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What if I told you that you don't have to say goodbye, and that your precious shirts could live on and be useful in another way? I've got five fabulous ideas to take your tees and make them useful around the house.
You can upcycle your old shirts into bags and pouches. Photos: zJayne
1) Make them into reusable bags. Take a tip from the successful smart seamstress zJayne on Etsy, who takes old t-shirts and makes them into reusable shopping bags, pouches, wristlets and lunch sacks.
2) Use them to clean. Fold them up and place them in the garage or linen closet, and use them for dusting. There are lots of fancy dusters out there these days, but a plan old soft cotton tee will do the trick just fine. Plus, it's washable and reusable, so less dust and less waste!
Why not re-purpose your old concert tee into a cushion cover? Photos: Savvy Seams
3) Got a great graphic tee? Why not make it into a pillow. Since it's already soft and cozy, you can still cuddle up with it on the couch. This great tutorial from Savvy Seams shows you just how easy it is to create a custom cushion cover. The Sproutz Store Blog shows you how to do it with a button-down shirt so you can take those old flower-patterned blouses and create beautiful pillow covers.
You can even get a special t-shirt frame. Photo: Urban Outfitters
5) Turn them into wall art. Finally, if you have just one tee that you keep for its memories, like a concert tee or that winning jersey, why not continue to treasure it as a piece of art -- wall art, that is. You can do this in a few different ways: Staple or pin the shirt in its entirety to cardboard backing and place in a shadowbox frame. Or if you're OK with cutting up your precious shirt, then cut just the shirt graphic you'd like to frame and wrap it around the cardboard backing of the frame as you would covering a chair cushion. Staple in place, and then frame as you would any photograph. Urban Outfitters even makes a special t-shirt frame.
Reader comments (Page 1 of 1)
How about as a Boot shine rag, they're soft enough that they leave boots and shoes nice and shiney when theyre used to polish. Old shirts are also good for cutting up into small patches for gun cleaning. They work better than buying cleaning patches all the time. Saves money and garbage space!
ReplyI love the idea of the pillow. I had made one in college of an old sorority shirt that I just could not part with. I have since made some for my daughter for her bed. She loves them.
ReplyI save the t-shirts. When I have enough, I cut them up and make a quilt. It provides warmth and great memories.
ReplyTEE SHIRT QUILTS ARE ALL THE RAGE... AND IT USES SEVERAL OLD TEESHIRTS...PERHAPS A LITTLE MORE HOMEWORK WAS IN ORDER BEFORE THIS ARTICLE WAS PUBLISHED. DO A GOOGLE IMAGE SEARCH OF TEE SHIRT QUILTS TO GET AN IDEA OF WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH ALL THOSE OLD TEE SHIRTS THAT YOU JUST CAN'T PART WITH.
ReplyYou can make them into quilts - there's a special iron on backing that makes them just stiff enough and keeps them from curling so that you can sew a border onto them, and then sew them together.
ReplyYou can cut them into strips to make a rag rug - braid, knit, or crochet them.
Use them as the batting layer in a lightweight quilt. or baby blanket.
There's at least three books that I can think of that show you how to make new clothes out of 'em, and you really don't have to have much in the way of sewing skills.
Polishing rags are a great use. Shirts are usually 100% cotton and uber soft. Still, I hadn't thought of some of these other ideas. The wall art is kind of cool. I wish I would have done this with some old shirts that ended up as trash. The pillow idea is my favorite because it would feel really good against my face.
ReplyOur daughter was a competitive swimmer, hence she had numerous t-shirts from all of her competitions, with Meet logo and dates on them. They will make a wonderful quilt. (Started, but not finished). Her children and grandchildren will see just how many years she dedicated to swimming and how many competitions she swam in. Her goal was an athletic scholarship in swimming to college. She acheived that goal and graduated. What a wonderful keepsake and lesson in dedication and goal setting.
ReplyJoe do you mean a "scum rag" ? Like you???
ReplyWhen my son graduated from high school this spring, I made a blanket for him to take to college out of 24 of his old t shirts from his various sports teams, summer jobs, school and church activities. It was his favorite gift I think! I made the squares 14" x 14" each and did 4 blocks wide by 6 blocks long. I also sewed a border strip around the outside to unify the colors. I used jersey knit fabric for the back too and lined it with several layers of old sheets that had seen better days. Its nice and heavy and warm and soft.
Replya very nice story and ideas as well bravo........
lol, totally awesome! love it!, got a specail tshirt just for that!
ReplyI had mine all ready to go to Goodwill. These are cotton and polyester, but I think that's still good. My teen age granddaughter will love these ideas, esprcially the pillow and picture frame.
ReplyI always thought a quilt made out of all my old worn out favorites would be cool.
ReplyBack in the mid/late 1980's, when I was a student at York College (CUNY), a girlfriend of mine, Carol H., was about to marry a guy whose mother made her a wonderful wedding gift of a quilt. I believe the quilt was made from 36 of Carol's and her husband's old tee shirts, using the design or insignia on the front in each of the 36 panels of the quilt....or maybe it wasn't 6x6 panels, but rather 5x7 panels (35 squares)...either way, a great idea!
ReplyThere have been many ideas floated, over the years, for ways to use old tee shirts, but always thought that this idea was one of the best.
Well I made A King size Quilt out of T-Shitrs and Boxer Shorts on the other side. My Nephew got Killed 3years ago at age 17. My sister just loved it. It wa very unique and different. Anyone wants or needs a quilt made give me a shout. Thanks Cheryl
ReplyOss, N.Y.
http://www.shelterpop.com/2009/07/29/5-things-you-can-do-with-an-old-t-shirt/#comments
I absolutely love the idea of turning it into a purse! Except for I wouldn't want to cut up any t-shirts!
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