How to Re-Purpose a Sweater

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By Jennifer Harvey
eHow Contributing Writer

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Whether you have a worn-out sweater or just a moth-eaten one, you can turn that old garment into something new and useful again. In just a few easy steps, you can turn a sweater into mittens, a pony-tail holder and even a potholder.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

Scissors Paper Pencil Sewing needle Thread Sewing machine Weaving loom

How to Make Mittens from an Old Sweater

Step 1

Find an old, worn sweater or a moth-eaten one.
Step 2

Trace the outline of your hand onto a piece of paper.
Step 3

Cut out the pattern.
Step 4

Place the pattern on top of the sweater. Position the pattern so the sweater waist or cuffs become the cuffs of your mitten.
Step 5

Follow the pattern and cut the sweater with the scissors, making sure you cut through both layers of the garment.
Step 6

Repeat Steps 4 and 5.
Step 7

Stitch two of the matching patterns together with your sewing machine or with needle and thread.
Step 8

Repeat Step 7.

Make a Pony-Tail Holder from Sweater Sleeves

Step 1

Cut horizontally all the way across the sweater sleeve, through both layers.
Step 2

Move down the sleeve and make another cut all the way across the sleeve. This will determine the width of your pony-tail holder
Step 3

Gather your hair at the back of your head and encircle with the pony-tail holder.

How to Use Your Sweater to Make a Potholder

Step 1

Cut the sleeves from an old sweater.
Step 2

Remove the cuffs.
Step 3

Begin cutting strips from the sleeves about 1/8 inch wide.
Step 4

Continue cutting strips until both sleeves are depleted.
Step 5

Place one end of a sweater strip over a peg on the left edge of a weaving loom (the small plastic kind you can find in most craft stores). Make sure the loop is in place.
Step 6

Stretch the sweater loop across and over the peg directly across on the right side of the loom.
Step 7

Continue Step 6 until all the pegs on the left and right side have been used.
Step 8

Take a sweater strip and place it over a peg at the top left of the loom.
Step 9

Weave under and over the horizontal sweater strips already on the loom, being careful not to displace any of the strips. Weave directly toward the bottom peg directly across from the top peg.
Step 10

Loop the strip over the facing bottom peg.
Step 11

Continue Steps 10 and 11 until all pegs have been used.
Step 12

Carefully lift the completed potholder from the loom.