{"id":18658,"date":"2024-05-21T12:03:16","date_gmt":"2024-05-21T11:03:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/sustainability\/?p=18658"},"modified":"2024-05-21T12:03:18","modified_gmt":"2024-05-21T11:03:18","slug":"5-things-to-do-with-your-old-clothes","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.canterbury.ac.uk\/sustainability\/5-things-to-do-with-your-old-clothes\/","title":{"rendered":"5 things to do with your old clothes"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Clothes hold a lot of memories and nostalgia, so its hard to get rid of them when they\u2019re no longer in use. Personally, I separate mine into two wardrobes \u2013 the one I use daily, and one that I use so infrequently that when I do a charity shop run, I know with confidence that I haven\u2019t touched those clothes in about a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But sometimes, those wardrobes can overflow. Your clothes might take up too much space in your home, or maybe they\u2019re just full of old items that you don\u2019t really wear anymore but perhaps spent a little too much money on to feel good about getting rid of just yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Today, we\u2019re looking at five different things you can do with your old clothes (and yes, one of them will be the charity shop).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Upcycle<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When was the last time you bought a tie dye kit, sat on some grass, and dyed your old t-shirts all the colours of the rainbow? It\u2019s more satisfying than you think, and one kit goes a long <\/em>way. Tie dye parties are all the rage, you know. And if you don\u2019t want to buy a kit? I\u2019d bet you\u2019ve got some bleach in a cupboard somewhere \u2013 mix it with water in equal parts, put it in a spray bottle, and you can make the same tie dye effect just by lifting the colour of the fabric.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If that\u2019s not for you \u2013 YouTube has thousands of upcycling videos, from t-shirt cut outs to full flips of clothes into something new, no matter what your talent level is.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Want your blue top to be white? Leave it in a bowl of the above bleach mix for a few hours. Not happy with how long your t-shirt is? Make a crop top! Use one of your existing shirts as a guide.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are so many ways you can reinvent that denim jacket you haven\u2019t worn in two years before you decide to throw it out.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Resew<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When I was a child, I watched my mother spent two weeks turning a pair of jeans into a handbag. It was the coolest bag I had ever seen, and very <\/em>2000s. Still, there are so many ways to resew your clothes into something new, especially if you have an old sewing machine or a lot of patience with a needle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have you seen those cool quilts made from t-shirts? Making one of your own is a lot simpler than it seems!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Check out thrifted flip videos on YouTube to see how people reuse the fabric of that old pair of trousers to make something new. You, too, could resew the hemline you\u2019re not happy with, or learn how to install a zip when yours is broken.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(And if you can\u2019t \u2013 you almost certainly have a friend who can sew, or a local repair caf\u00e9 to visit!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image description: a quilt made of lots of different fabrics<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Rags<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So your t-shirt is too ruined to be given away to charity, to be upcycled or resewn into something new? Looks like you\u2019ve just found yourself a reusable dust rag. Cut it up into squares (a good rotary blade or jagged-edged scissors will help stop fraying if you come across that problem) and you\u2019re all good to go. A new rag, a new tea towel \u2013 they can be washed and reused again and again, and lessen the amount of disposable cloths you\u2019re purchasing at your local supermarket.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Skill-build<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

I once had a favourite pair of jeans. Then, I bought a new pair, and the first pair was cast aside because the new pair was now my favourite and there was no reason to wear a secondary <\/em>pair of jeans if the first was available. But\u2014I didn\u2019t like that I was wasting these jeans. Jeans are super water intensive <\/em>to make, even more so than cotton t-shirts. And there were things I didn\u2019t like about the jeans that were potentially fixable \u2013 they were too long, so the hem had to be rolled up and wouldn\u2019t stay <\/em>up; they were a blander shade of blue than the new ones.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This pair of jeans \u2013 and we all have one, probably \u2013 is perfect for skill building. I call them my Experiment Jeans, and it\u2019s the pair I go to in order to learn new skills before I attempt them on something I\u2019m afraid of ruining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sewing words? I wrote them around the knee hole.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lino printing? I tested each stamp on the pocket with fabric inks before trying it out on a tote bag.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Embroidery? I used a lino printing stamp to mark out the design and followed an online tutorial to get it right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hemming? Well, I actually failed at hemming by cutting the legs a little too short, so instead I sewed all around the edge in different embroidery threads and made a cute and unique end to my jeans that holds.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019re never going to learn a new skill if you don\u2019t practice \u2013 and your old clothes are the perfect guinea pig to test on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Image descriptions: 1. the bottom of a jeans leg, where four weapons have been embroidered, and the hem has been looped with stitches. 2. words stitched around the knee hole of a pair of jeans. 3. looped stitches in a rainbow around the top hem of a jeans pocket.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Give away<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If after all that, you no longer want your old clothes \u2013 then to the charity shop they go. All good, resuable items should be taken to your local charity shop, where they\u2019ll be sorted and resold. However, if your clothes are torn, or not in good shape, they could end up in a landfill \u2013 so instead, find your closest Dunelm<\/a> or H&M<\/a>, and take them there. And that\u2019s not just for clothes, but all textile fabrics like curtains or pillow cases. If they\u2019re in good enough condition to be sold on, they will be \u2013 but if they\u2019re not, they might be reused for rags or shredded for insulation.

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps now we\u2019re into Spring, your Spring cleaning could include going through your old clothes and finding a way to either give them that new lease of life or send them on their way to their new home. I, personally, use the KonMari<\/a> method of tidying, as designed by Marie Kondo in her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up <\/em>\u2013 and I highly recommend giving it a go! Bring all your clothes out into one space, hold each item, and determine if it brings you joy. If it does, keep it for a little longer \u2013 if it doesn\u2019t, then thank it for serving you so well and get it gone!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do you upcycle or fix your clothing? Is there anything you can do with old clothes that I missed here? Let us know in the comments!

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Bethany Climpson, Sustainability Engagement Assistant<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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