| Archive for Downsizer For an ethical approach to consumption |
| Bugs |
What to do with old t-shirts and old jumpers?The blighters seem to be breeding and it can be hard to find the few items of clothing I own which are suitable for public display.
So I really could do with moving on some of the torn, shrunken, paint and wine patterned denizens of my wardrobe and I'd like to make use of them as far as possible. Having done a search I've come up with the following possibilities, few of which really fit in with what I need, so anybody got any better ideas - links welcome* Old t-shirts - rags - quilts - underwear - cushions - knitted, prodded or plaited rugs - new clothing but that's beyond my skills for now Old jumpers (mainly shrunken, I have no problems with holey ones while I learn to darn) - Felted to make slippers (any good patterns/instructions?), - perhaps edged with zig zag stitch in to a blanket (again, instructions?) - more flipping cushions Clothes bank for both (none of it wearable enough for charity). Haven't got very far have I?! *unless they are in the format "http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22old+t-shirts%22" - I know Google is my friend but to keep the relationship healthy I very occasionally talk to other sites.. |
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| Barefoot Andrew |
I use old T-shirts for dusting. Trouble is, who can be bothered with too much dusting? So said old T-shirts are mounting up a bit 
A. |
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| Penny |
Wonder if there's a facility somewhere for recycling old t-shirts and making them into new ones. We could both collect and sell them 
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| Mrs Fiddlesticks |
do any animal charities take that sort of thing for bedding?
stuffing for cushions? use to use old t-shirts (and pants  ) for car windscreen cloths.
If pure cotton or wool they will of course rot down ok on the compost bin. Other household sewing - cotton t-shirts for the outer layers of a pair of oven gloves/t-cosy? pegloom? |
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| sean |
Lagging outside taps in cold weather? Though unless you've got loads of outside taps that'll only use one T-shirt really. | ||||||||
| Penny |
That was useful then
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| sean |
It's one used. What have you come up with? 
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| Marionb |
Anything in reasonable condition, I take to a charity shop. A bit too tatty for that either goes to the recycling place or I use them around the house eg. old t shirts, kids pyjamas, pants get used as cloths for things like cleaning windows, wiping the floor over, son and OH also use them outside whilst doing oily jobs on the car, polish the car, etc. | ||||||||
| 2steps |
I used some old t shirts to make a patchwork quilt once | ||||||||
| Bugs |
That's a thought - I know the kennels where our friend's dog sometimes stays have a notice up asking for old blankets and towels at least. Stuffing - I suppose you would have to pull it to pieces so it's not too lumpy. Might try a little composting - I wonder if dyes should be a concern? Oven gloves and tea cosies would imply I'm the kind of person organised enough to use them but definitely possibles
That would be sweet - kind of a your own WEEE regulations for textiles! |
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| Penny |
Ummm 
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| Bugs |
Any pictures? I'd thought they would be the wrong kind of texture (in my extensive experience ) until I did a little nosing today. Any tips..doesn't it tend to roll up/fray so would I need to edge the patches? Have sewing machine, ready to experiment
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| Barefoot Andrew |
Hopefully not the unwashed ones from under the boys' beds
A. |
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| Penny |
T-shirt material folds up really badly when cut. | ||||||||
| Helen_A |
If 100% cotton they make good nappies  There's a WAHM somewhere who specialises in reusing t-shirts as such, and there are http://www.fuzbaby.com/ who certainly used to recycle tshirt material as nappies, but don't seem to atm.
Helen_A |
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| Penny |
I must try and find out through industry contacts if there is such a thing as recycling. It would be fantastic to offer a discount voucher for every t-shirt recycled. | ||||||||
| Marionb |
Penny - cant believe youre not watching the footy...
Sorry... back on topic now...
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| Penny |
Can't bear it - I have it on-line and quickly take a peep now and then I'm such a wimp!
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| Marionb |
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| Nanny |
i use old t-shirts for the dogs when one of themis injured
put it on upside down and knotted up on their backs it keeps them from licking a wound greyhounds have a lot of them 
then they have one on and one in the wash so to speak.......... |
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| Treacodactyl |
We might have to wait a few months for both of those. Keep the ideas coming.
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| Nanny |
get yourself a greyhound and it will happen almost on a daily basis make sure you have enough t-shirts handy |
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| Treacodactyl |
We occasionally look after a lurcher and he often has the odd cut and graze. We'll try an old T-shirt on him next time. |
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| Nanny |
provided the injury is covered, it does work and is less stressful for them than one of those plastic buster collars.....and of course in a t-shirt they don't have an identity crisis and think they are a standard lamp |
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| Penny |
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| Helen_A |
There's also a book called 'Generation T' http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_ss_w_h_?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=generation+T
Which we've got lots of remakes from
Quite tween/teen friendly as well. Helen_A |
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| Penny |
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| Marionb |
Bet you wish you'd watched it from beginning to end now
Spotted your sig in another thread
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| lowri |
The Ffestiniog Railway Society in Portmadoc, North Wales used to advertise in their magazine for cotton rags for cleaning their steam engines, etc. They have to be cotton. Perhaps other societies, railway engines, traction engines, vintage cars, etc. might be interested too? Anybody know?? | ||||||||
| Sarah D |
Our local garage takes bags of cotton clothing from the jumble sales for rags for their workshops - try them, if you are getting over run.
