The abusive consumption of clothing by the majority of people around the world is causing the generation of millions of garments that end up being disposed of in landfills. This problem needs a solution, first of all it is to educate the consumer so that it opts for responsible consumption, in addition to publicizing other solutions, such as looking for a place to recycle old clothes. You can also unleash your imagination and customize or personalize clothing that we no longer like or reuse the clothes that do not serve us for another use as such.
If you want to join sustainable fashion and recycling and, therefore, want to know more about it clothing recycling or know some tricks to recycle it, for example, know what to do with torn jeans, how to recycle bedding or how to recycle old curtains, continue reading this interesting article by Green Ecologist in which we talk about how to recycle clothes and we give you ideas to recycle your old clothes (DIY).
How to make a dress out of an old t-shirt
Who has not ever wondered how to recycle old clothes and make them new? Have you thought about what you could do with a shirt that you no longer wear? If so, we want to teach you make a dress from an old t-shirt. To do this, we need to take out the sewing machine, a shirt and a rectangle of fabric, which we could take, for example, from a skirt or another fabric that we no longer want as it is and we can take advantage of it for other things, such as this craft .
- To calculate the width of the rectangle, leave one finger on the area to be gathered and two on the side where the hem will be made.
- To prevent fraying, the two sides are finished off with a zigzag and the bottom part is already hemmed.
- To the part that we are going to gather to join the shirt, two seams are made on the edge, one next to the other.
- It is important to choose the longest stitch and that the tension of the sewing machine is at zero, in this way the fabric gathers itself.
- Once the gathering is done, we measure the contour of the shirt to match the contour of the skirt.
- When both coincide, the threads that are left over after the gathering are tied so that the gathering does not move.
- An elastic seam is made in the center of the two seams previously made for the gathering. You can easily do this by including a piece of rubber band.
- Once this is done, the skirt is attached to the shirt. First, the center of the shirt is found with that of the skirt and they are joined with a pin, the same we do with the sides and the back. Finally, the last seam that will join both garments is made, choosing the thread of the same color as the shirt so that the seam is not noticeable. And this is how we can make a dress with an old T-shirt and a rectangle of fabric or a skirt that we no longer use loose or that we have been given to recycle.
For this craft we have used a sewing machine to make it easier and better, but if you know how to sew a lot by hand you can also do it. Also, if what you prefer is to know how to recycle clothes without a sewing machine, take note of other of the crafts to recycle old or used clothing that we mention below.
A thousand ideas with patchwork
Patchwork is everything a world of possibilities, which covers much more than the typical bedspreads. Logically, if we do not have experience, it is best to start with small projects with only a few pieces. Not because it is simpler, it will be less beautiful. The important thing is to achieve what we wanted or, even better, see our expectations exceeded: do something decorative, practical or both at the same time.
On the other hand, as we already mentioned, the patchwork applied in small areas is a great technique to cover stains, tears or burns, say, do it in a subtle way. A suitable choice of the scrap, -in terms of composition and pattern-, will achieve the best results, for example on denim.
In addition to painting, it is also possible to apply a good combination of colorful fabric scraps with the sole intention of renewing the design, without the need for it to be damaged. We will get interesting results with these patchwork patches, a word that means "to work the pieces".
If we do not have experience, let's go easy, apply the pieces only partially, always trying to make the remnants combine with harmony, so we will also achieve that the effect is not burdensome. Doing it creatively and with good taste, without great pretensions, sticking to small projects, will be the key to success.
How to reuse ripped jeans
When you ask yourself "what can I do with my old clothes?", Surely, one of the items that you will have more at hand will be some torn or old jeans or jeans, or another garment of this type of fabric, such as a jacket. From Ecologist Verde we encourage you to reuse ripped jeans and turn them into other objects, such as bags, umbrella covers, cushions or backpacks.
- To reuse denim garments, if you get scraps of this fabric and also if you want scraps of other types of fabric, you can use the patchwork technique, which consists of joining pieces of fabrics to create a new garment such as a skirt, a jacket, cushion covers, etc.
- With the denim fabric, you can cover objects by gluing the fabric with hot silicone, for example if we have flowerpots, we can cover it with the denim fabric thus giving a more modern style, or also if we have chairs with old or damaged seats, they can be upholstered .
- If we take one of the legs of a jeans or jeans, we give it a rectangular shape, decorate it and glue pockets of other jeans, we can create a hanger to place in the hall of our house and store keys, glasses or masks tucked in their covers, so we will surely not forget it.
- Again using the patchwork technique you can make a beautiful and original bedspread with the pieces of fabric taken from the torn jeans, although for that we will need more than one jeans.
How to recycle old curtains and bedding
If you wonder how to recycle bedding or curtains, take note of these ideas:
- Make beds and clothes for dogs and cats, either ours or to donate to shelters.
- You can also make toys for them, for example, by making strips of the fabric and knotting or braiding them, to get a toy similar to the rope bones that they sell for them to play or, tie or sew the strips to a stick or a doll .
- Use them to make rags for cleaning.
- If they are still in good condition, a dress, skirt, top, T-shirt, etc. can be made.
- Covers can be made for the sofa or for the cushions.
Tips for recycling old clothes
If you want to know more tricks to recycle clothes or to reuse clothing, write down these ideas:
- Customize a garment, that is, make a change of look such as, for example, change the buttons, to make it look like another, or put some patches to personalize it, as well as paint shoes to your liking or dye the clothes to change their appearance. Here we explain How to dye clothes naturally and How to dye clothes with tea.
- Reuse a garment to create a new one, for example, with jeans you can make a cover for the umbrella with which you go to the beach.
- With scraps of old clothes or that you no longer use, you can line objects to give them another look, such as covering rigid bracelets with fabrics of different colors and patterns, such as those on the cover, or even making braided bracelets with these scraps or strips.
- Reuse old garments, which can no longer be used due to their poor condition, for household cleaning.
- Donate the clothes of the little ones and little ones for other boys and girls. They are garments that, in general, are rarely used, since a boy or a girl is constantly growing and hardly uses the clothes, since they must change them in short periods of time.
- Go to clothing exchanges, currently there are many places where these types of events are held.
- Use web pages for the sale and purchase of second-hand clothes.
- Find clothing collection points, NGOs, associations, etc … to donate old clothes that can continue to be used.
If you want to read more articles similar to How to recycle clothes, we recommend that you enter our category of Crafts with recycled material.
