Recycling, repurposing and restyling clothes is a wonderful way to own unique garments. Using a few key sewing skills, unwanted or unused garments can be transformed from the ordinary into the extraordinary while also helping the environment.
There are many "green" reasons why recycling clothes is important, and these include:
- Keeping trash out of landfill. This helps to stop landfills from filling up and will slow the need to find new landfill space
- Reducing the energy required to create new garments. This includes the creation of the raw materials as well as the manufacturing process.
- Helping to reduce greenhouse gasses by reducing "shopping miles", which are the miles that a garment has traveled from source of manufacture to a store to the home. As many clothes are imported from Asia, these miles certainly add up.
Restyling and Repurposing Clothes
There are some very simple ways of transforming garments:
- Embellishments – adding adornments to garments is a lovely way to bring some style and flair to plain items. A simple shirt or top, for instance can be transformed by the addition of some applique items. Fabric yo-yos are also a very simple way to add decoration, and these little fabric discs are also a great way to use up odds and ends of fabric.
- Makeover – garments can be given a complete makeover. An interesting sewing project can be found at CraftPlace.com – full instructions plus a printable PDF file are given for transforming a T-shirt into a halter top. Other popular ideas for transforming garments includes turning jeans into stylish skirts such as this project at NotMartha.com, using a few basic sewing skills.
- Dying – simple dying techniques can give a wonderful array of results and provide some unique materials for different sewing projects. This is also a useful way to disguise stains in clothes and to give them a new lease of life.
- Buttons and Zips - when altering clothes it is also useful to rescue and save any useful items such as buttons and zips. Pieces of lace, velvet or other fabrics can also be cut from garments for future use. These can provide a great source of materials for embellishing projects.
Beginner Sewers
Many restyling projects are ideal for beginners While some of these projects may appear daunting, there are some excellent websites that offer advise for beginner sewers. These include:
- Sewing.org - lots of sewing tutorials, patterns and advice
- BurdaStyle - great source of "how-to" guides and free patterns
Finding Unwanted Clothes
While most people have a few unwanted and discarded clothes lurking in the back of wardrobes, other great sources of cheap clothes for restyling includes garage sales, thrift or charity shops and jumble sales.
Kate Pullen - Kate Pullen is a freelance writer specializing in arts and crafts , and is an accomplished craftsperson. As well as being a designer / ...
