Recycling Your Old Clothes Into New Fashion

You might have liked that cute T-shirt and jeans when you bought them at the store, but after wearing them so many times, they could use a makeover. You don't have to toss your clothes when you get tired of them--just make them into something you could wear or use as an accessory. With a few stitches or the use of a sewing machine, you could have a new item that you didn't even pay for--and can feel good about not tossing out. Get as creative and extravagant as you want, or just keep it simple.

Things You'll Need

• Scissors Needle/thread or sewing machine Fabric glue (optional) Buttons/other accessories and decorations

Instructions

1. Cut them up. The ripped-up grunge look went out of fashion years ago, but you're still allowed to cut up your clothes. You could cut your jeans to make shorts or a skirt, take a skirts and make it into shorts or vice versa, trim the sleeves or collar off a T-shirt or distress your jeans. Add patches to jeans or jackets from other pieces of clothing for a new look.

2. Make accessories. Create a purse, tote bag or other carrying device from a skirt, shorts or cut up pants--cut the fabric to your preferred size, turn it inside out, sew up three sides and leave the top open; add a zipper, button or other closure to the top for security. Use strips of fabric for a decorative key chain or hair bow by stringing them together and adding them to the desired item. A little cutting and sewing also could create a nice tie, scarf, belt or headband.

3. Create bedding and other household items. Take a shirt or even a nice skirt or other piece of clothing to make a pillow--cut the fabric to a size and shape of your choice, turn it inside out, sew up all side except for one, stuff it with cotton or pillow stuffing, sew up the open end and add buttons. Take pieces of any type of clothing to cut triangles, squares or other shapes to make a quilt--you also could make a blanket with one item or several items of clothing. You also could take whole items of clothing or several pieces to create colorful tablecloths and other linens, placemats, potholders, makeup bags and other holders, pet beds and accessories and anything else you can imagine.

4. Destroy them with a purpose. Use old clothes for dust cloths, cleaning rags or even shredded up fabric for stuffing pillows, animal beds or gift bags.

Tips & Warnings

• You don't have to keep what you make for yourself--give them as gifts, sell them or take them to a thrift store to be reused. Get patterns from a craft store for more ideas or to make the craft job a little easier.