This is a guest post by Cintia, from My Poppet
It’s incredible how quickly kids grow out of clothes, fashion goes out of style or your needs just change, so it’s a good idea to regularly review the contents of your wardrobes.
It’s great to donate unwanted items to charity, but what do you do with clothing that is stained or has holes in it? I go by the general rule, if it’s not suitable for wearing don’t donate it. Charities spend huge amount of money sorting and disposing of unsuitable goods, and the reality is most damaged clothing gets sold as rags or even dumped.
So then what? Well you’d be surprised how much extra life you can get out of a garment with a few simple sewing skills and a little spare time. Not only will you reduce your environmental impact by reducing the amount of resources you consume (cotton accounts for a quarter of all the pesticides used in the US alone*), you will save a heap of money by not having to go out and by more clothes.
I’ve put together some tutorials from my blog that will help extend the life of some kids clothes, use all those old holey t-shirts and even make a super ugly garment look good!
Fix those holes in worn out knees with some cute patches
Pants too short, no problem. Turn them into cute knickerbockers!
Clear out the t-shirt drawer and make yourself a braided rug
Make a nice warm skirt for winter out of an old unwanted jumper
So next time you are about to throw old clothes in the trash because you think it’s not worth donating,ask yourself, could a small refashion extend it’s usefulness?
Do you up-cycle, repair or refashion old clothing?
About My Poppet
CIntia blogs over at My Poppet and tries to encourage and inspire readers to be creative and resourceful. My Poppet features one original DIY craft based project a week aimed at readers of all skill levels. Cintia loves collecting and using vintage fabrics, re-purposing unwanted textiles and garments, and generally creating something useful and beautiful out of things that were previously unloved. She is very interested in the process of making, and the fine line between an objects utility or desirability and obsolescence.
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