I am no fashionista, but there are times when a trend tickles my fancy so much that I have to figure how I can get in on it without breaking the bank. One of my favourite ways to save money on fashion for me and the kids is to reuse clothes that have been left to rot in the backs of our closets.
An old dress shirt can become a super cute toddler dress. You can use outgrown clothes to create a quilt or make a fantastic shopping tote. The possibilities are endless.
Refashion Your Old Tees
One of my favourite things to cut up are jersey t-shirts. They are the perfect DIY fabric for people who aren`t on speaking terms with their sewing machines. The fabric is naturally fray proof, which means no thread and needle necessary. And really who doesn’t have a favourite t-shirt laying around that they don’t want to part with, but can’t wear because of a hole or a stain.
Below are some of my very favourite DIY t-shirt refashions from the net: This site shows us how easy it is to add flair to a t-shirt that is blah.
Channel Martha and transform that retro t-shirt into a fun, funky shopping tote.
Threadbanger is the goddess of DIY and here she shows you three ways to refashion t-shirts into scarves.
If you have kids the possibilities you have even more options, old t-shirts or dress shirts make perfect dresses or skirts for little girls with a few simple modifications. These projects do require some basic sewing skills, but are easy enough even for a beginner.
Easy To Make Fabric Roses
One of my new favourite ways to add a little oomph to almost everything these days is making fabric roses. They are crazy easy, fast and the little roses can be used on just about anything. Click here for the video instructions.
What you need:
Start by cutting your fabric into 1- 1.5 inch strips. Use any length of fabric that you want, but 12-16 inches is just about right. The longer the piece the bigger the rose will be.
1. Tie a knot in one end
2. Start to wrap and twist the fabric around the knot making sure to keep it as flat as possible in your hand.
3. Once the rose is the size that you want cut off any extra fabric leaving an inch that you will tuck under and glue to the back of the rose.
* Optional - Glue a circle of felt to the back to give it a nice finished look.
At this point you can hot glue your finished flower/s to a piece of felt and ribbons to make a bib necklace, a pin backing to it to make a broach, or hot glue it to a bobby pin or hairclip. To make it a bit more durable take a piece of thread and needle and make a few stitched to secure everything together.
You don't have to have a green thumb to incorporate roses into your wardrobe.
What have you refashioned?
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