We use old shirts and dresses for new cool things

Our closets and mezzanines are filled to the ceiling with old things - clothes that are a pity to throw away, but which are small/large, frayed or torn. And even if there are a large number of younger brothers and sisters, the life cycle of each thing tends to end sooner or later, and then we face a difficult choice - it’s a pity to throw it away, it’s pointless to store it endlessly.

And after the next need to free up space in the closet takes you by the throat, you have to, reluctantly, part with things dear to your heart.

However, this is not at all necessary. Old things can be given an innumerable number of lives, transforming them beyond recognition and turning them, if not into new items of clothing, then into stylish and exclusive interior items.

INTERESTING! In the old days, recycled rags were made from - what might you think? Paper! In the 15th century, after the invention of the printing press, when the need for paper increased sharply, parchment no longer satisfied the growing needs.That's when they began to make the first paper from ground rag material, which was glued and dried on special grids. This paper was very similar in appearance to parchment and had a dense structure.

What can be made from an old shirt and dress

Today, throwing away things that can be recycled or reused is considered bad manners. And who really were the real gurus in reusing old clothes were our mothers and grandmothers. Having grown up in an era of total shortage, they found use for every little thing. So, old trousers could turn into anything - from a rag for the floor (if you don’t want to show imagination) to new shorts, a bag, a backpack, or, at worst, garters for tomatoes in the garden. Here are some recipes for how to turn old clothes into new things.

New clothes

And old clothes can sometimes quite unexpectedly turn out to be a new, spectacular thing.

Top

With a slight movement of the hand, an old jacket or turtleneck with frayed elbows can easily be transformed into a T-shirt or a stylish top - with or without a high neck, which will be an excellent addition to your favorite jacket. To do this, you just need to cut the sleeves and properly process the cut area - tucking it once or twice, depending on the type of fabric. It is worth working with knitwear with some caution, as it tends to stretch during the seam processing process.

Tunic

A tunic is a dress that has gone through the same transformation path as a jacket. It is no secret that most often it is the sleeves that give away the worn appearance of an item - it just so happens that our hands are the most active of all parts of the body in everyday life.The sleeves quickly stretch, abrasions appear on the elbows, while the main panel may still look quite passable. This kind of dress has a direct path to tunics.

Skirt

This is yesterday's dress, from which you can tear off the top. The easiest way to perform this manipulation is with a model with a set-in top - where the top is attached to the skirt with a separate seam. If you are confident in your skills, you can do it yourself, but if not, it is better to take the dress to a sewing studio, where it will be given a second life. In this case, all costs will be reimbursed, since you can carry the altered item for more than one season. At your own discretion, you can shorten the length of the dress, or you can decorate it with overlays, pockets, trim or a slit.

By the way, you can even turn a shirt into a skirt - you’ll get a stylish summer model.

Children's clothing

To turn your old things into children's ones, you need to master the art of sewing. But a windbreaker from your trench coat, or a sundress from an old dress will incredibly please your fashionista or fashionista. Of course, he will dress almost like an adult! Browse through children's clothing catalogs, choose the current style - and go to the studio. Needless to say, an abundance of interesting accessories and children’s decorations will help add spontaneity to the most frankly adult item, and the quality of the fabric will be an additional advantage.You can also make something with your own hands from an old shirt - for example, a bib for a child, with a little creativity.

Bag

A shirt can make a wonderful handbag. Perhaps you have some old bag from which you can take parts and sew the base from a shirt or dress.

Decor items

Making home decor items from old things is an even more unplowed field for realizing the most daring and original ideas:

• it’s fashionable - you can not only make exclusive hand made items for your home, but also for sale - popular social networks are full of pages where you can not only sell your products, but also spy on interesting ideas - creative borrowing has not been canceled;
• it’s economical - if you’ve ever been to a decor store, you probably weren’t delighted with the prices, but if you make it yourself, such things will not only give you warmth and comfort, but will also help you save money without sacrificing aesthetics.

Chair upholstery or cover

To make home decor, it is best to use cotton dresses and shirts - cotton is in fashion now, and such things will look simply amazing. For example, leaky chairs in the kitchen can be covered with shirt fabric (it is better to take a thicker one). Or sew covers and the same curtains - and now your kitchen is no longer just a kitchen, but in the super popular country or Provence style today.

Organizer

Thick linen and cotton are perfect for making an organizer or cosmetic bag, and in general you can sew a huge number of linen bags with appliqués. Shirt buttons are actively used as decoration, and the previously popular “epaulets” are removed from old shirts.

Picture frame

The remnants of an old dress with polka dots or stripes can be used to cover a photo frame. If you fill it with cotton wool or padding polyester, and decorate it with felt appliqué on top, you can safely take out old photos from the boxes that previously had nowhere to put them, and display them to show off in new “vestments.”

Case for books (including e-books)

Often, due to the lack of a cover, books or electronic devices that we are in the habit of reading in transport get overwritten. You can solve the problem by sewing covers from old shirts. Such a stylish envelope can be made even for a laptop, using felt as a basis, and covering it with cotton, and sewing a “lid” on top, like a shirt’s breast pocket with a shirt button fastening.

Toy

The Internet is replete with examples of toy patterns made from cotton, and handmade stores are full of handmade toys, which are much more expensive than factory ones. If you want to please your child, and maybe yourself, try dissolving an old shirt into toys. Buttons, cotton wool, decorative braid, beads, threads - everything you need for this, and no one will forbid experimenting with shapes and patterns.

Blanket

If you had a book of Russian folk tales with illustrations as a child, then you probably saw what a patchwork quilt looks like. So, in the modern shabby chic style, such blankets made using the patchwork technique are at the peak of popularity. You can cut several pieces of clothing into shreds at once, or you can save “old clothes” all your life - it all depends on how quickly you want to acquire such a stylish piece of furniture.

Pillows, pillowcases

Using a similar technique as a patchwork quilt, you can make pillowcases or decorative pillows. You can decorate them with embroidery or appliques, and the uniqueness of your bed or sofa is guaranteed.

For kitchen

If you allow yourself a flight of fancy, you can fill the entire kitchen with crafts made from old clothes. Here are just a few examples of where you can apply your crafting talents.

Apron

You can sew a very strong and stylish apron from a dress or shirt.We studied patterns almost in elementary school, but the advantages of such an apron over a store-bought one are hard to overestimate - cotton absorbs moisture well, stains and dirt are easier to remove from it.

Hot stand

You can make hot napkins from old clothes - you just need to choose a thicker fabric, or roll it in several layers. Envelopes for cutlery will look no less impressive.

Oven mitts made from old shirts are also a very useful thing in the kitchen.

Kitchen towel

A towel made from an old, high-quality cotton shirt is simply an indispensable kitchen accessory, since its hygienic properties can surpass all store-bought counterparts, and the colors (stripes, polka dots) will match the fashionable Provence.

These are the options we were able to offer. Most likely, this is not all that old dresses and shirts can be useful for. But very often it is in the process of creativity that other brilliant thoughts come!