Comments on: How can I reuse or recycle … old jumpers?

By: J

Wed, 09 Feb 2011 01:41:34 +0000

How to Make Hats from Recycled Sweaters (or Jumpers) tutorial:
http://www.craftstylish.com/item/28927/how-to-make-hats-from-recycled-sweaters

By: katz

katz — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 16:44:34 +0000

You can use cut-up jumpers for making:
1) smaller clothes for children/babies
2) to make toys/door stops (look for patterns on the internet or there are lots of books to help you out, but here’s one exampe: http://www.sewingpatterns.org.uk/ ) Doorstops could be filled with rice or something similar, stuffed toys and draft excluders filled with all sorts of soft and squishy leftover yarn/old pillowcase stuffing)
3) knit the toys – perfect use of short length yarn
4) knit booties or mittens – also perfect use of short length yarn
5) make blankets from squares.

My favourite one – are toys and doorstops!

By: Bre

Bre — Thu, 02 Dec 2010 11:13:18 +0000

I can use old jumpers especially any that have felted in the wash.
Please e mail me brejackson@gmail.com. Thanks, Bre

By: spiritfilled

spiritfilled — Sun, 25 Jul 2010 13:16:56 +0000

top marks you are so creative, great for little girls to sit with mum and nanny on a quick and easy project 5 stars bless you

By: Lucylocket

Lucylocket — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 12:10:57 +0000

Has anyone tried using old jumpers and/or blankets as a base for growing mustard and cress seeds? We are thinking of doing a quick project over a long weekend for a lot of kids, maybe joining together pieces of old woollen jumpers, laying them flat on the ground, sprinkling them with water and scattering seeds over them. Any tips?

By: oddsox

oddsox — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:39:07 +0000

I have lots of shrunken or non-fitting jumpers and clothes, both mine and donated pieces. I also love collecting buttons and have donations of these too. Here are some examples of how I turn these unwanted items into upcycled treasures! I hope you enjoy looking and get some inspiration to start upcycling too.

http://www.folksy.com/items/40086-Pocket-Terrors?shop=yes
http://www.folksy.com/items/39844-Sadly?shop=yes

Shaz (from oddsox)

By: Janet

Janet — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 19:58:41 +0000

Line your hanging baskets, with your old wolly jumpers.

By: reanna

reanna — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 15:54:16 +0000

i make hot water bottle covers from mine and give them to friends for christmas. Its really simple and you can always embellish them with beads etc aswell.

By: Tamara

Tamara — Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:27:11 +0000

you can make a jester’s hat with the sleeves… tie off the ends of the sleeves and add pompoms… and remove the sleeves and then attach them to each other. add a band the size of your head, gathering the sleeve part to make it fit if necessary. fun for kids.

see stelle and linda allison’s “rags”

By: AliceJ

AliceJ — Sat, 15 Sep 2007 22:48:43 +0000

Composting is a good idea – I’m told that raspberries particularly like the keratin that wool will release as it breaks down.

Do make sure it’s pure wool though! You can test for artificial fibres (which won’t compost) by burning a thread – if it melts slightly then it’s artificial, wool will burn and smell like burnt hair (burn a bit of the hair out of your hairbrush to compare the smell if you’re not sure).

By: Kendra

Kendra — Fri, 14 Sep 2007 11:04:46 +0000

Consider cutting into large squares, then sew together into an afghan. Big enough sweaters are just the size for baby blankets. Can also be felted, if 100% wool. Cotton would also make nice baby blankets. Cotton and ramie are pretty heavy, but would make good play spaces for babies, or a play surface that could do double duty as toy carrier with loops of button holes in 3 corners and a button in the fourth.

By: sarah lou

sarah lou — Mon, 23 Apr 2007 11:10:32 +0000

oh thats quite a good suggestion, i also find rag rugging quite useful when havig a browse through my old clothes. they are mostly charity shop bought, where i suggest people have a look! there are some serious bargains around!
sarah lou x

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 19:37:44 +0000

Smaller clothing items: I have gotten a pair of knee socks and a hat from one, piecing the hat and feet out of the body, and the legs of the socks out of the arms.

By: Zoe

Zoe — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 16:36:06 +0000

My mum has made some great hats for my baby.

one from a sleve, just sew up the cuff and add a tassle
(also from old jumpers). If it’s felted then it dosent fray.

one from a polo neck

could also make adult hats from other bits?

By: Stephanie

Stephanie — Thu, 22 Feb 2007 02:03:10 +0000

If they are old as in broken you could give them to an animal shelter for them to use as bedding for the animals.

If they are still wearable (and you have just grown out of them or dont like what they look like) then you could give them to the Salvation Army or Good wll or some other op shop for someone else to wear.

