I don’t often buy new or rid myself of even well-used possessions, but I especially seem to hate saying good-bye to cozy old sweaters. Maybe it’s because they’ve kept me warm through so many fall camping trips and Minnesota winters. Good memories abound! But what do you do with worn out or damaged sweaters?
One day, I read that over 4 million tons of textiles go to landfills yearly. I pulled out several old sweaters with holes, rips, and stains and decided to see how I could repurpose them. I used mostly wool (which I like to boil to make a tight thick fabric), but you can use any other fabric that works for your purpose.
Using 4 sweaters and some scraps I made 8 different items. They were: pillows, coasters, potholders, mug cozy, hot dish cozy, door draft stopper, hat, and mittens. Other simple projects I’ve used old sweaters or clothing for chair seats, placemats, bags and table runners. Although I used a sewing machine on a couple of these projects, none of the items required it. I thought I might make a public display for Do It Green! and wanted most people to be able to make these with mainly pins, needle, thread and scissors. The picture above shows most of these items. I’ve put up the display a few times and a few items have “walked away” so I guess some people liked them!
Most of these are pretty easy to make. You place the pillow, mug or casserole dish on a piece of paper (can be a newspaper) and adding 1/2-3/4 inch on the seams, mark it. Then using a straight edge, make straight lines and create a pattern. Check the paper pattern against the item to make sure you have the dimensions correct. Then simply cut the sweater based on the pattern and stitch the seams together. If you need reference for sewing items, like pillows, etc. “Wiki How” is a good resource for it as well as other DIY projects. I found good directions for making the hat and mittens at http://www.diy-enthusiasts.com/diy-fashion/repurposing-old-sweaters-cool-winter.
For getting rid of those small scraps (or “beyond help” clothes), here are some suggestions:
I often use our city’s curbside composting program to compost small scraps of natural fibers. Consider organizing clothing drives, ugly quilt projects (sleeping bags made for homeless shelters), swap parties, or crafting events at your local school, neighborhood association, workplace, or place of worship. Many animal shelters, pet boarding kennels, and veterinarians will happily accept old clothes to use as bedding for animal cages. No matter which of these green options you choose, you’ll rest easy knowing that your clothing isn’t contributing to landfill waste.
Go have FUN with this and good luck on your project!
Resources for this article:
http://www.epa.gov/epawaste/conserve/materials/textiles.htm,
Material Matters, the University of Missouri Extension,
