You love your old shirts. And of course you do. That’s why you’ve kept them around for so long. They fit perfectly, they look great on you and they have lots of sentimental value from the time you wore them to that special thing. You remember.
And sure, they’re tattered and so filled with holes that you can’t possibly wear them anywhere without people assuming you’ve fallen on hard times. But you love them. You can’t just throw them out. You can’t donate them (see above, re: holes). Probably you can’t even find a place to recycle them because textile recycling facilities are criminally uncommon.
But you have to do something with them because there is simply no more room in that drawer and/or closet (and/or corner of the room where you keep old clothes. Wherever. We’re not here to judge). We are here to help you give your old clothes the extended life they deserve, with 7 cool ideas for repurposing old shirts.
1. Reusable Grocery Bags
This one is great because you don’t have to be particularly crafty to turn out a nice result. You do, however, need to have a t-shirt that’s structurally sound enough to be able to carry items without disintegrating.
The basic technique here is to remove the sleeves (leaving the seam!), create a larger opening out of the neck of the t-shirt and sew the bottom shut. That’s it. You can find fuller instructions, with pics, at Instructables and a non-sewn version from Heather Dessinger at Mommypotamus.
2. Dog Toys
This option is actually not for the shirts you love. This option is for t-shirts that you frankly could care less about.
Dog toys are expensive to buy in the store, especially considering that they’re often made of cheap materials and that your dog is going to tear them apart in a matter of days. Or minutes. Why buy something that has been purpose-built to be quickly destroyed? You can make toys instead and save money and resources.
To make a braided rope toy, first cut the hems off an old t-shirt. Then cut the shirt into 3 wide vertical strips and roll the strips so they’re more like sturdier tubes. Knot the strips together at the top, braid them and knot them together at the bottom.
For more ideas, check out Sew Historically’s many versions of this craft.
3. Pillows
Pillows are an easy diy project that requires minimal sewing skills. You can use any kind of shirt you want, but flannel shirts and t-shirts with fun logos work especially well. Repurposed shirts make excellent covers for existing pillows that just need a new look or you can create your own pillow from scratch.
Polyfill works for stuffing, as does recycled fabric. You could find pillow forms that are the exact size and shape you want, although you could also repurpose bed pillows that have seen their best days by cutting them to size or doubling them and reusing them for smaller throw pillows. Mollie Johanson at the Spruce Crafts offers an easy-to-follow guide for this project.
4. Baskets
If you can crochet, you can turn your t-shirts into baskets and small storage containers. By cutting a t-shirt into one long, continuous strip, you can create t-shirt yarn that you can use to crochet all kinds of things. Cucicucicoo explains the process and shows you how to create 4 different styles of basket, all of which are amazing.
5. Rugs
Upcycled t-shirts make very soft, inexpensive rugs that are easy to wash and surprisingly long-wearing. One method is to make a rag rug by cutting a t-shirt into short strips and threading them through a non-slip rug pad. Jess Abbott at the diy network shows you how.
A second method is to braid a rug, using t-shirt yarn and a sewing machine. Erin Huffstetler at My Frugal Home has an in-depth guide that takes you through the process. You can also crochet a rug out of t-shirt yarn. Check out Stephanie Henkel’s how-to guide over at Felt Magnet.
6. Aprons
This a great way to repurpose old button-down dress shirts. You will need some basic sewing skills to create an apron that looks good, but this isn’t an expert-level project, by a long shot.
For a half-apron, the basic method is to cut the shirt straight across at a point just under the sleeves. To have an apron with buttons at the front, cut the back of the shirt vertically, then hem the edges. A wide strip of material from another source (like a fabric remnant, an old pair of pants or an old blanket) will make the waistband and ties. Sew Very Crafty has a step by step guide.
A full apron can be made by cutting off the sleeves of a dress shirt, cutting the shoulder seams up to the collar and removing the back panel, keeping the collar intact. Cut the front to the shape you need, sew your hems and create ties. Exquisitely Unremarkable has an excellent tutorial.
If that seems like too much labour for you, Kathy Cano-Murillo over at Crafty Chica offers a no-sew project where you make an apron out of a t-shirt. Fantastic.
7. Quilts
This is a project that will let you preserve the t-shirts you love and use them to create something useful and cool. It’s also the most labour intensive of any of the projects we’ve mentioned here. You’ll first need to select and arrange the shirts you want to quilt. T-shirts with quotes or logos can create really neat effects or you can just go with patterns you like or shirts that have had some special meaning for you.
To be quite honest, a lot can go wrong here, so I will simply direct you over to Suzy Quilts, who has an excellent primer on making a quilt out of shirts. For something slightly less daunting, you can try making a blanket out of old shirts. Monica Pare takes you through that project step by step.
Repurposing old shirts gives them new life and you a few new things that you maybe needed. Happy crafting!
Feature image: Louis Beche; Image 1: Kara
