Many clothes these days are made from cheap material in an effort to get you to spend more money in stores. It’s not easy on your wallet if you have to trek to the stores no more than two months after you bought the clothes, not to mention the question of what to do with the old clothes. You don’t want to throw them away because they’re still in relatively good condition, but you’re not certain anyone from Goodwill will take clothes with holes in them. Fifty years ago, people didn’t run to a clothing store if they had an unfortunate tear in their good skirt; they knew how to fix it themselves and carry on as normal. It’s time you beat the system and started repairing, or re-purposing, the mountain of clothes dominating your closet.
Clear the clothes pile. Before you get started, you need to know which clothes will be your starting point. Separate the clothes you’d like to keep from the ones you’ll donate to charity. You don’t necessarily have to throw them out because they’re too small or too large; decide which patterns you like, pair up items to come up with interesting ideas for a whole new design.
Get creative. Now is the time to release your inner fashion designer. If you have items of clothing that you still love, but are a bit worn out, simply repair the holes with a needle or sewing machine and wear them again with pride. You might want to practice a few techniques on some smaller scraps of fabric; you can learn how to use a sewing machine here, or from someone who already knows a few tricks. If the clothes you found at the back of your wardrobe don’t quite match your tastes anymore, give them a fresh look before you consider throwing them away.
Adjust size. If you dresses are a little shorter than you would like, or your shirts pinch a little too much around the waist, you can lengthen them using lace. You can also use fabric inserts instead of lace to add some length to shirts and sweaters. On the other hand, if some clothes are now too large, then you can give them a different kind of makeover. If a belt isn’t enough to keep and old pair of jeans from sliding off, turn them into a cool pair of shorts. Oversized dresses can be hemmed slightly, or turned into a comfortable, baggy shirt. An oversized shirt can be given new life as a pair of yoga pants. In fact, there are endless things you could do to large shirts before you should even think about donating them.
Repurpose. If an oversized shirt can be transformed into yoga pants, then there is no limit to what you could do with all the fabric you have available. A pair of jeans that are too far gone can be repurposed into a denim bag, either for going out on the town or for the gym.
0 Comments