How To Upcycle Clothes
Do you have clothes you won’t wear anymore, or do you love thrift stores? I’m sharing how to upcycle clothes with just a few twists and tweeks.
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Whenever you go to a store or shop online, are you struggling to find clothing that fits the look or style you want? You’re not alone. While designers work tirelessly to create magnificent clothing, some seasons, and years, our idea of great fashion may not fall in line with what’s considered “fashionable”. And so we’re left grappling with trying to fit into and make the most out of the clothing we have. In hope, something that matches our idea of style will eventually begin selling in stores.
One of the great things about how to upcycle your clothes is that you can add some personality to your dull wardrobe. Of course, it might take a bit of practice and trial and error. But, with a bit of determination and creativity, you can make it happen, and begin wearing clothes you love again.
How To Upcycle Clothes
Add Print
If you ever saw an image and thought to yourself, ‘that would look great on a piece of clothing,’ why not make it happen? With a heat press machine, you can spend hours adding prints to old clothing like old t-shirts. At first, try using clothes you’re not so keen on to ensure you don’t ruin a piece of clothing you adore. Gaining heat pressing experience first essential. Then you can move onto printing on pieces you like. Applying this method to your clothing can help you overhaul your wardrobe and add some much-needed and wanted personality.
Dye It
Tye dye is firstly fun, allowing you to experiment with colors and designs you love to create a piece of clothing you adore. To begin with, you’ll, of course, need dye for the clothing, which you can order online. Otherwise, some household items you have like food coloring, drink mixes, and some natural foods (coffee, beets, etc) work.
For Instance, if you’re hoping to add light-dyed areas to a denim skirt, you could try bleach or hydrogen peroxide. Of course, you’ll want to make sure wherever you handle dye, the room is well-ventilated. Working in the bathtub helps. As you can easily clean off any drips and spills from the tub and tiles.
Cut It
Turn a blanket into a poncho! You can see the full tutorial here 3 Items To Recycle To Keep You Warm During Winter
Do your jeans have holes in them or maybe your kids are taller now so they don’t fit? Cut then and turn them into shorts or capris. Teens often spend tons of money on jeans in the store with rips and holes in them. Create your own by cutting and shredding less expensive jeans.
Take a plain old shirt and cut it into a new style that suits you.
Turn an old shirt into a recycled grocery or lunch bag. You can see the full tutorial here – Make a Recycled Bag from a T-Shirt
However, before cutting anything, always take measurements, to ensure that when you take the plunge to chop off a piece of fabric, the piece of clothing does not turn out looking wonky.
With your new wardrobe well underway, you may want to take a glimpse my post, which highlights a few tips and tricks for making your closet space functional and organized. A tidy wardrobe makes a world of difference in helping you to find those glorious pieces of clothing you’ve created with ease.
How To Upcycle Clothes Video
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Find out “What Exactly Does It Mean To Repurpose Or Upcycle“, save money, and create the most amazing things.
You can feel good about bringing new life to clothing and preventing it from going to the landfill. Reduce your carbon footprint, and create new clothes out of an old piece of clothing. I love giving new life to an old pair of jeans, old garments, or old jacket, etc I have made reusable cleaning rags out of an old tee as well.
Other ideas for How To Upcycle Clothes
- add a patch on old jeans
- use embroidery
- upcycle an old sweater 5 ways
- tie dye old pieces like tees (cotton works best)
- make a scarf
Tools you can use to upcycle clothes:
- sewing machine
- pins
- pair of scissors
- needle
- thread
- ribbon
Know your fabrics for creative reuse and upcycling ideas:
- cotton
- nylon
- polyester
Other clothes upcycling projects:
