sewing

Upcycle an Old Shirt – See what I made!

- handmadejoy

Want to see some upcycle magic? See how I upcycled an old shirt into three new items. I loved the fabric and details of this shirt, but not the fit. I never wore it but didn’t want to get rid of it because I loved the colour and design so much. I started cutting and made three items from it that now get lots of use!

When you love the colour and fabric of a clothing item but not the fit, upcycling is the answer!

UPCYCLE

reuse (discarded objects or material) in such a way as to create a product of higher quality or value than the original.

Here is what I made from this ONE shirt:

1. Scrunchies

I used the bottom hem of the shirt to make scrunchies. I was able to make 2 scrunchies from the hem of this one shirt. I love the trim detail and used that as the outside edge of the scrunchie.

Here is my Favourite scrunchie tutorial from Martha Stewart.

2. Face Mask

To make this simple mask:

  1. Cut out 2 – 6 x 9 inch rectangles
  2. Sew right sides together leaving a 1 inch opening.
  3. Turn right side out and stitch closed.
  4. Fold sides and sew to create channel for elastic loops.
  5. Insert elastic and tie knot to from loop.

3. Bowl Cover

I made a mixing bowl cover for my Kitchenaid Mixer bowl. This bowl cover gets a ton of use in my kitchen!

Here is a Mixing bowl cover tutorial from My Frugal Home.

What would you make out of an old shirt you no longer wear?

More Sewing Tutorials on the Blog:

DIY Mask Pouch for backpack or Purse – Sewing Tutorial

- handmadejoy

Are your kids going back to school? In our area the Covid cases are low so kids are going back to school in September. However they are required to wear masks in the common areas of school. I’ve made these pouches to attach to their backpacks so that their masks are easy to reach when they arrive at school! Below I have included a quick tutorial to show you how I made them.

Supplies needed: main fabric and lining fabric, velcro, amd ribbon or bias tape. The mask fabric I used is available in my Spoonflower collection.

First You will cut out 2 pieces of fabric 12 inches x 6 inches – one main fabric and one lining fabric. I wanted to have a rounded edge so I traced a lid and rounded the corners of the top. You will also cut a 3.5 inch piece of ribbon or bias tape for the loop.

Next you will sew your fabric right sides together, leaving a small gap so you can turn it right-side-out after.

Turn right-side-out and fold the bottom up to form the pouch. You will pin your ribbon/bias tape in place along the side. Sew along the edge to secure. Final step is to sew on your velcro. You can do this before you sew the pouch if you find that easier.

I used a key ring to attach it to a zipper on my son’s backpack. I love that they will always have their mask handy when they enter school in the morning!

Soft Elastic ear loops for your homemade fabric Mask

- handmadejoy
Soft diy mask earloops from headband

If you would have told me a year ago that I would be sewing a stack of cloth masks for my family, I would have thought you were crazy! But here we are. I am finding there is a shortage of elastic now that everyone is making masks, so I had to get creative when making mine.

I bought some stretchy headbands and cut them up into strips to make my ear loops. They work great and are so soft on the ears!

I was able to get four pairs of ear loops from each headband. However, that would vary depending on the stretch of the headband fabric.

I used Made Every Day’s Fabric Face Mask free pattern to make my masks. The only change I made was to do ears loops instead of the around the head ties.

I hope you try this is you are having trouble finding elastic to make masks or if you just want to try something that is softer on the ears! What is your favourite fabric mask pattern? I am going to try the 3D fitted mask style next.

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