a clothing consignment shop or thrift clothing store.
Make Life Easier
These are quick and easy tips that you can utilize to make small changes that will make your life easier.
Cold Weather Outdoor Work
Use old winter coats for snow-blowing, working outside in cold weather, camping, etc. so you don't ruin a good coat.
Hairbands From Old Workout Clothes
Cut the elastic bottoms from sweatpants and use as hair scrunchies. These are perfect for working out at home or at the gym.
Cut the stretchy cuff from the bottom of a sweatshirt and use as a hair band. Slip over your head, twist and slip the second loop over your head so you have two loops around your neck. Now slide this thick hair band up onto your head. This type of hairband is great for workouts and messy face masks.
Kids Crafts Projects
Use long-sleeved or short sleeved shirts as a smock for children working on messy craft projects.
Cleaning
Cut cotton baby blankets into 12 inch by 12 inch squares. You now have lint-free cloths fir cleaning mirrors and glass.
Laundry
Cut one piece of clothing into four to six inch square. Spray with liquid fabric softener and use in place of fabric softener sheets. They can be reused, re-sprayed, washed when necessary and start all over again.
Baby Doll Dress Up
Let your little ones use baby clothes for dressing up their dolls.
Puppy Toy
Cut off pant legs and long sleeves for playing tug-of-war with your puppies. Knot each end to make it last longer.
Plastic Bag Caddy
Cut a sleeve from a long-sleeved sweatshirt or other elastic cuffed shirt.
Create a casing for the elastic by turning the sleeve inside out and trim the smaller end with pinking shears so it won’t unravel. Turn cut end under and press a 1 & ½-inch hem. Stitch hem leaving a 1-inch opening to insert the elastic.
Cut a ½-inch wide piece of elastic 3-inches long. Pin a safety pin to one end of elastic and use the pin to guide the elastic through the casing. Stitch together the ends of the elastic and tuck into the casing. Hand sew the opening in the casing closed.
Finish the armhole end of the sleeve by trimming with pinking shears, pressing a ½-inch hem and stitching in place. Stitch a length of ribbon to this end of the sleeve to make a loop for hanging the caddy.
Turn sleeve right side out. Stuff bags into the top and pull them out through the bottom.
Rescue favorite pieces of clothing
Appliqués
Make your own appliqués by cutting the fabric into simple shapes like flowers, hearts, trucks or geometric shapes. Fold edges under to prevent raveling or deliberately unravel for a more country-like look. This works best with t-shirts, sweatshirts, flannel, cotton, wool, or silk clothing. It doesn't work as well with knits, sweaters and polyester. If you can get past the grossness factor, boxer shorts make great appliqués.
These appliqués look nice on t-shirts, sweatshirts, pillows, quilts and gift bags.
Tie-Dye
Tie dye stained clothing. If the clothing is dark, bleach it first.
Choose your dye. If you want brightly dyed cotton shirts, you should always use fiber reactive dye, rather than all-purpose dye. All-purpose dyes, such as Rit® Tint And Dye, Tintex® High Temp Dye, and other brands, can never be as bright or long-lasting as fiber reactive dyes, when used on cotton or other cellulose fibers.
Start your tie-dye project by choosing what colors you'll be using. If you're not sure what colors to use, check out the color wheel to the right for ideas of what colors would look good together. If you'll be tie-dyeing with two or more colors, plan your project so that colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel will be next to each other in your project. This way in the sections where the colors overlap, they'll create a third color that still looks good. Red next to yellow will give you areas of orange, blue next to red will give you purple ... If you place colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel to be next to each other in your project, in the areas where the colors run together, the third color they create will be muddy looking.
Make sure to wear thick rubber gloves like the kind used when washing dishes. The gloves will protect your hands from the dye and the hot water. Thin latex gloves like those used for dying your hair will protect you from dying your hands but won't protect you from the hot water.
Choose your dye tubs carefully. The dye will discolor plastic. Some people use their washing machines but I think this is dangerous to the next load of regular laundry you do. A large roasting pan or soup pot is a good choice. If you're dying something very small or immersing small sections into the dye then a crock pot can work great.
Dissolve 1 package powder dye or 1/2 cup liquid dye in 2 gallons of very hot water. The hotter the water, the stronger your colors will be. If you want really dark or very bright colors, heat the water mixed with dye in a large stainless steel pot on stovetop until it's just below a simmer.
Scrunch, twist or fold your fabric and secure with rubber bands. Dip the entire piece or small sections in the first color for 5 to 10 minutes. Stir occasionally if entire piece of fabric is being dyed. If you're holding part of the fabric out of the bath don't worry about stirring the dye. Check the color occasionally and when its a little darker than your desired color, remove it. Rinse well and repeat with the next color. Continue dying and rinsing until you have used all your chosen colors.
Remove fabric from the last tub of dye and rinse in warm then gradually cooler water until the water is clear. Remove the rubber bands with scissors.
