At least 10 Uses For Old Clothes
10/24 Just found this after a small ditty in a newspaper article...
Denim Insulation!
Bonded Logic:
http://www.bondedlogic.com/
They use Denim from textile factories and remake it into regular bat insulation! WOW. I would have used it in my latest construction project. Will next year in my upstairs renovations.
From Thrifty Fun.com
Welding Gauntlets From Jeans
I use the legs from an old pair of denim pants for welding gauntlets to cover my arms while welding. After cutting the legs off the pants, sew some elastic banding on both ends. that holds the gauntlet in place at the wrist and at the upper arm.
This protects the arms from welding splatter, and UV rays while welding. (Note - these are used in conjunction with welding gloves - OR the welding gloves can be sewn to the lower portion of your gauntlet instead of installing elastic there.)
Rex Smith
T-shirt Quilts (I have several patterns that people can use as ideas, if they're so inclined. Email me at onedndylyon @ aol.com for pictures. Leslie)
There is a pattern for making quilts out of tee shirts that have a special meaning. Maybe for the Sports enthusiast in the family for graduation. A tee shirt quilt made from all their sports teams shirts.
Donna
Weaving Pot holders
You can cut the sleeves from t-shirts into rings and use the rings instead of purchased loops for weaving pot holders. Great colors! You can also do this with the tops of worn socks.
jlxian
Denim Quilt
I have also made a Quilt out of my Hubby's old jeans! He never throws away a thing "it'll make a good rag someday" so when the pile became overwhelming I cut up the legs, stitched together with batting and a sheet and had a heavy warm quilt!
I also have made Pillows out of old, beloved Shirts from my kids. They work real well as throw pillows on their beds. Just stitch up the openings and stuff! too simple and they love them!
Terry R
T-shirt Pillows and Jeans Bags
I've made pillows out of old tees, they are so warm and comfy. Also, cut diagonally down the shirt from the collar to the bottom hem and sew for a simple dress up skirt, an adult tee shirt makes a child's size. Another fun thing is to make bags from old jeans and pants cut off the legs where they meet hem the remaining piece at the bottom and tie hobby rope to the belt loops of sew on straps from the jean leg. You can also make small bags from the bottom of the pant leg. Just cut about 20 cm from bottom of one leg, and hem the raw edges together, you can add handles also.
Hope you can use some of those ideas! E
From Associated Content.com
Draft Blockers
For those of us who live in old houses or apartment buildings, rattling windows can mean winter drafts. Old t-shirts rolled into tubes can help block some of the cold, drafty air in the crevices.
Wall Art
Let’s say you like the design on the front (or back) of your t-shirt - but it no longer fits you. Or maybe there’s a stain or hole elsewhere on the tee? If the design is nifty enough to be decorative, you can frame it. I actually stole this idea from department stores that display their t-shirt stock in perfect squares, folded and pinned around a piece of wood or plastic. Just wrap the t-shirt around the “backboard” of a poster frame, and stretch it to eliminate wrinkles. It should work with or without glass.
Tool Box Towel If you keep a tool box, large or small, it’s possible that you occasionally handle greasy or oily tools. You can use an old t-shirt instead of wasting paper towels or buying a package of rags.
Drawer Sachets
As a fabric, cotton does breathe. So you can trim pieces of an old tee into squares, sprinkle a little lavender or potpourri inside, and tie it up the bundles with string. As long as you don’t pick anything too potent, these cheap sachets are a nice way to keep your clothing smelling fresh inside dresser drawers.
The Sauce Shirt
Every time I cook pasta, it seems like I get some sauce on my shirt during the preparation process. Instead of wearing an apron (I hate aprons), I keep one t-shirt that I use for messy cooking enterprises. Then, I don’t have to worry about fussily using a stain-stick on my “good” clothes
From Frugal.Families.com
Denim
I could make a custom journal for myself or as a gift by covering a composition notebook with the jean fabric. One of the pockets could go on the front as a cute way to hold a pen.
I could use the jean material for a rag rug. Earlier, I wrote about doing this with t-shirts. Although the materials are different weights, they might go nicely together for a sort of americana, blue-jeans and apple pie sort of look.
I could sew up a cute denim purse for my niece. I could cut off the legs and sew up the bottom part above the tear, and then add a shoulder strap or little handle from some of the leg material.
I could make an apron by cutting the legs, opening up the fabric and putting a fabric belt through the belt loops.
The legs could be knotted and used for doggie pull toys for my friend's dog.
T-shirts
Dusting and polishing cloths: This one may be a little obvious for the truly frugal, but sometimes we can forget the obvious. The soft t-shirt material is wonderful for dusting and polishing. Just the other day, I saw Martha on TV polishing silver. She was using expensive cotton cloths to get up all of that yucky tarnish. Why? It would probably have been less expensive to buy brand new t-shirts and cut them up, let alone use old ones.
Old Towels
Repair: Simply sew a running stitch above the unraveling edge. Then turn that uneven edge into a nice fringe. Tada--new towels. Since I am unskilled in sewing, I asked a good friend to use her machine and sew the new hem for me. She even went ahead and did a pretty zigzag stitch in a contrasting color.
