Uses for Old Clothes

Reuse Old Clothing Items Such as Jeans and T-shirts

Once your clothes have outworn their use, what should you do with them? In this article are many ideas for reusing old items of clothing such as jeans and t-shirts that can no longer be worn.

Jeans. Old blue jeans have many fun uses. The material is durable and perfect to be made into another clothing item or a project.

Old Jeans Use #1: Shorts. If your blue jeans have holes in the knees, you can cut them off just above the knee and hem for some long shorts. They could also be left unhemmed for a more rugged look, or cut off higher up to make the shorts shorter.

Old Jeans Use #2: Jean Skirt. Use old blue jeans to make a jean skirt. Undo the inseam of your jeans and connect the front and back of each leg with a triangle of additional fabric, either from the legs of another old pair of jeans, or in a fun pattern, to make a skirt. You can cut the jeans off at any length to make a short or long skirt. Hem as desired, or even leave unhemmed.

Old Jeans Use #3: Purse. Cut the legs off your old blue jeans and sew up the opening on the bottom. You can make a purse out of the torso piece. Use spare fabric from the legs to make a strap by sewing a length in half with the right sides in, then turning inside right. Sew a snap or Velcro to the waistband for a closure - to add a zipper if you're really good on the sewing machine.

Old Jeans Use #4: Remove the pockets using a seam ripper and sew onto a canvas tote to add instant pockets. Pockets from old blue jeans can be sewn onto many other projects.

Shirts. Free t-shirts, school t-shirts, torn and stained t-shirts - we all have too many t-shirts. Here are a few ways to get some more use out of those shirts that are hanging in your closet.

Old Shirt Use #1: T-shirt Quilt. If you have a sentimental t-shirt collection, consider making them or, if you can't sew, having them made into a memorable quilt.

Old Shirt Use #2: Rice Bag Warmer. Cut off the sleeve of an old flannel shirt, fill with long grain white rice and sew up the ends. This will make a nice rice warmer for your back after a hard day's work, or your feet on a cold winter night. Just heat in the microwave for a few minutes.