If they are woolen then you could un ravel it and reuse the wool to make a new and different jumper, or a blanket, or scarft.

By: Lesley

Lesley — Tue, 13 Feb 2007 15:20:52 +0000

My ex-husband donated his old digging jumper, which was really old and ratty, to a display at one of the places where we were archaeologists. They wanted to have a model archaeologist at work, as part of the museum display, and needed to dress it.

These days, I save them for rag rugging or, if they will unravel easily, I use the wool for demonstration purposes – I demonstrate basic spinning and weaving methods in schools, so any wool is fine for the kids to have a go at.

By: Litterbugworks

Litterbugworks — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 11:35:55 +0000

Awww max!
I make new jumpers out of old ones. A wee bit of cut and pasting can create something completely new! As a tip, use zig zag stitch to prevent freying….and avoid looking like a patch work quilt!!! Have fun x

By: Max

Max — Fri, 09 Feb 2007 15:27:56 +0000

I prefer wearing old ones… It suits more my personality

By: Rosalind

Rosalind — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 18:19:18 +0000

Machine-washable jumpers past their prime make good cat/dog bed liners. No need to cut them up.

By: fishcake_random

fishcake_random — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 20:47:53 +0000

New outfit for a snowman or dressing up clothes.
maybe even a scarecrow, or a guy for a bonfire.

By: Rúna Björg

Rúna Björg — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 22:10:10 +0000

Woolen jumpers can be used for insolation.

By: Janet

Janet — Fri, 12 Jan 2007 14:01:48 +0000

Hello!
I am new to this site and saw your question of how to use old sweater/wool garments. Well, I hope you have gotten seveal good ideas from others. May I add one more? I have went through my husbands closet and found some sweaters he didn’t want anymore and also some old wool jeckets that belonded to his late wife. Here is what I am planning on done/doing with these.
1. I am cutting the sweaters into purse size pieces and making purses out of them. Just be sure that as soon as you cut out the pieces you take care and run a zig=zag stich around the pieces right away and don’t pull on the pieces as you stich but feed in the fabric into the food as you stich, so they will not unravel or run. These purces look kind of plain at first but I plan on adding beads and trim of fancy yarns to embellish.
2. I am taking the old wool jackets and again making purses out of them.they all have material that is lining too. Since they belonded to my husband’s late wife and she left some wonderful daughter/granddaughers I am making the purses and embellishing them with the beads and yard and giving them to her children for gilfs for Christmas/whatever. I think that getting a new purse out of something their mother/grandmother wore, and they probably remember it too, that they would enjoy having something of her as a sentimentel items too.
If you got any other really great suggestions from your question in this web site that you want to share with me, that would be great as I have lots of sweaters on hand and would love to know what else I can do with them too. I am thinking of maybe teddy bears or somthing besides pot holders.

Hope I have helped.Janet

By: john

john — Sun, 31 Dec 2006 00:35:44 +0000

if all else fails and your sure that it is pure wool you can compost the thing. It will work better if you chop it into bits first.

By: Rosie

Rosie — Sun, 17 Dec 2006 18:02:53 +0000

Cut out the bad bits and the smelly bits and make into polishing pads for windows , cars etc.

By: G

Sat, 16 Dec 2006 18:16:11 +0000

You can make wonderful cloth diaper covers after you felt the wool. It is breathable and waterproof.

By: K

Thu, 14 Dec 2006 12:53:14 +0000

I’ve been into doing just this lately – felt/boil the wool (shrink it until it doesn’t fray at the end) use the big bits to make pillows as suggested or bags or tree decorations of flowers for barrettes. Then, use the sleeves for some armwarmers or sleeveless gloves or legwamers. I’m wearing some arm ones now, very cosy

By: ilsa

ilsa — Thu, 14 Dec 2006 11:28:59 +0000

You could also cut & restitch to make decent pot/pan holders.

By: Joan

Joan — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 13:45:20 +0000

You could make them into cushion covers or throws by cutting them like cloth using the good bits and then sewing the edges to stop fraying using a zig zag stitch, then you could make patch work with them or applique ( hem edges with blanket stitch. This technique even works well if they have shrunk in fact youcould boil was them ( it they are wool not synthetic) to get this effect – boiled wool look.Some trendy shop sell cushions like these and they are really expensive – designer look that doesn’t cost the earth ( pardon my pun).

By: k

Tue, 12 Dec 2006 08:58:13 +0000

never tried, but was thinking about it…

in my neck of the woods they make rugs….tear the fabric into strips and do some rug hooking:)

you can reuse all types of fabric this way!