Dear Neighbor,
It is a common practice to gather all our old clothes and take them to resale stores, like Goodwill or Salvation Army. I heard, but cannot confirm, that these stores get so much clothes, most of it ends up in the landfill. Frankly, I don’t doubt it. So what is a person to do with their old clothes? Repurpose some of it!
In days past, our ancestors used their old clothes to make quilts. Shirts and dresses were cut into small squares and eventually sewn together. Today, we can use good, but used fabric for a variety of items. A woman’s dress bottom can be cut flat and used for a baby outfit; same with a man’s shirt. Fabric strips can be cut out of clothes and braided into rugs. If you have a particular dress that has been seen in too many pictures, but you still think it’s pretty, consider making hot pads or using the fabric to sew on the bottom of capri pants. They sell pants like that at boutiques for big bucks! Or how about corn hole bags? Old jeans make great teddy bears and Christmas stockings. There are a lot of things we can do with old clothes.
People are scrambling around to make cilivian (verses medical caregiver grade) face masks but the fabric stores are closed, so what are you to do? Dig in your giveaway pile! I bet you will find at least one cottom item, in there. A tshirt, dress shirt, or tropical shirt that will work.
Cotton is recommended, for masks, because cotton weave breathes. If you have ever worn a mask, you will know they can be hot; to the point they steam up your glasses. Cotton will remain cooler and accomplish the goal of keeping airborne germs from entering your nose and mouth.
Don’t forget to save a few buttons. If you are a knitter or sewer, we are forever needing buttons and they are becoming hard to find!
Up to sewing your own mask? Here is a quick face mask tutorial. Click here for instructions. Share your projects with me on my Facebook post.
Stay well my friends and happy homesteading, Scarlett