10 Great Ways to Recycle Your Old T-Shirts

Do you have a bunch of old t-shirts lying around your house that are too old and junky to wear but too awesome to consign to the junk pile or donate to a thrift store? Try some fun and funky ways to recycle your old tees into new things.

Throw Pillows

Preserve that favorite band t-shirt by making it into a cuddly pillow that you can display on your bed or couch for everyone to see. All you need to do is use a pair of sharp scissors to cut off the bottom, top, and sides of the t-shirt. Do this by laying the shirt flat and cut a square (a circle or any other shape will do) from the center of the shirt that goes through both the front and back sides. You should have two squares of fabric the exact same size, one with the logo cut from the front of the shirt, and one from the back of the shirt. Save the shirt scraps for later.

Turn the two pieces of fabric so that they face each other and sew around the edge leaving a small hole large enough to fit your hand inside at the bottom. Turn the pillow right-side-out and push the corners out. Use the leftover t-shirt scraps and pillow batting to stuff your pillow. If you do not want to use new pillow stuffing, you can use the stuffing from old pillows and blankets. Carefully stitch the hole in your pillow closed.

Reusable Cloth Grocery Bags

You can easily make your own grocery bags from old t-shirts. For instructions, see my article on creating reusable grocery sacks here: How to Make Reusable Cloth Shopping Bags From Recycled T-Shirts.

Trendy Purse

Using the same instructions for making the pillows above, you can make your tees into trendy purses. Instead of leaving a hole at the bottom, leave a hole at the top for you to put things into your purse. Sew a zipper across the top and add straps for a neat handbag that also makes a great gift.

Shirt Patch Transfer