Have you ever had clothes for you or your family that ended up with a stain, rip, or just plain got worn out? You know it’s time to retire them, but something might not sit with you well, just tossing it in the garbage. This is where I’ll save the material of the old clothing and make napkins or something useful out of them.
Yesterday I took Ellie’s beautiful white dress with blue embroidery that had been passed down to us with some yellow stains on it, and cut the stain off, hemmed it up, and took in the sides a bit. The project may have taken fifteen minutes, but it was more like ten. It was so fast, and now she has a lovely summer shirt. I just had to break out the sewing machine and sit for a bit. When I get going, it’s so fun!!!
The Stained Dress Before…(hard to see the stains on the bottom)
The New Shirt
Elastic
Are you wondering why I posted a picture of my worn out sports bra? Do you really even want to see my worn out sports bra? I think not, but it wasn’t just a worn out sports bra anymore. It was about to have new life in a skirt.
The Old Loved Dresses with Stains
Today I took the elastic from the old bra and used it to make a skirt for my Abbie girl from a dress that she had loved, grown out of, and accidentally stained from our precious Polly. My Ellie girl has the matching dress, and had grown out of it, too, so I thought it would be fun for the girls to have matching skirts.
I just made a casing by folding over the top of the material, leaving an inch space to thread some elastic through and sew down. I will give a more detailed tutorial of making skirts later.
The New Skirts the Girls are Excited to Sport Tomorrow to a Recital
So when you think something is garbage, take one last look at it, and see if you or someone else can breathe new life into it. I figure if I make a mistake on something like this, it wasn’t usable anyway, so I may as well go for it! This mindset makes it easier to accept the mistakes that might occur.
My dad has given me pants with elastic, and I used the elastic from his pants, to make myself a new skirt (no the fabric wasn’t repurposed:). I’ve also used old khaki pants to make little coupon holders and old stained little girls’ dresses to make snack bags. I’ve used jeans inserted in the middle of place mats to make them more stiff. It is so fun to repurpose! You really should try! And if you can’t sew, ask someone who knows to teach you. This is a great skill to have!! Thanks for stopping by!
Have you repurposed before? Have you made new clothes from old clothes?
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Sonja is a lover of the Lord, family, and friends. She digs DIY (especially re-purposing), fancies fitness, foods (whole), & fellowship. She is a thrifty thinker and jives with jazz.
“Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful” (1 Corinthians 4:2 ESV). Thanks for visiting!
Wonderful ideas! You know, I have so much clothes sitting down in the basement that’s just too worn to pass on to the thrift shop, but I can’t get myself to throw them away, either. Thanks for the inspiration to try to repurpose them! 🙂 Again, thanks for sharing this tip over at Tiny Tip Tuesday!
I often need to look for inspiration myself. When you start seeing items through a different set of glasses the realm of possibilities open up. It’s so fun!!! Thanks for stopping by!
Have you repurposed before? Have you made new clothes from old clothes?
Way to recycle!! Would you post this up to our blog hop? I think our readers would enjoy! xoxo, Jordan http://www.lilywhite-designs.com
Yes a “must have” skill I think! I love all your recycling ideas for clothing!!!
Wonderful ideas! You know, I have so much clothes sitting down in the basement that’s just too worn to pass on to the thrift shop, but I can’t get myself to throw them away, either. Thanks for the inspiration to try to repurpose them! 🙂 Again, thanks for sharing this tip over at Tiny Tip Tuesday!
This is awesome, you have great talent!I would love to try something like this.
Thank you, but I wouldn’t say I have great talent. I love that most of the work is already done! Thanks for visiting!
This is soooo cute!! Thanks for linking up to our “Strut Your Stuff Saturday.” We loved having you and hope to see you back next week! -The Sisters
Thanks! I’ll be back!!
Great upcycles! Thanks for linking up.
You are welcome!
Great ideas! I can never think of these kinds of things myself so LOVE seeing how others put repurposing into action! Very inspiring.
I often need to look for inspiration myself. When you start seeing items through a different set of glasses the realm of possibilities open up. It’s so fun!!! Thanks for stopping by!
So cute! So glad I found these ideas, I’m not that creative. 😛
It’s so fun to start looking at worn out items in a different light. Thanks for stopping by!
Love these ideas! Thanks for the reminder to see what I can do with stuff that I normally throw!
Thanks, and you are welcome!!