Wash fabric in warm water with mild detergent. Rinse thoroughly in cool water. Gently squeeze out excess water by rolling shirt in a clean old towel. Machine dry or hang to dry.
New Wardrobe From Old Clothes
Use the fabric from clothing you no longer want to make a smaller piece of clothing. For example the fabric from a long skirt can be used to make a:
- sleeveless top
- shorter skirt
- pair of shorts
- childrens clothing
Mittens
Make mittens out of old sweatshirts. Trace your child's hand onto a piece of scrap paper and use this as a pattern. Make your pattern four inches past where your child’s wrist hits and ½-inch wider all around.
Place your pattern on top of the sweatshirt and cut straight through both thicknesses of fabric, one set for each hand. Sew together leaving the top open. Stitch a length of soft elastic (I like to use old elastic from boxer shorts or other garments) to inside of mitten at wrist point while still turned inside out. Turn opening under ½-inch and stitch. Turn right side out. Optional: add buttons, patches or homemade appliqués for decoration.
For step-by-step instructions and patterns visit http://www.auntannie.com/mittens/mitten.html.
Pockets
You can cover stains and holes by making a small or large pocket to cover the damaged area. Think outside of the box; pockets look stylish now-adays on sleeves and pant legs.
Stain Cover
Make creative use of ribbons, lace, pockets and appliqués. This is a great way to use all those scrap materials you’ve collected.
Sweaters
If a sweater is unwearable but has beautiful yarn, it seems like a waste to leave it for a moth dinner party. I’d rather rescue the yarn to knit or weave into something I will wear.
First undo the seams. Use a seam ripper or snip carefully with scissors so you don’t cut through the knitting itself. If this does happen, don't despair; you can still use the yarn, you’ll just have smaller balls of yarn.
Once all the seams are removed start unraveling the yarn. Be sure to start at the end where it was cast off, not where it was cast on. This way, you simply pull the yarn across the row to unravel it. If you start at the other end you'll wind up with a real mess. As you unravel, use someone else's hands about a foot apart or the back of a straight back chair to wind the yarn around. When you come to the end of a length of yarn use two short pieces of yarn to secure the yarn loop in two places so it doesn't get all tangled. Drop it into a mesh bag (this makes it really easy to wash the yarn). Once you have all the yarn unraveled (if it’s washable) wash as usual and hang dry to remove the crinkles.
When the yarn is dry, wind it into balls or use a yarn winder. A yarn winder is nice because it allows the yarn to be pulled from the middle. Also a hand wound ball doesn't feed as smoothly.
Use yarn for knitting or weaving projects.
For more ideas and tutorials check out the following blogs:
Home Décor
Old clothing can be cut into small pieces to be used as stuffing in pillows or stuffed animals. The end result will be heavier than you’re used to but there’s nothing wrong with that.
Wool or cotton clothes can be cut into strips to be used for braided rugs or trivets. Just make sure to keep the wool separate from the cotton. Mixing fabrics in a project doesn’t work well.
Cotton clothes with plenty of fabric can be cut into curtains for small windows. Use the leftover fabric for either of the above two ideas.
Use fabric to make decorative stuffed animals.
Make a quilt out of your child's favorite clothes and give to them as a keepsake or comfort blanket.
Use a large piece of clothing such as a long skirt to make a:
- set of napkins
- window valance
- table runner
Blue Jean Comforter
Make a bed spread using old jeans.
Start by cutting squares out of jeans that are no longer wearable.
Sew the squares together into strips the width of the comforter you desire.
Then sew the strips together to the proper length.
Sew this quilt top to an appropriate size old flannel sheet - right sides facing each other. Then turn it inside out.
Further secure the quilt top to the sheet by threading a large-eyed needle with yarn or several strands of embroidery floss and sewing through all thicknesses, tying a knot on either the wrong or right side, depending on the look you want. Do this on every square or every other square.
Your finished quilt will be thin yet very heavy and warm.
Garment Pillows
Make throw pillows out of your youngsters’ favorite outgrown clothing. These are perfect for lounging around in their rooms or in the basement rec room. Also excellent for furnishing outdoor forts and clubhouses.
Simply turn the garment inside out and sew up all openings, leaving a few inches open at one end.
Turn the garment right side out and stuff it.
Slip stitch opening shut.
Decorative Pillows
Make throw pillows out of your own garments. Choose ones that have beautiful fabric but just don’t work in your wardrobe any longer. Draw the outline of your pillow onto the clothing either freehand or use a ruler or template for a specific shape. Think about incorporating buttons or trim that are already on the garment into your pillow. Use your imagination, don’t go just for a square or rectangle. How about a triangle, a kidney shape, a freeform wavy shape …?
Follow the instructions for garment pillows.
