When I was in seventh and eighth grade I was a cheerleader. As time went on and I went to high school and then college, I accumulated a ton of T-shirts from different activities that I attended and participated in.
I saved them all, not sure of what to do with them. When I got married, my mother-in-law saw all of my T-shirts and offered to make me a T-shirt quilt.
I still use that quilt fourteen years later.
When you have a shirt that a child has outgrown, husband doesn't wear anymore, or you just can't bring yourself to get rid of it, what do you do?
Here are Some Great Ideas to Repurpose Old T-shirts:
1. Turn Them Into a Dress
Over at Coffee, Love, Travel Tiffany shows you how to make a T-shirt dress out of shirts that have become too short for your little one.
What makes it extra fun is that she sews it inside out on purpose, to give it a frayed look.
This little girl was so excited to get this dress because it had some of her favorite shirts she could no longer wear.
2. T-shirt Quilt
Here's a picture of the T-shirt quilt that my mother-in-law made me. There are so many T-shirts on there that have special meaning from my cheerleading days to my husband's senior prom and my sorority days.
It's a great way to preserve your memories and stay warm! We are already saving shirts for my daughters.
If you are like me, you will probably want someone else to make the quilt for you. I recommend finding someone that does good quality- these are your memories you are preserving. However, if you enjoy quilting, there is a tutorial on how to do it over at Wiki How that is worth taking a look at!
3. T-shirt Bag
This is another thing my daughters and I have done with old T-shirts. We used one that from a dance recital in 2009 and now we take it to the farmers market when we go.
The how-to comes from Heather at Mommypotomus and it's super easy, and you don't even have to sew it. Plus? Your kids can help make it, making it a fun project for the whole family.
4. Crochet Rug
How cute is this rug? To give it the length, the author bought 2XL T-shirts in the colors that she wanted from Goodwill. What a great way to use T-shirts that might otherwise become unloved. The bright colors in the end really make this one pop!
To see more head over to One Dog Woof.
5. Tie-Dye T-Shirt Headbands
Tie-Dying is such fun that kids of all ages love it. Turning those old white T-shirts into a tie-dyed wonder and then braiding them and adding some elastic at the end makes this something most females would love to wear.
To see the full project, head over to The Pretty Life Girls.
6. T-Shirt Pom Poms
The first time I saw pom poms like this they were hanging off the ceiling in a perfect manner in the high school math teacher's classroom. I was extremely jealous- her room was so cute.
Now that I know how to make these, thanks to Craftaholics Anonymous, I might make some for myself!
7. Baby Romper
Oh my goodness. How cute is this? Daddy or Mommy's T-shirt turned romper for a baby. The tutorial makes it look fairly easy, the hardest part being the snaps, which if you have the right tool it won't be too bad.
This great tutorial can be found at The Seamery.
8. Turn It Into a Workout Shirt
So you like the T-shirt but just want to do something different with it? Over at Rabbit Food for my Bunny Teeth, the author shows you how to take the said T-shirt and turn it into something you can enjoy while you sweat. Perfect.
9. Make a Wreath
Blair came up with this project. She is smart enough to realize that the way she had first intended to do, with twisted roses, was not only going to take up more time than she had but use up all the extra clothing she set aside for this project.
Having realized this, she came up with a new way to do it. And it looks super cute, with all of the pops of color. What a great way to welcome people into her home.
For the full tutorial, check out Blair's Blessings.
10. Braided Bracelets
This one, created by Stephanie over at Hello Glow, is one after my oldest daughter's heart. She loves bracelets. Currently has nineteen spread out between her two arms. Only takes them off to shower.
So taking a T-shirt she loves and adding a cord or two to make a beautiful braided bracelet is perfect.
What I love about these bracelets though, is the magnets she used to secure them together. Why don't we do that with more jewelry? It sure would be a lot easier!
11. Dog Toy
Some of us have animals as our babies and instead of making onesies, they take their T-shirts and turn them into a dog toy. I have to laugh a bit at this one though because one of these toys would last fifteen minutes with our dog.
Yet if you love to give your pets some homemade love, this one looks pretty easy to do and, hopefully, will provide lots of entertainment for both you and your pooch!
