A few days ago, I had to accept that I wouldn’t be able to keep wearing one of my favorite sweaters. So comfortable, so warm, so soft—and now so full of holes. The poor thing didn’t survive its last wash, so I started looking for ideas for recycling an old sweater. I was looking for do-it-yourself ideas that would be very easy to carry out and, preferably, could also be made using fabric glue instead of a sewing machine.
Out of all the cool ideas circulating online, we chose five that let us recycle an old sweater as efficiently as possible. In other words, making the most of as much fabric as possible. So, from a single garment, we can make several of these items. Would you like to discover them?
DIY ideas for recycling an old sweater1. Fingerless mitts or hand warmers
We found two very, very simple types of gloves you can make from an old sweater: mitten style or fingerless style (open). The latter is the easiest. They’re made by taking advantage of the lower part of the sleeve, and anyone can make them. You just need to measure your own hand to see how far you want them to reach: from the middle of your forearm to the base of your fingers, from your wrist to your knuckles… Once you’ve found the right length, cut! Now try them on and mark where you need to undo the seam or make a cut to let your thumb out. Decorate them however you like, and you’re done. From there, you can make them as complicated as you want :) We’re leaving you with these beautiful ones we found at Conciencia Eco for inspiration.
2. Mittens
But if your fingers get cold, and since we’re in the depths of winter, you also have the option of making yourself some lovely mittens. They’re also very easy to make, and in this case you’ll use your own hands as a “pattern”. It’s easier if you use the cuff portion of the sleeves, especially because most of the mitten will already be joined and you’ll only have to close the top. Or cut one out of the side of the body, as shown in this photo tutorial from Crème de la Craft.
But if they’re too narrow, you can also make them from the body, like the hat we show you in number 4. Leave a few extra centimeters when marking so you can close them without making them too small. When you have the two pieces for one hand, you can use one of them (inside out, remember: pretty side facing down) so the piece for the other hand will be identical. To join the two parts, you can sew or use glue: pretty sides together to join them, and then turn them right side out.
3. Scarf
A scarf is also one of the easiest things you can make to recycle an old sweater. In this case, it’s a closed scarf, the kind that goes around your neck (even if that sounds a little silly), because we’ll be making use of the sweater’s circumference. You only have to mark a rectangle of whatever height you prefer on the body of the garment (or even use the whole thing), taking care that, if it has designs, the cut looks attractive. There’s nothing more to it. To keep it from fraying, you can always make a zigzag stitch along the edge with your sewing machine or, if you’re using fabric glue, make a kind of hem with the glue, holding it securely with clips while you let it dry.
Look how cute this one from Madigan Made turned out with the little buttons.
4. Hat
We already told you about this idea, with a little tutorial included—do you remember? Don’t you think it would be perfect to recycle an old sweater and make yourself a beautiful complete set of gloves, hat, and scarf? We’re linking again to the post on making a hat by recycling a sweater, and we hope the loss feels a little less sad now that you know how to give a second life to your faithful companion that kept you safe from the cold so many times.
If you figure out what you want to make and how to make the cuts before you start cutting at random, you’re sure to get the most out of that sweater you thought was no longer good for anything.