Green Gifts: make old Tshirts into great gifts!!!

This holiday season, consider a little DIY gifting. Its easy on the earth, and your wallet. Plus putting a little time into crafting a gift shows that you care. The next blog will be more simple gift and wrapping ideas that are easy on the eyes, earth and wallet.    --Laura


8 Ways To Reuse an Old T-Shirt

 by Becky Striepe

 
We all have them in our dressers: a couple of t-shirts that are past their prime, but we just can’t get rid of them. Whether it’s from an awesome concert or a really special family reunion, you can give an old t-shirt a new life with some crafty skills!

1. Laptop Cozy

The folks at Make share a quickie tutorial for turning a t-shirt into a laptop case by simply folding the shirt in half with the wrong sides in, stitching up the sides, then flipping it back.

2. Pillow

Cut a straight line from shoulder to shoulder and from sleeves to the bottom hem. Trim as much off of the bottom of the shirt as you like, then stitch it up inside out, leaving a bit of room to flip and stuff. Once you’ve flipped and stuffed your pillow, close the seam with a whip stitch or a sneaky ladder stitch, and you’re ready to go!

3. Quilt

Is that collection of shirts a little bit out of hand? You can turn a bunch of old t-shirts into a super-comfy memory quilt! Just cut your shirts into squares, piece them together, and sew it up! If you’re new to quilting, About has some great, quick tips for quilters to help you out.

Keep it eco-friendly with organic or recycled batting.

4. Skirt

Ready for the quickest refashion yet? Cute Circuit shows you how to turn an old shirt into a skirt in 30 seconds flat!

5. Necklace

Dollar Store Crafts shows you how to make a simple, elegant t-shirt necklace. I like how she added decorative beads to spice things up.

6. Grocery Bag

A grocery bag is another super-quick t-shirt craft. The ever-fabulous Martha Stewart walks you through how to turn an old shirt into a reusable grocery bag.

7. Applique

Is a little spot, tear, or stain keeping your favorite shirt from being wearable? That’s easy as pie to fix up! Just cover that pesky spot with your very own applique. You can use something store bought, or cut shapes you like out of fabric or felt and stitch it right on. If you’re using a machine to stitch, you’ll want to put interfacing inside the shirt behind where you’ll be stitching, or the fabric could pucker around the stitches.

8. Undies

Over at SuperNaturale, Logan shows you how to transform an old tee into a comfy pair of undies.

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/got-an-old-coat-turn-it-into-5-great-gifts.html <<