Sew outgrown childrens clothes, either whole or cut, into patterns for a worn quilt using an overcast stitch. You can quilt the pieces in as well. You can do a decorative pattern, or cover entirely. The end result is a wonderful keepsake to treasure.
By Doggy
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
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
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
When my Mother passed away it was up to me and my two sisters to empty out her apartment and do something with her belongings. When we got down to clothes we donated them to a mountain mission which gives them away to needy people. I kept some of her old cotton print blouses and couldn't bear to part with them. I was in the process of learning how to quilt. For a mother's day present I made my sisters and nieces a handmade pillow using the pattern called Grandma's Fan and cut the pieces from Mom's old blouses. Now we all have a momento of her in our homes.
MamawKC
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
An idea I would have loved to do with my old baby clothes was to make a baby heirloom quilt to use for your first child or even better to give to your children for their first child.
I believe it was in Family Circle Magazine a few years ago that they used the fronts of shirts or dresses and sewed them into each quilt square as if it were hanging on a hanger or something. Other ideas would be to just use the fabric to make your own design.
Tawnda
Clothing can be cut into strips and braided to make rugs. these rugs are very durable and they wash well too.
Gizzmo from Colorado
Old denim jeans make great quilts for dog beds. They smell like you, which pleases the dogs. I usually cut old jeans into rectangles and squares and sew together. To practice fancy stitches on your sewing machine, you can overlap the raw edges of the seams and reduce raveling at the same time.
Lynn from Western Oregon
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
What are some craft projects you can think of using old clothing?
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I took a long-sleeved shirt (it was a little too small for me) and sewed the bottom closed. Then just put it on a hanger and hung it up in the bathroom as a decorative hamper. Good for small items and/or children's laundry.
I took a long-sleeved shirt (it was a little too small for me) and sewed the bottom closed. Then just put it on a hanger and hung it up in the bathroom as a decorative hamper.
I use pretty shirts, vests and sweaters to make purses, plastic grocery bag holders, covers for appliances (toaster, sewing machine, blender) and to cover photo albums, book binders or book covers.
I use old button up shirts as paint and gardening smocks for me and my grandkids. No more sending them home to Mom with paint or mud spattered clothes!
My husband's grandfather was a doctor, and had collected quite a few neck ties during his career. After he passed away, someone took all of his ties to make a quilt. It was presented to my husband's grandmother as a gift. The quilt has a beautiful pattern due to the shape of the ties and colors.
You can recycling clothing by making cute gift bags made from cut-off blouse sleeves (and using matching ribbon ribbon for a drawstring).
My favorites are Jar "Hats", though, to cover canning jar lids for when you can jellies, etc. or give gifts-in-a-jar. They were on sewing.about.com/
And you can cover old, worn potholders with pretty fabric scraps, too.
I tried to make a rug out of old material once, but that is a wonderful idea to make it out of old clothes. I think i will try. Good thing it washes up well:)
Once you've exhausted craft possibilities, separate the rest of your old clothing and recycle it 3 ways: first, take anything that is still reasonably current and not ripped or stained to friends (especially children's clothing), church, Goodwill or a free clothing room; second, take distinctive pieces that might become part of a costume to your local high school or community theatre, things such as old hats, overalls, old dresses, evening wear, boots, any items with very large buttons, men's suits ; third, cut up old t shirts and torn or grungy items that are mostly cotton into rag sizes, and keep a few in convenient places under the sinks or in your garage as disposable cleanup wipes. Use these for messy home cleanups such as oil or paint spills, cleaning off outdoor furniture or equipment (I use a few to clean the gas grill).
I use old jeans to make tablecloths. The jeans are cut to different size squares and sewn together. Finish the outside edges with seam binding. I also save the pockets and place beside each place setting to hold a napkin and silverware.
Wow.. Its really great.
But you can also sell your kids cloths online. I use some sites like dutchchoice.com and others to sell my kids designer cloths
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