18 Sewing Ideas From Old Clothes
If you’re looking for sewing ideas from old clothes, this selection of ideas will inspire you be more creative when using old clothes in your sewing projects.
I decided to write this up, because I keep seeing talk on social media about ‘refashioning’ being more sustainable than sewing a project from scratch. And while this does make sense, I am troubled by the rise of Instagram accounts taking something perfectly wearable from a thrift shop, and cutting it up into something else, that they likely only wear once for the social media content, and then donate it back.
I do not view this as sustainable sewing.
Yes it can be seen as inspiring to those new to sewing, but if all it does is encourage people to buy clothing they don’t need from charity shops, to chop it up the seams to create flat pieces of fabric and then use existing patterns they have to ‘design’ something ‘new’ while throwing leftover scraps into the bin – how is that sustainable?
I believe it would be better to buy a small amount of fabric needed to sew a project, and let someone (who needs it!) have the garment at the thrift store.
Better yet, why not inspire others to use what they have in their wardrobe to create something new? So, in the essence of inspiring others to use what they already have I thought I’d share some sewing ideas from old clothes in your closet!
Button Up Shirts
I’ve made several items from old button up shirts, usually ones given to me by my fiancé or my dad.
Shirts are usually made from cotton, linen or a poly-cotton blend, so I would base my project choice upon the fiber content.
Remember that if the shirts you have available have a stretch factor like lycra or spandex added, you’ll want to factor this into the project plan too!
Ten sewing ideas from old shirts include:
- Apron – easy to make, I turned a man’s shirt into an apron a couple years ago!
- Book cover.
- Children’s shirt – this can be a great way to ‘pass on’ favorite shirts that you’re not quite ready to throw out.
- Patchwork quilt – perfect for using up a variety of shirts that are worn in patches.
- Pillow cover
- Pleated skirts – if you have enough shirts, making a pleated skirt using the different shirts can result in a quirky, slightly punk style skirt a la Vivienne Westwood!
- Product bag
- Scrunchies
- Stuffed toys – I made memory bears from jersey PJs but woven shirts also work really well!
- Tote bags – but always match the fabric weight of the shirt to the right use your tote bag will provide. As an example, making a tote bag for carrying books to and from school would need a heavier-weight fabric than a cotton lawn shirt would provide. This tutorial includes a free tote bag pattern!
Those ten ideas are just the beginning of what you could sew from old shirts!
Denim Jeans
A popular item of clothing that most of us have in our closet, denim jeans make a great item to refashion. The fabric is usually a little more structured than a shirt, so better for sewing more structured items.
Some ideas for things you could sew from old denim jeans include:
- Bow tie – a fun way to use up the legs of denim jeans. Here’s my Beech Bow Tie pattern!
- Denim scrunchies – you could use a decorative stitch on the denim before creating the scrunchie.
- Phone case.
- Pinafore dress for a little girl.
- Denim slippers – I have plans to make a pair when back from my summer travels, so will share the tutorial as soon as I do!
- Shorts –
- Tool or pencil roll – I love this pattern for making my pencil and tool rolls!
- Wallet – you could use this small wallet tutorial as a starting point for making a basic denim wallet!
I have more thoughts on this – including some ideas for repurposing your old jackets and coats – but I’ll leave it here for now, as I have a sewing project of my own to get back to.
If you enjoyed this and want to read more about sewing more sustainably, I have this small collection of sustainable sewing posts!
I would love to hear your suggestions or ideas for other things that can be sewn from shirts and denim jeans! Let me know in the comments below!
And for now, let me share the recent post I wrote about things to sew from your old stretch denim jeans!
