After cleaning and rearranging our wardrobes, we often find ourselves with worn clothes. The dilemma of what to do with them arises: discard and throw them away or donate them to someone. But some pieces are far too dull or torn at some parts. Throwing them away only adds to the pollution. However, we can use our creativity and pull the ‘best out of waste’ from those old clothes. DIY is no stranger to today’s generation; it has been trending for the last decade. Upcycling is not just a solution, it’s a responsible choice that can significantly reduce our environmental impact. We can transform old clothes with DIY fashion into new trendy ones by upcycling them.
Upcycling clothes saves energy and resources and prevents wastage as well as pollution, making it a responsible choice for the environment. Upcycling also helps us generate new clothes from the old ones when tight on the budget. It comes under sustainable fashion, focusing on the environment; hence, such fashion is also called eco-friendly fashion or green fashion. Let’s see how we can revamp or upcycle old clothes into new favorites. We will show you some of the simplest and most cost-effective, creative ways to reuse old clothing. Here are some DIY fashion hacks for old clothes:
Cutting old and torn jeans to make shorts
One of my favourite DIY Fashion hacks is transforming old jeans into denim shorts. By cutting an old pair of jeans that you no longer wear, you can create brand-new denim shorts. This method is impressively versatile; you can style these shorts with a variety of tops. And don’t throw away the leftover pieces of jeans! They can be used to create rugs, quilts, covers, accessories like hairbands, and even decorative wall artwork.
Follow these steps to upcycle your old jeans into new denim shorts:
- Wear your jeans and analyze how short you want your shorts to be.
- Then, mark 1 inch below your required length with chalk or a pen on one leg.
- After marking, lay the pants on the surface and mark the other leg; make sure you mark them at equal lengths.
- Cut the marked portions of both legs very precisely, and you will have about 1 inch extra in case you make any mistakes while cutting.
- There, you have your upcycled denim shorts ready to wear and style!
Sewing patches of designs
You don’t need to discard your favourite tops or pants just because they have torn! Give them new life by patching a creative design. You can attach these beautiful patches to the clothing parts where they have been torn or damaged. It will add a new look to your clothes, and you can continue wearing your favourite clothes after rejuvenating them creatively.
Dye your faded pieces of clothing.
If your jeans or any item of clothing are in good condition but look dull because the colour has faded, do not worry. You can always dye them and make them look brand new! You can buy fabric dyes from stores or online and dye your clothes yourself. You can also go to the nearest laundry shop and get your clothing dyed at reasonable rates.
Transform your old sweaters into woollen socks and leg warmers.
Does your old sweater no longer fit? No problem. You can still make it worthwhile by cutting it and transforming it into socks or leg warmers, which will provide you with the style and warmth you need in cold winters. The remaining pieces can be used as fabric scraps while making woollen blankets.
Make crop tops out of your old tops and shirts.
Have you worn a top for a long time and gotten bored of it? We have a solution for that. Make it more exciting and stylish by cutting it from the bottom and shortening its length. There, you have a crop top, which can be styled with almost all types of bottom wear, especially high-waisted jeans, shorts, and pants.
Collect fabric scraps and sew them together to make quilts and blankets.
This upcycling method is my grandma’s favourite. She loves to make blankets out of the fabric pieces she has collected. And the blankets look chic, too! These quilts turn out to be the comfiest quilts ever. Try using soft pieces of fabric thick enough to make a good quilt.
Turn your sweaters into trendy cardigans.
Cardigans are so in trend right now. You don’t have to spend money on buying a cardigan; instead, you can turn your sweaters into stylish cardigans. You have to cut your sweater from the middle, add large buttons, and have a self-made stylish cardigan there.
Create pillow covers from old fabrics.
You can always easily make pillow covers out of clothes that are no longer in use. You can make cute-looking buttoned shirt pillows or boho pillow covers out of sweaters.
Make tote bags out of used T-shirts.
Tote bags are trending and very useful. You can make various tote bags out of your used T-shirts. First, cut the sleeves off and the neckline area into an oval shape. Then, cut the fringes at the bottom of the T-shirt. Tie two of them together and keep on tying every alternate fringe with its successive fringe together. Turn the shirt inside out, and your eco-friendly and sustainable tote bag is ready!
Create fingerless gloves out of your old socks.
If you are done with your old pair of socks, hear me out! They are still useful. Just cut them from the bottom, an inch before the heel. Wear the sock on your hand and mark the area for the thumb. Then remove the sock and cut a slit on your marked area for your thumb to come out. And your fingerless gloves are ready.
Use buttons to make bookmarks and decorative art.
We all have unused buttons that fall off our shirts or buttons from damaged shirts. You can collect them and use them to make various creative and innovative things, like bookmarks, decorative art, and flowers made from buttons.
Revamp your old dresses into skirts or tops.
You can always cut off your long dress and make a new top for yourself. You can also cut the dress from above and bottom, stitch the upper end according to your waist size, and voila! Your skirt is ready.
Craft funky bows, scrunchies and hairbands from old clothes
All your fabrics and clothes can be used to make bows; you can attach them to a plain hairpin. You can also tie a bow to your hair. Make scrunchies and match them with your outfits. Satin clothes are the best for crafting hair accessories.
Style your scarves into stylish tops.
You can style your scarves as backless halter-neck tops that look fabulous and stylish. This upcycling technique is trending nowadays. There are other unique ways to style them as well. You can wear them as tube tops and tie the knot on your back.
Create stuff toys
You can reuse old clothes and use your creativity to make stuffed dolls and toys from old pieces of clothing, such as socks, sweaters, and scarves.
Make scarves out of your old T-shirts.
Cut your old T-shirt from the bottom, below the hem, and from the top, below the arms. You don’t even need to sew or stitch. Your revamped T-shirt scarf is ready to wear. If you want, you can dye it or add embellishments to give it a new look.
Summary
Numerous creative, sustainable, and cost-effective methods exist for upcycling old clothes. Upcycling is an eco-friendly way of making the best use of waste from old clothes. Instead of discarding or throwing them away, we can explore more innovative options. We can transform old clothes with DIY fashion into new trendy ones without spending a single penny. From creating shorts from jeans to making accessories from fabric scraps, even the smallest pieces of clothing can be repurposed in this process. DIY empowers us to unleash our creativity. In the face of the constant increase in global waste, revamping and upcycling old clothes represents one of the most effective solutions.
