Let’s be honest, how many of us actually wear every piece of clothing in our closet? Personally, I know I only wear maybe 80% of all the clothes I own on a regular basis. And that’s being generous. Instead of letting those old clothes just sit around and take up space, we’ve thought up FIVE fun ways to re-purpose them:
1. Use your clothes to create more clothes: Seriously, it’s easy and makes a for a fun project. A few easy ideas to get you started: turn an over-sized t-shirt into a dress, cut the ruffled bottom off of a dress and make it into a scarf, or make an accessory item, such as a belt, out of an old shirt.
2. Turn your old clothes into a new throw pillow: Fabric can be expensive. Why not just take that unused, cool patterned shirt and whip up a new couch pillow? It was probably time for a new one anyways, right?
3. While you’re at it, make a new quilt or blanket: Cut up old clothes into square pieces, sew them together, and you’ve got yourself a nice patchwork blanket! Of course, if you’re going the quilting route, this may take a few more steps…
4. Convert sleeves or pant legs into a bag: Good for both fashion or function. Cut the pant legs off of your old jeans (sleeves work just as well) and sew up the bottom. At the top, attach a draw string and you’re set to go. If you want to turn it into a purse, fashion handles out of the leftover fabric.
5. Create bean bags for a bean bag toss: This is a great way to get the kiddos involved in recycling clothes. My mom used to do this all the time by cutting up pieces of clothing, sewing the bottom and sides shut, filling it with beans, then sewing the top shut. Then we’d go outside and make a game out of tossing bean bags around. If the bags break, at least they’re cheap and easy to replace!
What other ideas do you have for reusing old clothes? We’d love to hear from you on our our Facebook page or in the comments below!
(Photo by Deborah Morrison)
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