Cotton and wool items make a very good layer under a mulch bed, and rot down quite quickly - zips and buttons removed as you come across them when planting, etc - dyes not a concern, as so little in there. You could put them on the compost heap, but they need to be torn/cut up first - with the mulch bed, they're just laid out flat and you can get on with it straight away. |
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| jamsam |
i must admit im having the same t shirt induced problems, but mainly the kids ones. they are always second hand when i buy them, then worn to death and then given to youngest, then worn to death again.
At that point the best ones go to the charity shop and the crappy ones get thier arms cut off and used as pj's or camping-hiking underwear type things. aftre that i have been known to sew then up and give them back as hats! I dont think there is anything other than compost after that much use!! |
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| Andrea |
How long do they take to break down Sarah? I'd wondered about using old vests etc as a weed suppressant under mulch instead of cardboard on the basis that it would last longer, but I'm worried that I'll end up with a garden full of bits of old cloth that'll cause havoc with the rotovator. Our place was unused for 20+ years before we came here, & I'm uncovering bits of clothing every time it rains. |
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| Ian33568 |
I know that Age Concern will take tatty or ragged items as they can sell them to the rag merchants....better in their pockets. Just point out the items for 'ragging' when you drop things off. |
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| Sarah D |
Usually gone after one growing season; I make mulch beds on a no-dig system, though, so bits coming up aren't a problem - would watch for the rotovator, though. Don't think I would do it that way if I rotovated, but would shred/cut and put them on the heap/s - will rot down over the winter, and when you use the compost/turn the heap, remove zips and buttons, etc then. |
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| sally_in_wales |
What about using layers sewn together to make hot water bottle covers or a chair pad for a garden seat for the summer? Put something pretty on the outside and the inner layers can be as disgraceful as you like. | ||||||||
| HippieGal |
Re: What to do with old t-shirts and old jumpers?
Here's an idea! You could cut them into loops, loop them together and then crochet them with a large needle into rugs. There are instructions here: http://www.marloscrochetcorner.com/bag%20cutting%20instructions.html On how to cut up a plastic bag for use with crochet. Seems to me you could cut up a T-shirt the same way. If you don't know how to crochet, the lady at the link below has some great video's on youtube where you can learn fast. http://www.youtube.com/user/tjw1963 |
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| Yarrow |
Of course, the famous Social Centre will be taking clothes and modding them into better wares- mostly clothes, but here are some other ideas (not read the thread, unfortunately):
Beanbags Drum/ Instrument bags Wallets/ Rucksacks Big scarf type things (you know... those things? Like bandanas!) Covering for a yurt (LOT of cloth) Shopping bags And if you end up with too much stuff, you can give it all away! Personally I like the idea of the Really Really Free Market. There's one in Bath once a month- details coming soon. |
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| HippieGal |
There is the Freecycle org. http://www.freecycle.org/ And also one for the UK http://uk.freecycle.org/ |
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| Bugs |
Thanks chaps, some good ideas there and it seems it's not just me that gets over run. Most likely thing we'll need is Sally's quilty cushion idea - I've a lovely huge round seated chair (convenient, for my huge round...) I wanted to make a thin cushion for to cover up years of hard use (the chair, not my..) and we will probably have some garden furniture at some point soon, I hope.
Forgot about hanging basket/tub liners for the wooly jumpers too - don't do hanging baskets, but they might help water retention in tubs? And presumably, rot down eventually. Probably a good point about the amount of dye in things - just have to have a good check and make sure they haven't got hidden Lycra, nylon etc (both of which I avoid as far as possible in new clothes but an awful lot crept in over the years!). |
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| SallyAB |
I haven't read through the whole post again, but just seen in the Sue Ryder shop today that they take 'bags of rags' and get money through recycling. As a last resort when all crafty and home re-use ideas are exhausted | ||||||||
| tiggy |
rag rugs. my gran made them. my mother would rather not admit they exist. i make them . my friend makes them for narrow boats. they are very warm ideal for downsizers. cats love sleeping on them. | ||||||||
| toggle |
stuff charity shops can't sell will either end up ebing sent overseas if ti's wearable, or recycled. http://www.anniesherburne.co.uk/largePages/yarns/recycledLarge.html like that..... |
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| missysx |
if your creative you can get some good ideas from craftster.org
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| gnome |
cant be done i'm afraid. you cant make fresh eggs and flour out of a stale cake. likewise you cannot recycle synthetic fibres because the long chain molecule istoo degraded. you can make T-shirts out of recycled palstic, but not the other way round. nylon clothing is pretty much the end of te line for polymers - try to recycle them and they become a mush. clothing made from natural fibres can be usd to make paper though. has anyone tried making paper from synthetics? |
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| tahir |
There's a firm (somewhere) that makes insulation from recycled jeans | ||||||||
| Sherbs |
I once had a pair of old jogging trousers which I patched as I wore holes in them with pieces of old t-shirts I bought from charity shops until they were almost entirely patches.
If the material is colourful and still has good pieces left in it you can always use it to patch the holes in other garments and create a whole new item. |
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| gnome |
T-shirts are ideal material for making stuffed toys. if you can shred the unused material, you can even use thatas the stufing. | ||||||||
| gnome |
heres an idea - stitch them together to make non-plastic carrier bags for shopping. | ||||||||
| gnome |
oh, apparently oxfam send unusabe clothes to textile reclamation factories to be recyced as wiping rags or flocking. | ||||||||
| dpack |
reuse rag rugs ? | ||||||||
| tiggy |
old clothes cut into stripsand neatly pushed through hessian make the rug,heritage places sometimes have demonstrations.When they get past even doormat or workshop doormat use I expect they would keep the compost heap warm. |