Upcycling Clothing
Upcycling Jeans, Sweaters, T-shirts, and More
When you upcycle clothing you are not only saving yourself money and cutting down on the amount of stuff that is thrown away, but you are creating a one of a kind item, whether it be a piece of clothing, a bag, or something decorative for your home.
On this page you'll find dozens of ways to upcyle your jeans, your sweaters, your shirts, and more. Many of the pictures shown here will serve as inspiration, providing you with ideas of what you can do with those worn out jeans or that out of fashion sweater.
I am also including some tutorials, which will walk you step by step through some upcycling clothing projects.
Upcycling Clothing into New Clothing
Some tutorials for upcycling t-shirts and shirts into new clothing
- Tops made from old shirts:
- shirred tank top (pictured above) created using an adult-sized t-shirt
- a lady's tunic made from a man's shirt
- lady's blouse made from a man's shirt
- Upcycling shirts into dresses:
- cute girl's dressfrom an adult's shirt. Don't miss the link for matching kids' capri type pants made from the sleeves of the shirt.
- girl's upcycled dress made from a man's dress shirt
- lady's wrap top dress made by combining two t-shirts
- girl's dress with elastic sleeves made from a man's shirt
- Skirts made from shirts:
- adult skirt using an adult-sized t-shirt
- toddler's ruffle skirt from a t-shirt
- Hats made from old shirts
- adult and child sized beret pattern
Links checked Jun 2013
Some tutorials for upcycling sweaters into new clothing
- Convert sweaters into dresses:
- Make some hats:
- Make a variety of scarves from recycled sweaters:
- Make footwear from old sweaters:
- Instructions for converting a child's sweater into a hat, arm warmers and a headband
Links checked Jun 2013
Some tutorials for upcycling jeans into new clothes
- Here are some ideas for creating skirts from jeans:
- Make a variety of denim aprons:
- Make a toddler's visor from recycled jeans
- Instructions for making sweet ballet slippers from recycled denim
Links checked May 2013
Clothing Upcycled into Bags
Some tutorials for upcycling sweaters into bags
- Instructions for making a tote from a long sleeved sweater and the rims off some peanut cans
- Tutorial for converting a wool sweater into a felted bag with rose accents
- Make a laptop bag from a recycled sweater
- Convert a felted sweater into an overnight bag
Links checked Feb 2014
Tutorials for Upcycling Jeans and Pants into Bags
- Make a clutch from a pair of jeans
- Instructions for making a lined bag from an old pair of linen pants
- Make a drawstring ditty from denim jeans
- Make a shoulder bag from jeans
Links checked Mar 2014
Instructions for upcycling shirts into bags
- Instructions for making a rosette purse from an old shirt
- Create a coin purse from an old shirt cuff
- Stretchy grocery bag made from ann old t-shirt
- Make a toiletry bag from an old dress shirt
Links checked 15 May 2013
Instructions for upcycling miscellaneous clothing into bags
- Make a tote and zipper pouch from a recycled rug and belt
- Instructions for making a lined purse from a suit jacket
- Clothing, sheets, or curtains can be cut into strips which are then joined and knitted to make these delightful purses.
Instructions to make a backpack from an old suit jacket start 40 seconds in and finish 3 minutes in.
Upcycling Clothing into Home Decor
Tutorials for Upcycling Jeans and Pants into Home Décor
- Instructions for reupholstering a chair with a recycled pair of jeans
- A variety of crafts to make from your old jeans including denim pots, oven mitt, coaster and baby's bib.
- Upcycle old jeans into a raggedy denim pillow
- Fluffy rag rug made from squares cut from old jeans (and slacks)
Links checked May 2013
Tutorials for Upcycling Sweaters into Home Décor
- Make a soft cushion with flowers from a recycled sweater
- Tutorial for making a sweater pillow
- How to make an aromatherapy rice pillow from a felted sweater
- Make cute pin cushions from recycled wool sweaters
- Make a cozy patchwork throw from several old sweaters
Links checked May 2013
Tutorials for Upcycling T-shirts and Shirts into Home Décor
- Make a reusable cover for your swiffer sweeper from a sock and t-shirt
- Instructions for making a t-shirt quilt
- Instructions for making fluffy pompoms from old t-shirts
- A rag rug made from recycled t-shirts
- Crocheted rug made from upcycled t-shirts
Links checked 23 May 2013
Tutorials for Upcycling Miscellaneous Clothing (suits, socks, pantyhose, other fabric) and Fabrics into Home Décor
- Several tutorials for different styles of floor rugs:
- Make a rag quilt from squares you could cut from old clothing
- Make hot / cold rice-filled bags from small scraps of fabric
- Make Christmas caroler dolls from recycled tweed coats and skirts
- Make a sock wreath
- Make sweet butterflies from colorful pantyhose
- Make pretty flowers from sheer tights:
- calla lily If you scroll to the bottom of the instructions on each of the following pages, you'll find links to more flowers made from sheer nylon. Lots of different flowers if you follow the trail.
- daisy
- tulip
Links checked May 2013
Upcycling Clothing into Jewelry
Tutorials for Upcycling Clothing into Jewelry
- Make braided bracelets from old t-shirts
- T-shirt necklace tutorial
- More bracelets made from old t-shirts
- Make a flower from old t-shirts
- Make a spiral bracelet from old jeans
- Convert tights into a color block headband
Links checked May 2013
Make a Necklace and Wallet from an Old Necktie
Upcycling Clothing into Toys
Instructions for Making Toys from Recycled Clothing
- Toys made from upcycled denim
- Cute idea of recycling jeans into a toy road
- Make a sling shot from an old pair of jeans
- Make soft balls out of scraps of fabric, like jeans.
- Toys made from old sweaters
- Stuffed animals made from felted sweaters
- Soft bunnies made from a felted cashmere sweater
- Toys made from ties
- Snake toys made from upcycled ties
- Toys made from socks
- Worry wort alien made from a sock and filled with rice
from the author of
Socks Appeal (the book featured below))
- Teddy bear made from a sock
Links checked May 2013
Make sock animals from odd socks
Recycling Shoes
Ideas for Recycling Shoes
- New shoes from old:
- Make new sandals from old flipflops
- Make braided sandals from old flip-flops
- Make a pair of spa slippers from old flip-flops and a bath towel
- Recycle shoes into planters:
- Instructions for making a shoe planter
- How to use clogs as hanging planters
Links checked May 2013