Potholders
You can make great potholders using several layers of old jeans. Optional: stitch a curtain ring to one corner to hang your potholder.
in blog Clothing – New Clothes for Nothing
When my budget is stretched the first thing I cut out is buying new clothes. I have however found a way to fill my closet with a whole new wardrobe without spending a dime!
Invite your friends to a Clothing Swap Party. You provide glasses, plates and napkins; ask your friends to bring potluck appetizers, beverages and clothing and accessories that are in good condition but that they no longer wear.
Let your friends know they are welcome to invite their friends, neighbors and coworkers. The more women invited the better selection of clothing you'll all go home with.
By the end of the party, you and your friends should each have a brand new wardrobe.
Variation: Have a Kids Clothing Swap Party.
Recycling Buttons
I never throw away buttons. Even if the garment is completely unsalvageable, the buttons can always have a new life of their own.
I sometimes remove the buttons from garments I've purchased and replace them with gorgeous new or vintage buttons I've picked up. This habit has left me with a basket full of buttons that I can't get myself to throw away but which I don't really want to use on clothing. As unremarkable as these buttons might be parading down the front of a blouse, when used to make the items below they acquire a new life of their own.
Safety Considerations
Young children under seven years of age should use a blunt tapestry needle or a leather or plastic cord which doesn't need a needle. If you choose to use a sharp needle with young children, please make sure there is adult supervision.
Children eight years of age and older are generally mature enough to use a sharp needle but I still prefer to give them a blunt tapestry needle. I worry about things like them walking away from their project and a younger one getting hold of the sharp needle.
Jewelry
Cording for Jewelry
Use elastic thread which is available at craft and fabric shops. The elastic thread is best for bracelets but can be used for necklaces also. You also can use sport-weight yarn, thin fabric cord, crochet cotton, thin ribbon, plastic cord, thin string leather or any other material which will fit through the holes of the buttons.
Button Bracelet 1
Use your imagination to create your own patterns and designs. This is a project which can be done with children from about 4 years of age and older.
You can use a mix of shank-back and flat buttons or all shank- back buttons, but all flat buttons won't work well with this type of bracelet.
Measure wrist and add 1 ½ inches. Cut ½ inch wide elastic to this length. Overlap ends of elastic by ½ inch & pin together. Slip elastic onto your wrist to check fit. Adjust if needed. Sew elastic together.
Sew 50 to 60 buttons onto outside of the elastic, adding buttons until the elastic is completely covered. Save favorite buttons, (especially those with shanks) for last so they can be placed in a more prominent position on the finished bracelet.
Button Bracelet 2
This bracelet uses shank-back buttons only.
You can use the technique below to make a Choker Button Necklace. If you do choose to make a necklace start with a piece of elastic 12 to 16 inches long.
String a button onto a piece of elastic cord about 10 to 12 inches long leaving it about 3 inches from the end. Tie a knot to secure the button. Continue stringing on more buttons securing each button with a knot. It's not absolutely necessary to secure each button with a knot but it does help to make the finished bracelet more durable. When you have half the elastic filled with buttons test the bracelet size around your wrist. Stop stringing buttons when the bracelet fits loosely around your wrist. Knot the two ends together and you're done.
Trim the ends and dip in clear nail polish so that they won't unravel.
Tip: if the elastic frays while stringing the beads you can trim the ends or dip them in nail polish. Let the polish dry thoroughly before continuing to string buttons.
Fashion
Denims
Trim a child’s jean jacket, denim pants or skirt with bright buttons. Sew or hot glue them to the waistband, cuffs or pockets. Trim an adult’s denims with more sophisticated buttons.
Fashion Accessory
Glue expensive buttons to button covers so that you can use them on many different outfits. If using shank-back buttons cut away the shank before gluing to the button cover.
Home Decor With Buttons
Flower Pot
Refresh an old flower pot by gluing buttons along the top or bottom edge or cover the entire pot with buttons!
Optional: when glue used to attach buttons is dry apply grout according to package directions.
Button Trim
Trim a curtain, blind, window shade or lamp shade with a row of buttons. You don’t even need to sew them on – what do you think a glue gun is for?
Kitchen Magnet
Hot glue a small magnet to the back of each button in a set of buttons and you have practical refrigerator art.
Memory Book Pages
Most buttons have a "shank" on the back which prevents the buttons from lying flat. These 'shanks' can be removed with a Button Shank Remover or a pair of wire cutters. Here are some ideas for using buttons to embellish your pages:
hang tags, titles and other embellishments from a button with embroidery floss or ribbon strung through the holes in the button
as anchors for fibers, floss or jute
photo corners
Attaching Buttons
Sew the buttons onto your scrapbook pages using colorful floss, ribbon, wire or jute.
Attach buttons using acid-free glue dots.
To make your buttons look as if they’re sewn on, string thread or string through the buttons holes and then glue the button to the page making sure the ends of the threads are secured behind the buttons.
