Recycling or reusing old stuffs instead of trashing them is no longer news, but it, however, depends on how creative you are. When you feel those leggings are no longer stretchy and not fitting properly or has holes and just taking space in your wardrobe. The good news is that you don’t have to trash them but repurpose them for other things.
You can make a fashionable crop top with your old leggings instead of trashing it. While rocking your crop top, you can also use it to make a colourful necklace. It is also interesting to know that you don’t need to spend a dime; with your scissors and a tabletop, you can do it yourself.
Reusing your old stuff for other purposes saves you some money. There are lots of DIY ways you can transform your old leggings. Below are some innovative ideas on how to make creative reuse of your old leggings.
What To Do With Old Leggings
When you no longer feel comfortable in those leggings, and the only option that came to mind is to trash them, you can get inventive and convert them for other uses. As earlier mentioned, depending on how creative you are, there are so many ways you can reuse your old leggings again. Make those free moments you have worthwhile by doing something exciting with your old leggings, and you will be grateful you did
The most thrilling part of it all is that you don’t need to spend extra money. Instead, you will be saving yourself some coins spending to buy things you can make out of your old leggings. Find below some creative tips on how to repurpose your old leggings stylishly.
1.Make A Lovely Crop Top With Your Old Leggings
Are you looking at getting a crop top? Why not make one out of those old leggings you want to trash? Below are simple steps to create a crop top with your old leggings.
Step 1: Fold the two legs of leggings together
Step 2: Stretch out your leggings on the floor or a tabletop. Ensure the two legs are equally placed on themselves.
Step 3: Pull out the cross/crutch point until it’s well pointed.
Step 4: Use scissors to cut off the crutch point of the old leggings neatly. Depending on how wide you want the neck of your top to be, you can make it shallow or deep; the choice is yours.
Step 5: Unfold the leggings, and voila, your crop top is ready.
2. Admirable Lampshades
Do you have a lamp with just a plane shade, and you are bored of its plainness? You can make a stylish and admirable lampshade with your old leggings by simply
- Cutting the two separate “legs” and stretching the fabric lightly onto the lampshade.
- Glue the fabric to the lamp with gum at the first point.
- Ensure that the shade is well covered before cutting the fabric over from the other side, leaving a 2 cm margin.
- Finally, stick the margin of the fabric around the cap of the lamp with gum.
3.Make a Fancy Floor Mat
If you have more than one pair of old printed leggings, you can create a fanciful floor mat. Below are simple steps to making floor mats, foot mats or bathmat from your old leggings.
Step 1: start by stripping them all into extended slim sizes. You can make use of other soft fabrics with beautiful multi colours to make a sizeable floor mat.
Step 2: knot each end of the strips one to another to make braids in one long strand.
Step 3: Tightly coil the braids around themselves, ensure they are firmly in place.
Step 4: Glue the braids all along as you coil with silicon gum.
4.Make Colourful Hair Ties And Headbands
You don’t have to wait until you run out of hair ties, especially if you stay in a home with many ladies (mum and sisters). You can make a handful of hair ties from those leggings by neatly cutting strips of about 4cm in at the bottom of your leggings. Cut as many nice and soft hair ties until you finish at the top of each leg.
Another way to upcycle your old legging is to make lovely soft headbands with the fabric. The stretchy and bouncy feel of the leggings fabric will help keep your hair in place and hold it back easily. This is great for ladies who don’t like their hair falling on their faces, so instead of pushing it backwards with your hand, you can keep it in place with your headband.
It is worthy of note that no part of your old leggings is useless. After cutting off strips to make head ties, waistband elastics that are still useful and stretchy can be harvested. You can replace the elastics in other leggings, yoga pants or even skirts that are no longer stretchy and falling off.
5. Use as Leg Warmers
I quickly feel cold in my legs, especially during the cooler days and won’t want to expose my legs at all. If you feel the same way, then why not make leg warmers off those old leggings of yours instead of trashing them?
It is so straightforward; just cut off the two separate legs of your old leggings to make leg warmers.
6. Use as Hand Warmers
Cooler days can be very chilly; it will take you layering your clothes to keep the cold away. Fingerless hand warmers can be made from your old leggings by
- Laying the leggings flat out on the tabletop
- Cut off the feet from both legs
- Place your hand on the leggings and use a marker to mark out the desired length on both legs.
- Carefully and neatly cut across in a straight line where you marked out on both legs.
- Use scissors to cut an opening for the thumb carefully. Make sure it’s not too wide as it’s better to under-cut the hole as over cutting can render it useless.
- Put the gloves on for fit, cut the thumbhole a bit wider if necessary.
7. Make Soft Cleaning Cloths
The more your leggings become more worn out, the more the fabric turns into a super soft and absorbent material. Your old leggings fabrics can be cut into smaller pieces and be used for dusting or polishing furniture. You can also use it to wipe off liquid from your worktops as it is very absorbent.
8.Make A Bandeau
Do you know you can also make a bandeau from that old legging? You don’t have to shop for a bandeau as you can get innovative with your old legging and save yourself time and money. It is so simple and straightforward.
- Lay your legging flat out on the floor or table
- Cut out the waistband
- Measure and mark out the desired length of the bandeau just before the crutch point
- Use needle and thread to stitch out both sides to fit
- Cut off or fold in the side stitched, and your bandeau is ready to use.
9. Use To Store Vegetables
Your old pantyhose can also be helpful in the kitchen aside from cleaning worktops. Don’t allow your onion to start peeling layers all over your counter when not ready to use. You can keep them intact by putting them inside the pantyhose and knotting them in sections along the two legs. Hang them in an airy place in the kitchen to preserve onion before use.
10.Soap Holder
The more innovative you think, the more creative you may become. Use your old leggings as a soap holder to create soap on a rope. Soap on a rope allows you to use soap to the very last tiny bit; it keeps several little soaps together. It makes them easy for you to hold and bathe with instead of disposing of the small soap piece. Also, the fine netting of your legging helps wash and exfoliate your skin.
The above list is not exhaustive as what you can make from your old leggings is numerous. Old leggings may be repurposed as knitting yarn, gift wrap, long ruffled socks, vacuum screen, toy caterpillar, sweater bows, decorative door wreath and many more. As earlier mentioned, repurposing your leggings have to do with how creative you are.
Just look around the house for that need and get inventive with your old leggings instead of tossing them into the trash can.
Conclusion
How sweet it is to transform those leggings you love so much you don’t want to let go. With no sewing ability necessary and just a few DIY tips, you are good to rock your leggings in another stylish way. The condition of the leggings doesn’t matter as they turn out great in their new form, ready to be used again. Save yourself the extra cash by getting creative with your old leggings.