29 May 2012

Feeling crafty lately

I've had a productive week.   In the last few days I cut off a pair of ripped blue jeans, sewed buttons on two pairs of pants, repaired a hole in a sweater, and removed outdated shoulder pads from a blazer.  I also made two coupon file organizers (which people bought from me for real money!), and I stumbled across this gem on the internet:  http://psimadethis.com/tagged/fashion/page/5.  (The drawback of this website is that it doesn't have individual pages for individual projects; the project to which I'm referring is at the bottom.  Some of her stuff is a bit too fashion-forward for me, but a lot of it is cute.)

Basically, you take an old, stretched-out, pit-stained shirt, and turn it into an infinity scarf.  I had a t-shirt that fit the bill.  It had been a favorite of mine 30 pounds ago, but it now hung on me; it also had armpit stains, but it just seemed too cute to throw away.  (I tried to find a picture of the shirt in its original state, but no luck.)  After literally less than five minutes of work, I had a new accessory!



I've really gotten into this "up cycling" thing.  It's fun to take something old and turn it into something new and creative.

So, that leads me to my next question:  I've found lots of uses for old clothes, and I've also come up with ways to improve upon something old or worn.  I haven't yet figured out anything to do with old shorts.  I have several pairs that are too big for me now that I've lost baby weight, but they don't fit anyone else in the family either.  Do they just get donated to Goodwill, or does anyone have another idea of what to do with them?

What are some things you have "up cycled"?

4 comments:

tawngap said...

I bet you could totally use this idea to make an apron out of your old shorts. You might need to add some extra button holes but it would be fun. Just a thought. http://kleas.typepad.com/kleas/2007/03/dreaming_up_a_t.html

-Tawnia

Adam said...

That apron idea looks cool, Tawnia!

I haven't finished anything yet, but I'm making a messenger bag and a couple of other things out of old jeans. I've had this stack of about 10 pairs of jeans for forever, planning to make a beach blanket out of all of it. I finally got tired of the pile and started cutting it down a couple of weeks ago, and started a messenger bag that's big enough for a water bottle and Adam's field book. Once I have my own done, the girls will probably want them too.

I also just decided yesterday to cut up a duvet cover (that I bought at Ikea years ago but it doesn't fit my duvet so it's just been in the closet this whole time) and use it to make pajamas for my girls and probably me and Adam too. They like nightgowns but don't have any in a summer weight. I need to find a pattern or tutorial and then I'm in business.

Adam said...

Okay, um yeah, this is Trina not Adam. I didn't realize it was logged in for him.

Lauren said...

Wow, Tawnia, I love that apron idea! I know what everyone's getting for Christmas this year! :) Trina, how are you doing the tote bag? Cutting up the jeans and doing it like a patchwork?