How to Reuse or Repurpose Old Clothes

What do you do with your old clothes? You can donate them or use them for rags… but if you are like many people who “trash” them – maybe you should consider reusing them. Finding new uses for out-dated clothes can be just as much fun as it was to shop for them initially. And, not only will you be more “green” by not filling up the landfills with clothing – but in today’s tough economic times, you can save money. What’s not to love about that?
So in my quest to find ways to repurpose some old clothes… I found these great ideas:

Make Mittens from old sweaters

Everyone has an old sweater stuck back in the closet that you know you’ll never wear again – especially one of those tacky Christmas sweaters that your mother-in-law gave you as a gift. So why not give it new life? And what better way than turning them into mittens. Here’s a great how-to from Backwoods Home Magazine. Now, go build a snowman!

Turn a shirt into a fashionable wrap

You can make a fashion statement with a great wrap and it’s much easier than you may think. If you’ve got an old button down shirt in your closet… think outside the box and turn it into a wrap with these instructions from about.com.

Old T-Shirt into a tube top

I know… it’s hard to give up an old T-Shirt. But this way you’re really not giving it up, you’re just repurposing it. Try these easy instructions from ehow.com and you’ll be wearing a sexy (and if your summer has been as hot as mine), cool tube top in no time at all. I’m going to try this how-to from ehow.com over the weekend.

Fashioning a Bikini out of an Old T-shirt

Here’s one more interesting tip of how to fashioning a bikini out of an old t-shirt at DIY-Guides website. This one looks pretty good.

Turn an old pair of jeans into a skirt

This is a great idea for your favorite pair of jeans that you just can’t wear any longer as jeans or better yet, a pair of jeans that for one reason or another – you really just don’t like. You can turn them into something you do like, a denim skirt.

Whatever length you choose – short or long, you’ll be surprised at just how easy it is to do. Like this how-to from savyseams

Scarf and hat from an out-dated sweater

I started with a sweater, so let’s end with a sweater… not to mention, I saved the best for last. This idea is for the little ones in your life. You can turn one of your old sweaters into the cutest scarf and hat for your kids. And what a great gift idea! Try this how-to from Skip to my Lou for easy to follow instructions.

Note: You can always repurpose old clothing with new looks by adding appliqués, belts and jewelry.

So as you can see, there are several ways to save money, but most importantly be eco-friendly. I’m sure there are plenty more ways to turn out-dated clothes into a new fashion statement. You’re only limited by your creativity and imagination.

Remember these three words:

• Reuse
• Recycle
• Repurpose

And you can always donate or giveaway. Now, it’s time to go raid my closet and see what I can re-invent.

The following is a guest post from TestFreaks.com, that provides product information including sewing machines reviews.
View all posts by Anton Kuhta →