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10 Ways To Repurpose Old T-Shirts

10 Ways To Repurpose Old T-Shirts
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10 Ways To Repurpose Old T-Shirts

T-shirts, t-shirts everywhere!

You have them lying on the floors, hanging in your closet, and stuffed into your drawers. Now, all that clutter is starting to irritate you!

But wait…don’t throw them out…because with these 10 super easy tutorials you can repurpose those old t-shirts into useful everyday items.

1. DIY T-Shirt Scarf Necklace. All you need for this one is an old t-shirt, a pair of scissors, and an hour to complete the project.

2. 5-Strand-Braided-Headband. These are super cute! It’s something that really can be made simply with old t-shirt scraps…and for most of us that means free. An easy project worthy enough to give any bad-hair-day head a pick me up. You could also use one for:

  • Working out
  • Washing your face
  • Little girl (or big girl) fly-aways

3. T-Shirt to Bag Refashion. With this easy to follow tutorial and a few simple sewing supplies, you can turn that memorable, yet unworn, t-shirt into a purposeful bag that you can just throw over your shoulder on your way out the door.

4. Produce Bags. I LOVE these produce bags! They are so simple and easy to make! You can:

  • Pack them in with your reusable grocery bags (it helps me to remember to use them).
  • Take them along on trips to the farmer’s market.
  • Use them as shoe carriers when going to the park.

They may not be able to replace plastic produce bags 100% of the time, but they sure do help reduce waste a little bit!

5. Crochet and/or Knitting Yarn. A classic. I have tons of this in my craft box! It’s another great way to revive an unwanted t-shirt.

6. Crochet Dish Cloths. Use the yarn above to crochet these beautiful dish cloths. The link will lead you to a free how-to tutorial.

7. Baby Pants. A great way to keep those memories functional without going through a super intensive sewing project. I can’t wait to make these for my little boy! This tutorial will walk you through a simple step-by-step process. To start, you will need:

  • Pants to trace
  • A t-shirt
  • Some elastic
  • Simple sewing supplies

8. Cloth Paper Towels. There’s no link for this one because it’s pretty simple. I cut t-shirts into the size of paper towels and use just as I would the paper product. Note: They are not very absorbent so I use them mainly for small spills and when cleaning the counters. For heavy duty purposes, I like to use old cloth diapers.

9. Make Your Own Drawstring Pouch. A great sew-by-hand tutorial to create a useful pouch entirely from a small piece of t-shirt.

10. T-Shirt Rug. This idea is funky and simple. The rug consists of a whole bunch of different colorful t-shirts laid out on the floor in a visually pleasing arrangement.

What do you do with your old T’s?

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  1. I made a t shirt rug before, only I cut them into 1 inch strips and knit them just garter stitch with 10mm needles. It turned out fantastic and warm on the feet.

  2. What a fantastic post. I have bookmarked this to make some of these when I have some old t-shirts. I did a year in review at NZ Ecochick and would love it if you would link up some of your favourite posts of 2011. Have have a wonderful new year. M xx

  4. I love the produce bag idea! Super cute and practical. I bet you could make your own hankies out of t-shirts too! One of my goals for 2012 is to quit buying tissues…your post is giving me ideas! 🙂

  5. to make your t-shirt object more absorbent, dry them without softner (no liquid of sheets), and your towels are also more absorbent without softner as well

  6. I have also made rugs with my old t-shirts …cut them in one inch continous strip then I just single crochet them in ovals,circles or rectangles…they are soft and wash up great….with the leftover neck pieces I use them in the garden to tie up plants…and the other pieces I use as padding between material for hot pads.

    I’m going to make the grocery sacks….love this blog ..thank you

    • Marian! They are great in the garden! You have mentioned some great ideas here…I really want to perfect my crocheting ability:) Btw, thank your for your kind words!

  8. Andrea, you do such a wonderful job of writing your blog, keeping interesting content and encouraging others for a frugal and sustainable lifestyle. Thank you for all of the goodness and energy! Happy, Happy New Year to you! ~ Kari

  9. I love the idea of making my dishcloths with t’shirts!! Thanks for posting the link:)

  10. In June, I learned how to make turbans out of old t-shirts It took about 2 minutes and the results were beautiful! Great option for cancer patients who can’t afford wigs and over-priced turbans.

  11. Love these links! I have a crate full of old t-shirts in the closet in my spare bedroom. We use them as rags, usually, but we’ve got more than we need at this point and the t-shirts aren’t nice enough to give away. I totally need a t-shirt necklace thingy and those produce bags totally rock.

  13. From t-shirts that my girls particularly love, we will also make pillows out of them. Sew up the neck, an arm, and the bottom; use the remaining arm to fill the shirt with stuffing, then sew it up too, once the pillow is ready. My kids love them!

  15. Tank tops also make great bags and all you have to do is sew across the bottom. IF the neckline is too constricting, cut it off so it looks like an old “muscle-shirt”.

  16. I have constructed a quilt from “special” old T-shirts that wanted to be saved, but no longer worn. It was fantastic. Also, lately I have been taking extra-large men’s t-shirts and transforming them into sleeveless, gathered-at-the-neck summer shirts for myself. They are nice and long, with plenty of material to work with!

  18. Love what you are doing! Great ideas…my fav is #10! Love making rugs! thanks for the ideas 🙂