Seven Ideas for Repurposing Your Clothes

Do you re-purpose clothing? I absolutely hate throwing away clothes! Even if it has a rip, a hole, a stain or is two sizes too small, I just think to myself, "I bet I could make something out of that!"

Here are a few things I do to re-purpose clothing:

1) When the kids were young and growing like crazy, I would buy new, long sleeve shirts in the fall and make sure they were nice and roomy in size. Then, come springtime, I would cut all the sleeves off and hem them to make into short-sleeves. Saved me a ton of money! By the end of summer, the shirt had been well worn and outgrown.

Summer T-shirts made from long sleeve
fall shirts!

2) When my skirts get too small, I resize them smaller for my girls. I did this with my old dresses, too. A too-tight dress had just the right amount of fabric to make a girls size dress for a toddler!

3) I use scarves to make one-of-a-kind pillows. The colors are often unique and I love that! When the scarf is too sheer or light-weight, you can put another more sturdy fabric (like a cotton blend or muslin) behind it.

4) Favorite old sweater have a hole in it? Turn it into a pair of mittens! I have crocheted many a pair of mittens for a variety of service projects, but this idea of using old sweaters is AWESOME! I have all my sweaters washed and ready, but haven't yet tried to make these mittens. Here's a quick tutorial to show you how I plan to make them!

5) Do you have a bunch of stained t-shirts? My mom would cut them up and use them as rags for cleaning. That's great, but you can only use so many rags! My friend Jodie uses her old T-shirts to make quilts. It's a pretty popular thing to do these days, especially if you have been collecting your children's favorite T's for awhile. Hopefully, the stains aren't on the front/middle of the T-shirt! Here's an example of one of Jodie's T-shirt quilts!

6) Here's an idea from my grandmother. Cut old cotton clothes into long strips about 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide. Sew the ends together for a giant ball of fabric "yarn". Use the yarn to crochet an old fashioned rug. You can also use cut up denim from old jeans. P.S. You will need a really big crochet hook! I suggest size N.

7) Do you have old flannel Christmas jammies? We have had a tradition of Christmas Jammies for over a decade and I just hate throwing them out...even though they usually have a hole or two in the knee! Instead, use the flannel Christmas jammies as fabric for fun Christmas crafts like these little trees!

I saw an almost identical set of flannel Christmas trees at Walmart recently and decided to make some myself. 

Want to try to make some too? Here's what you need:

1. old flannel jammies with a Christmas theme

2. a dowel rod the size you think is appropriate (I liked the precut dowel rods, here.)

3. wood base (These are perfect and less than a $1 each!)

4. scissors, regular or pinking shears for a fun look

5. needle and thread

6. cotton stuffing 

Grandma would be proud of me for taking to heart the old adage "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without!"

The Fletcher Farmhouse has entered into an affiliate relationship with Walmart. Clicking on links provided in this blog article may result in a commission being paid to The Fletcher Farmhouse at no additional cost to you.