Recycled Clothing: 6 Creative Ways To Upcycle Fabric

Whether you’re an avid recycler or not, chances are you’d have quite a lot of fabrics from old clothing with you. For the clothing pieces which are still wearable to re-sell or donate, you may have given those away already. Although, for those that can’t be worn as shirts anymore, that’s where fabric scraps come into play.

Fabric scraps can still have a brand-new life to them, so don’t throw them away. With a few crafty tricks here and there, you can make better use out of those fabric pieces. Hence, read more for some of the best ideas for recycled T-shirt printing and fabric scraps.

Creative Ways To Upcycle Fabric

1. Coasters

The pandemic has brought about the coming in of many new hobbies by homeowners. Now the hype seems to have shifted to the dining area. Table setting has gotten higher up a notch with many homeowners now putting more effort into table cloths, placemats, and even small details like napkins and coasters.

If you buy brand new ones all the time, sets can be quite expensive. However, the good news is that you can also get started with table-setting even when you’re working with a limited budget. You can do this by upcycling old fabric into coasters.

Let your creativity shine as your coasters don’t always have to be identical. For as long as they still fall within the same theme and vibe you have in your home, those coasters will still be able to do their job.

2. Fabric Scrap Shoe Laces

If you have plain sneakers in your closet, you can add some sass and style to it by switching out the laces. Yes, you can easily buy new shoelaces. But, if you have fabric at home, you can use it as shoelaces.

For instance, floral fabrics make cute prints for shoelaces. If you have a little girl, those laces are going to look dainty in outfits. It’s also a unique break away from the monotonous choices available at the market.

3. Baby Bibs

Do you have a baby along the way? Or, you maybe you have someone dear to you who is also an expecting mom? You may give them the special gift of hand-sewn baby bibs. After using your fabric scraps for this, you can go the extra mile by embroidering their name.

4. Coin Purses

This third item on this list is for those of you who have a knack for sewing. All you need to buy is matching zippers, and you can start sewing small coin purses. If you’re interested in adding a personalized touch to these coin purses, consider delving into embroidery digitizing. This technique allows you to create intricate and custom designs that can be embroidered onto the purses, making them even more special. If you don’t like using coin purses, you can make some for your kids and their friends. You can even give those away as thank you gifts during their birthday, or perhaps as small, Christmas gifts for the entire class.

5. Luggage Tags

If you know someone in your circle of friends who also enjoys traveling, fabric luggage tags are another good way for you to make good use out of your fabric scraps.

When luggage tags can be quite expensive, you can save so much money when now you’ve got your luggage tags. You may create one for each bag or each member of the family. If you have a fair or weekend market coming up in your local area, you may also opt to sell those luggage tags.

6. Create A T-Shirt Comforter

This sixth item on the list is a special keepsake that moms will love to do. If you’re at a loss as to what you should do with your little one’s onesies, you may have wanted to sell or donate them. However, there might be a  part of you that also wants to keep some of those onesies as memories from when your little one’s infancy.

recycled clothing

The solution to this dilemma is to sew those clothes or onesies to a comforter, duvet cover, or quilt. This would also be a special gift to give your little one. You may give it to them one day when they may leave home and they’re not little anymore.

Conclusion

Making the conscious decision to live a more sustainable way of life is one of the best choices you can make. This entails making the most use out of things you have at home and even those that you’ve already thought of already as scraps. Hopefully, the list of ideas above could get you started with your DIY craft projects. Now you can finally repurpose those clothing items which are simply waiting for a push of new life.

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About Salman Zafar

Salman Zafar is the Founder of EcoMENA, and an international consultant, advisor, ecopreneur and journalist with expertise in waste management, waste-to-energy, renewable energy, environment protection and sustainable development. His geographical areas of focus include Middle East, Africa, Asia and Europe. Salman has successfully accomplished a wide range of projects in the areas of biomass energy, biogas, waste-to-energy, recycling and waste management. He has participated in numerous conferences and workshops as chairman, session chair, keynote speaker and panelist. Salman is the Editor-in-Chief of EcoMENA, and is a professional environmental writer with more than 300 popular articles to his credit. He is proactively engaged in creating mass awareness on renewable energy, waste management and environmental sustainability in different parts of the world. Salman Zafar can be reached at salman@ecomena.org or salman@bioenergyconsult.com

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