Washcloths: Cut the towels into squares, round the edges and sew around for brand new washcloths. This works especially well when there is a hole in the towel that you can cut around.
Diaper Wipes: This is one of my favorite things to do with old towels, probably because I have two little ones in diapers at the moment. I cut the towels up into squares and use them as homemade diaper wipes. No sewing needed. I simply wet them with a little water and go. I wouldn't recommend this for big messes, but for wet diaper changes or for an infant, the homemade diaper clothes work just fine.
Cleaning cloths: For cleaning clothes, you can cut the towels into whatever size works best for you (I like small dish towel size). Again, there is no sewing needed, although you could put a hem around them to make them last longer. I use these homemade cleaning cloths in my kitchen, in place of paper towels for everything from drying an apple to wiping down the kitchen counters and the sink.
Dusting cloths: soft, well-worn towels are perfect for dusting cloths. They seems to grab dust with ease and absorb just the right amount of furniture polish. No sewing needed on these. If they unravel too much, simply cut of the edges as needed.
Beach towels: Sew together two or three to make great beach towels. You can trim any ratty edges and still have enough material to wrap around a wet child or use on the hot sand.
Old Clothes in General
Reconstructing old wool coats into new coats for children, sofa pillows or even cloth handbags and clutches.
Old dresses usually have enough fabric to make a new dress for a child or a Halloween costume.
Cotton dresses can also be used to sew a small set of curtains for a bathroom or back door.
Sew the scraps into small squares and stuff with dried beans for bean bags. Or, turn the scraps into fabric Christmas ornaments, contrast collars for children's shirts, hair bands, or a cloth belt.
Men's plaid shirts can find new life as cotton handkerchiefs.
Save several plaid shirts to create a set of coordinated table napkins.
Men's cotton shirts make wonderful plush toys, lampshade covers, and summer quilts.
Cut with pinking shears, they also make terrific toppers for home canned jams.
Heavy wool fabric can be cut into strips, and turned into braided rag rugs. I have a circa 1890 braided rug that was made out of old civil war uniforms, which has outlasted every other rug I have ever owned.
Turn mismatched socks in sock monkeys and sock puppets.
When the fabric has been used every possible way you can imagine, it's time to turn them into animal bedding or rags. Shredded fabric works well for hamster and rat cages.
Old, worn out coats make great dog blankets.
Strips of old fabric can be used to tie climbing vines onto trellises or for staking your vegetable plants.
Threadbare cotton squares are terrific for straining jellies.
Denim Insulation!
Bonded Logic:
http://www.bondedlogic.com/
They use Denim from textile factories and remake it into regular bat insulation! WOW. I would have used it in my latest construction project. Will next year in my upstairs renovations.
From Thrifty Fun.com
Welding Gauntlets From Jeans
I use the legs from an old pair of denim pants for welding gauntlets to cover my arms while welding. After cutting the legs off the pants, sew some elastic banding on both ends. that holds the gauntlet in place at the wrist and at the upper arm.
This protects the arms from welding splatter, and UV rays while welding. (Note - these are used in conjunction with welding gloves - OR the welding gloves can be sewn to the lower portion of your gauntlet instead of installing elastic there.)
Rex Smith
T-shirt Quilts (I have several patterns that people can use as ideas, if they're so inclined. Email me at onedndylyon @ aol.com for pictures. Leslie)
There is a pattern for making quilts out of tee shirts that have a special meaning. Maybe for the Sports enthusiast in the family for graduation. A tee shirt quilt made from all their sports teams shirts.
Donna
Weaving Pot holders
You can cut the sleeves from t-shirts into rings and use the rings instead of purchased loops for weaving pot holders. Great colors! You can also do this with the tops of worn socks.
jlxian
Denim Quilt
I have also made a Quilt out of my Hubby's old jeans! He never throws away a thing "it'll make a good rag someday" so when the pile became overwhelming I cut up the legs, stitched together with batting and a sheet and had a heavy warm quilt!
I also have made Pillows out of old, beloved Shirts from my kids. They work real well as throw pillows on their beds. Just stitch up the openings and stuff! too simple and they love them!
Terry R
T-shirt Pillows and Jeans Bags
I've made pillows out of old tees, they are so warm and comfy. Also, cut diagonally down the shirt from the collar to the bottom hem and sew for a simple dress up skirt, an adult tee shirt makes a child's size. Another fun thing is to make bags from old jeans and pants cut off the legs where they meet hem the remaining piece at the bottom and tie hobby rope to the belt loops of sew on straps from the jean leg. You can also make small bags from the bottom of the pant leg. Just cut about 20 cm from bottom of one leg, and hem the raw edges together, you can add handles also.
Hope you can use some of those ideas! E
From Associated Content.com
Draft Blockers
For those of us who live in old houses or apartment buildings, rattling windows can mean winter drafts. Old t-shirts rolled into tubes can help block some of the cold, drafty air in the crevices.
