How To Repurpose Old Clothes?

We are all guilty of buying new clothes to keep up with the changing fashion trends.

This results in us having to get rid of a lot of clothes, which typically end up in our overflowing landfills. 

If your clothes are simply out of fashion or the wrong size for you, they can usually be donated to charitable organizations or homeless shelters.

This allows your clothes to have a new lease of life and can help someone who may be down on their luck.

The question remains, what can you do with stained or broken clothing? You cannot donate them and you don’t want to send them to landfills, so what options are you left with?

We have rounded up a selection of some of our favorite ways to repurpose old clothes and extend their lifespan as far as possible. 

Tie-dye

This is a great way to uplift an old, stained, faded, or discolored item of clothing.

If the item still fits, and you like the aesthetic of tie-dye, this is the hack for you. 

This allows for an enormous amount of creative freedom with colors and designs. There are many tutorials on the internet for how to scrunch, tie, and wrap your clothing to create different patterns. 

Tie-dye is very simple and can be a very fun way to upcycle or repurpose your old clothes.

It is a great activity to get kids involved with too. Who needs a new wardrobe when you can tie-dye your existing one?

Make A Bag

There are many different ways that you can make your old clothing into a bag. The simplest method of all is the process of converting a vest top into a tote bag.

All you need to do is ensure that the top is clean and then turn it inside out. 

Hem the open bottom edges together, ensuring you run over your stitches a few times. This will help to make the base of the bag sturdy so that it doesn’t break during use.

Turn the back around and you will have a new, trendy tote bag! 

Make Face Cloths

This is a great hack for clothing that has been torn or damaged and would not be able to be worn as intended anymore.

It is particularly good for cotton clothing as this is very kind to your skin.

All you do is ensure the item of clothing has been washed, and then get cutting! Use sharp scissors to cut your clothing into smaller pieces and pop them in a box with a lid.

Use these eco-friendly cloths in place of single-use disposable wipes. Simply throw them in the wash after and you’re good to go.

If you have clothing made of other materials, or that you do not wish to use on your face, you can still make cloths.

Cut them into slightly larger pieces and use them to wipe surfaces, dust, and do general cleaning around your home. 

Make A Duvet Cover 

This is a great way to make use of scraps of fabric. It is also a great way to keep hold of funky designs, commemorative t-shirts, or emotionally significant items of clothing.

All you need to do is cut regular shapes of equal sizes out of each fabric and lay them out neatly together. 

Once you are satisfied with the size and shape of your duvet cover, all you need to do is sew the patches together to create a large rectangle.

From there you will need to fold the fabric in half and sew the edges so that only one is open. 

Attach some poppers or buttons so that the open edge can be closed, and you’re done.

There you have it, your own homemade, commemorative duvet cover. 

Make Cushion Covers

You can make cushions or pillow covers in the same manner as above, or you can use a single t-shirt per pillow.

Cut off the sleeves from your old t-shirt, along with the collar around the neck. 

Invert the t-shirt and sew the neck and armholes closed. Turn the t-shirt the right way around again and insert your pillow.

Again, you may wish to add buttons or poppers to keep the edge closed, but this is not necessary. 

Do Some Cropping

This is a great way to deal with clothing with rips in lower regions, fraying hems, or that are the wrong size.

Once you have cropped your clothing you may opt to hem it or leave the hems open for a more rustic, homemade look.

This can be used on tops and jumpers and can be customized according to how extreme you want the crop to be.

You can also cut your trousers into culottes, long shorts, or cheeky shorts. The world is your oyster and the only limit is your imagination. 

Make Hand Warmers

This is a great way to repurpose thick, inflexible materials and make phenomenal eco-friendly winter gifts.

Cut your material of choice into an even number of 5-inch squares.

We recommend cutting 4 squares of material for every hand warmer that you wish to make. 

Lay the fabric squares on top of each other with the patterns facing inward. Sew up 3 of the edges and then invert the square so that the seams are on the inside.

Use the open edge to fill the hand warmer with uncooked rice, and then sew this edge closed too. 

To use these hand warmers, zap the pouch in the microwave for 30 seconds and you’re good to go. 

Make A Draught Stopper

This is a great way to repurpose old pants, specifically jeans. Cut the legs off the pants so you have 2 long, thick tubes and a little pair of hotpants.

Cut lengthways down the center of one leg and fold the material in half so that the outside of the jeans is touching.

Sew along the long edge to close the seam and one short edge. 

Invert the tube so that you have created a long tunnel of material.

Fill this with other clothes scraps or stuffing and sew the exposed end closed.

Place by the gap under your door to stop draughts in their tracks.