For the full tutorial, check out Stacie's article over at Bark Post.
12. Raglan T-shirt
Here's one for when you have a T-shirt you love but cannot wear it because it doesn't match up with your dress code. Maybe you can change it up.
A writer over at Spoonflower shows how she made the sleeves different for her t-shirt, making it prettier and more girly. Essentially taking it from jeans and a T-shirt to something you can dress up. The decorative accent does a lot for this plain jane T-shirt.
13. Apron T-shirt
I gave you one for my tween daughter- this one is for me. I love it! Cute and perfect for my favorite place in the house to be- the kitchen.
She used a button down shirt but the pop of color and style really comes from the pockets and the wrap. This is not a new sew so be prepared to get the machine out or go old school and use a needle and thread. Either way- how fun and super cute.
For the full details, check out Beth Huntington's post on eHow.
14. Shag Rug
I gave you a crocheted rug ten steps up but this one is much more my style. Amanda over at Crazy Mom Quilts made this for her front door but I, personally, think it would be great for the bathroom.
Think about how comfortable T-shirts feel- then think about that feeling on your toes as you get out of the shower. Yep- I just sold you.
15. Swing Dress
I actually made these dresses and sold them for a while. It was so much fun to see the little girls twirl in them. What I would do is purchase five or six shirts from Children's Place for five dollars a piece, make a circle skirt, and stitch them up. Sold them for about twenty dollars apiece.
This tutorial comes from Erin at Francois et moi.
16. T-shirt Yarn Baskets
This Do-It-Yourself tutorial is super cute and would be so useful to put things around the house in so you can carry it around to put the items away. I love the big loops in the design and the fact that the baskets are able to hold themselves up. This would also be a great project to give as gifts. Shoot, I want one.
17. Old T-shirt to New Stuffed Toy
I'll be honest, the Cthulhu is something I am not familiar with and it's a bit odd to me. That being said, this stuffed animal is pretty neat to watch on being made on Instructables because they take it from a drawing into a real stuffed animal, using T-shirts and some creativeness.
If I make one, I'll stick to a bear.
18. T-shirt Shoe Laces
How cute are these? Good news is- they are fairly simple to make. Cheryl over at Tidy Mom shows you exactly how to make thin layers of your shirts and turn them into shoelaces. The laces even have those sealed ends that I loved as a kid.
We could color coordinate now between all of the awesome items we've made and there is even more stuff we can make so let's keep going!
19. T-shirt into Pillows
I showed you how to make a T-shirt quilt (or at least, I directed you to the right place) but here's another way to personalize to your bedspread – make T-shirt pillows.
Your bed will truly be your own! The tutorial created by Corrina Johnson can be found at Hometalk.
20. T-shirt Necklace
How cute is this? You could take a simple shirt and jazz it up with this T-shirt necklace. You could also mix and match the colors for more of a pop.
Added bonus that it is super easy to make and soft. So many big necklaces weigh me down, this would feel great against my neck, especially in the winter!
The full tutorial can be found at Max and Me Designs.
21. T-shirt Skirt
Take that oversized shirt and turn it into a skirt. I love soft, flowy skirts like this because they are comfortable and girly while still being comfortable.
For us ladies that is a win-win.
To see the full tutorial, be sure to check out gwyl.io
22. T-shirt Pants
I understand that not everyone who comes to Morning Chores is not female though, so here's a tutorial for the men. Hi guys!
I would imagine these would be better for little boys, but some adjustments could be made to turn these into boxers.
The full tutorial could be found at Hammer and Thread.
Conclusion
At this point, we really could deck out our whole wardrobe with T-shirt themed stuff. We have T-shirts made several different ways, T-shirt shoelaces, T-shirt rings, T-shirt headbands, T-shirt bracelets, and necklaces.
We can also deck out our house with T-shirt pom poms and T-shirt rugs among other things. So the next time you are thinking about throwing away or donating the old shirts in your closet- think about all the other things they could be used for. And if you have an idea I didn't share, please let me know. I find it fun and fascinating to see how people transform items into something else!
This article first appeared on morningchores.com Original Article
The post 22 Creative and Fun Ways to Repurpose Your Old T-shirts appeared first on Homesteading Alliance.
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