Wall Art
Let’s say you like the design on the front (or back) of your t-shirt - but it no longer fits you. Or maybe there’s a stain or hole elsewhere on the tee? If the design is nifty enough to be decorative, you can frame it. I actually stole this idea from department stores that display their t-shirt stock in perfect squares, folded and pinned around a piece of wood or plastic. Just wrap the t-shirt around the “backboard” of a poster frame, and stretch it to eliminate wrinkles. It should work with or without glass.
Tool Box Towel If you keep a tool box, large or small, it’s possible that you occasionally handle greasy or oily tools. You can use an old t-shirt instead of wasting paper towels or buying a package of rags.
Drawer Sachets
As a fabric, cotton does breathe. So you can trim pieces of an old tee into squares, sprinkle a little lavender or potpourri inside, and tie it up the bundles with string. As long as you don’t pick anything too potent, these cheap sachets are a nice way to keep your clothing smelling fresh inside dresser drawers.
The Sauce Shirt
Every time I cook pasta, it seems like I get some sauce on my shirt during the preparation process. Instead of wearing an apron (I hate aprons), I keep one t-shirt that I use for messy cooking enterprises. Then, I don’t have to worry about fussily using a stain-stick on my “good” clothes
From Frugal.Families.com
Denim
I could make a custom journal for myself or as a gift by covering a composition notebook with the jean fabric. One of the pockets could go on the front as a cute way to hold a pen.
I could use the jean material for a rag rug. Earlier, I wrote about doing this with t-shirts. Although the materials are different weights, they might go nicely together for a sort of americana, blue-jeans and apple pie sort of look.
I could sew up a cute denim purse for my niece. I could cut off the legs and sew up the bottom part above the tear, and then add a shoulder strap or little handle from some of the leg material.
I could make an apron by cutting the legs, opening up the fabric and putting a fabric belt through the belt loops.
The legs could be knotted and used for doggie pull toys for my friend's dog.
T-shirts
Dusting and polishing cloths: This one may be a little obvious for the truly frugal, but sometimes we can forget the obvious. The soft t-shirt material is wonderful for dusting and polishing. Just the other day, I saw Martha on TV polishing silver. She was using expensive cotton cloths to get up all of that yucky tarnish. Why? It would probably have been less expensive to buy brand new t-shirts and cut them up, let alone use old ones.
Old Towels
Repair: Simply sew a running stitch above the unraveling edge. Then turn that uneven edge into a nice fringe. Tada--new towels. Since I am unskilled in sewing, I asked a good friend to use her machine and sew the new hem for me. She even went ahead and did a pretty zigzag stitch in a contrasting color.
Washcloths: Cut the towels into squares, round the edges and sew around for brand new washcloths. This works especially well when there is a hole in the towel that you can cut around.
Diaper Wipes: This is one of my favorite things to do with old towels, probably because I have two little ones in diapers at the moment. I cut the towels up into squares and use them as homemade diaper wipes. No sewing needed. I simply wet them with a little water and go. I wouldn't recommend this for big messes, but for wet diaper changes or for an infant, the homemade diaper clothes work just fine.
Cleaning cloths: For cleaning clothes, you can cut the towels into whatever size works best for you (I like small dish towel size). Again, there is no sewing needed, although you could put a hem around them to make them last longer. I use these homemade cleaning cloths in my kitchen, in place of paper towels for everything from drying an apple to wiping down the kitchen counters and the sink.
Dusting cloths: soft, well-worn towels are perfect for dusting cloths. They seems to grab dust with ease and absorb just the right amount of furniture polish. No sewing needed on these. If they unravel too much, simply cut of the edges as needed.
Beach towels: Sew together two or three to make great beach towels. You can trim any ratty edges and still have enough material to wrap around a wet child or use on the hot sand.
Old Clothes in General
Reconstructing old wool coats into new coats for children, sofa pillows or even cloth handbags and clutches.
Old dresses usually have enough fabric to make a new dress for a child or a Halloween costume.
Cotton dresses can also be used to sew a small set of curtains for a bathroom or back door.
Sew the scraps into small squares and stuff with dried beans for bean bags. Or, turn the scraps into fabric Christmas ornaments, contrast collars for children's shirts, hair bands, or a cloth belt.
Men's plaid shirts can find new life as cotton handkerchiefs.
Save several plaid shirts to create a set of coordinated table napkins.
Men's cotton shirts make wonderful plush toys, lampshade covers, and summer quilts.
Cut with pinking shears, they also make terrific toppers for home canned jams.
Heavy wool fabric can be cut into strips, and turned into braided rag rugs. I have a circa 1890 braided rug that was made out of old civil war uniforms, which has outlasted every other rug I have ever owned.
Turn mismatched socks in sock monkeys and sock puppets.
When the fabric has been used every possible way you can imagine, it's time to turn them into animal bedding or rags. Shredded fabric works well for hamster and rat cages.
Old, worn out coats make great dog blankets.
Strips of old fabric can be used to tie climbing vines onto trellises or for staking your vegetable plants.
Threadbare cotton squares are terrific for straining jellies.
posted by Leslie at
1:05 PM
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