Once upon a time... or making something new from something old

Creating something new from something old is something I really enjoy. 

As a supplement to the posts about bed linens and table linens, I have a few more ideas for you about what you can make from things that others—or you yourself—no longer want. 

An old shirt from my beloved became gift wrapping



A skirt of my daughter’s became a game storage bag for my grandson



A pair of my grandson’s jeans became a lucky pig for my son



An Easter placemat became a bag for my circular knitting needle



Do you still have any old lace tights? I gave this vase to a dear colleague



This pillow was once a sweater of my son’s 

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These pants for my grandson were once a shirt of his father’s

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Do you maybe have a few more ideas for me? 

Wow, Petra, I’m blown away by all your ideas. It’s great how you give everything a new lease on life.

If I could sew, I wouldn’t have to throw away so much—which is always really hard for me.

Here’s a tip, maybe: You’re already reusing lace tights. I cut up plain sheer tights and use them as washable stuffing for stuffed animals and the like.
Recently, I cut up worn-out bedding and T-shirts and used them to stuff crocheted dog toys.

Best regards
Marlies

Dear Petra,
You’re an inspiration! It’s great that you’ve given these old items a new lease on life. Not only have you saved resources, but you’ve also created keepsakes in the process. These aren’t just any old textiles—they used to belong to someone you knew. Especially those little colorful pants for your grandson, made from his dad’s T-shirt—that’s just heartwarming.

I also often make things out of items that others would throw away. Here are two examples of my own. I hope you enjoy checking out my ideas as well.

Warm regards from Ina

These are shoe boxes. In shoe stores, they’re typically taken apart and thrown away if the customer doesn’t want them. I always picked up these boxes from our shoe store (I let them know in advance that I’d be collecting them).

I then painted the sturdy shoe boxes and covered them with beautiful satin wallpaper that came from a discarded wallpaper sample book. I use them to store my craft supplies, for example.





And from an old laundry detergent box, which is also nice and sturdy, I made a box for my rolls of wrapping paper. I used wrapping paper and fabric tape for this. I’m still using all of these items today.

Ina, thanks for your ideas. Your gift-wrap storage box looks really elegant.

A shoe box—I’ll have to keep that in mind, especially for my leftover yarn or collected gift ribbons.

Dear Petra, the great thing about these containers is that they’re sturdy and you can decorate them however you like. You could even cover them with fabric… That’s where those old (cotton) fabrics would come in handy again. Oh, how lucky we are that we never run out of ideas. It never gets boring.

I would never have thought of putting lace tights over a bottle. That would definitely look great (cut to size, folded over, or hemmed) as a lantern in the summer.

Best wishes, Ina

These children’s dresses used to be a culotte skirt of mine, sewn last year for the children’s food bank. I’ve already refashioned quite a few of my own clothes into children’s clothing in this kind of way

Best regards, Inge

This children’s skirt used to be the bottom part—also a culotte skirt—of a summer outfit of mine; the shirt is still in the closet.

Love, Inge

Marlies, thanks for the idea with the tights. I’ll have to keep that in mind for my sewn hearts. I’ve already made potatoes out of my tights for the doll kitchen. 





Inge, you’re so talented with the sewing machine. I haven’t quite mustered the courage to try sewing clothes again yet. We’ll see if I ever get back into it. I keep looking at the pants patterns here in the patterns...... 

Wow, I’m deeply impressed by your beautifully crafted creations. Petra, you’re so talented—and of course, Ina and Inge too. You’ve earned my admiration!

I don’t throw anything away either, but I usually don’t have the time to really get into it. As soon as I get to the sewing machine, I’m going to turn the old bedding into gift bags. I’ll show you when it’s done.

You’ve created some wonderful things! Huge compliments to everyone! I’m also a fan of upcycling—I have a huge box of old clothes in the basement that I hope to turn into something new someday :-)

Here’s my “duffel bag” doorstop. It used to be a favorite pair of jeans.

Great idea—I’ve saved it right away 

The duffel bag doorstop is such a brilliant idea for old jeans. I especially love the set-in rings that look like portholes. Plus the lifebuoy and the thick rope—really great! It would also fit perfectly in a rustic vacation home by the sea. I don’t have one. But if I did, I’d copy the idea right away.

Thanks, roticanal, for sharing this.

And thank you so much to you both, Inge and Petra, for your suggestions. I’m already itching to get started again… my sewing machine is waiting. But first, I need to work on my crochet pattern.

Best, Ina

Yes, the jeans doorstop is great—I’ll have to keep that in mind!

And the little pig! Great—I always have some jeans lying around!

Hi there.
I haven’t posted anything here on the forum in a long time, but I’ve been reading along more often lately.

In keeping with this post, I’ve been crafting Christmas gifts for my in-laws using lots of things I had lying around here as a collector…

The footstools are made from scrap plywood, old sofa legs, and leftover Styrofoam insulation panels. The cover, however, is made from new denim, and the appliqués are once again from old jeans. The foam was also new; I stretched a piece of batting over it (unfortunately not photographed) that had previously been used as packaging material. So, a colorful mix…
I’m the kind of person who still sees potential in lots of things that others throw away. I drive quite a few people crazy with this.
For example: “Keep those sofa legs…” or “Save the bigger scraps of insulation”—that often gets a grumble in response at first.
But when something beautiful ends up coming out of it, everything’s fine again.
In any case, the gift was very well received.

Wowowow! Those stools are just so awesome!

Thanks :-)

Dear Claudia, you’re very creative too! Someone who can turn just about anything into something new is truly creative. Yes, you’re also a collector, because at first glance, it’s not always clear what you might use these things for. But the people around you have known you long enough… they probably often smile at you and then marvel at you afterward.

In any case, the footstools are absolutely fantastic and guaranteed one-of-a-kind pieces. Beautiful work, and thank you for sharing.

Speaking of foam… I actually have something else to share. We once had to get rid of some worn-out foam mattresses. Usually, the BSR picks them up and they end up in the big compactor. But I thought they were too good to throw away, because the foam core inside was still very sturdy. So I removed it and cut out square and round shapes from it. Then I crocheted covers for them, and that’s how I made some lovely new floor cushions for the grandkids.

Best regards, Ina

Dear Ina,
yessss.... I need something like that, too ;-) They turned out great!
Best wishes from Steffi

I made a little pouch out of old jeans

My friend gave me some bedding.

  One of the zippers was broken, and the children’s bedding had a big tear. Since she knows that my husband loves sheep, it all ended up with me.

Unfortunately, the children’s bedding was already very thin, so I can’t make much out of it anymore, but it was enough for a pillowcase. 



And then there was a new pillow for the garden. Many years ago, I received some pillows with covers from the estate of a friend’s mother. Now I’ve finally been able to breathe new life into the pillow covers.

I embroidered the design and then sewed it onto the pillowcase I already had.