We are supposed to be ‘starving students’, just barely scraping by on a diet of Kraft Dinner and Mr. Noodles. Looking around most university campuses there doesn’t seem to be many students that aren’t eating well or spending their money frivolously. Whether or not mommy and daddy are paying your way or you’re surviving on a hefty student loan, saving money and not being wasteful are two things students should be doing in order to better prepare themselves for the real world. If you’re like me you have a closet full of clothes that you never wear but don’t feel like throwing out. Or maybe you have a favorite pair of jeans sitting around that you’re sure you’ll wear again once you lose the frosh 15 pounds. Either way you look at it, the clothes aren’t getting worn. So why not recycle them? Here are some ideas:
If you have a pair of jeans that are too short or worn on the bottoms, a tailor will re-hem the jeans into a capri length for about 9 dollars. For a few dollars more they will even create a little slit on the side.
If your jeans are a bit small around the waist and if they have a button-fly, simply cut off the waistband of the jeans and they’ll fit bigger and lower on the waist.
Big old t-shirts that you know you’ll never wear again (I used my Hard Rock Café T-shirts I had collected over the years) can be turned into fun pillows. Find some preformed pillows at any craft store or department store and cut two squares out of the t-shirt. Sew the two pieces together inside out along three sides then turn right side out, stuff with pillow and sew up last side. If you are lucky, you might come across fun 80’s rock t-shirts at local thrift stores.
One of my favorite things to go with old jeans that either have holes in the knees or are simply a style I wont wear anymore is to make them into skirts. It really only takes a couple hours.
Step 1: Cut along inner seam of the jeans.
Step 2: Cross one leg over the other. The more you cross them over the tighter the skirt will be, but you want to make sure that they’re crossed over enough that it will cover your bum.
Step 3: Pin in place and then cut the legs to the desired length. (Wide-leg jeans work well for ankle length skirts)
Step 4: Sew skirt together. This can be done by hand quite easily. The hem of the skirt can even be left as is and as it frays it will look better.
Another idea I love is making a sexy summer top from a scarf. It takes about 15 minutes and looks great.
Step 1: Find a large, square scarf. Value Village is a good place to look or in your parent’s closet. It should be at least 30’x 30’. Fold in half along diagonal
Step 2: Using a piece of ribbon, leather, or even a shoelace for the necktie…you’re going to fold the top of the scarf over the tie and sew down with a few stitches.
Step 3: Tie around neck and tie around waist and you’re done!!