Make Do And Mend: Three Ideas For Upcycling (VIDEO)

1. Turn a shirt into a dress, skirt or top.

You need to be a skinny minnie for this. You also need a man’s shirt in XL or above. But if you meet these criteria, there are so many possibilities… Some of these looks are more fiddly than others, but (hurrah!) none of them require needle or thread.

2. Turn a long-sleeved T-shirt into a cardigan

If you have a pretty, long-sleeved top that you never wear, turn it into a cardigan in five minutes flat.

3. Turn an old nightie into a puffed sleeve top.

Stitchless TV is a YouTube channel run by a jolly lady called Tree, who makes and upcycles all kinds of things. She transformed an old cotton nightie into two floaty summer tops; this is the second instalment, which shows how she turned the skirt part of the nightie into a 1960s-style puffed sleeve top. It requires more sewing skillz than the other two vids, but if you know how to thread your sewing machine, you’re halfway there.

This post was selected as an Editor’s Pick for the 343rd Festival of Frugality.

Image credit: State Library of Queensland, Australia.