REDESIGNING,

REPAIRING AND
RECYCLING
CLOTHES
SHARON R. REYES
Discussant
How many of you can think of one or two
clothing items that you don’t wear? Why?
What should you do with these articles of
clothing?

2
REDESIGNING
CLOTHES
REDESIGNING CLOTHES
 Redesign: to change an existing garment
to make it suitable for more wear.
 Typically done by changing…
 Style
 Fit
 Color
 Trim

 Use your time and skills to expand your

wardrobe with little or no cost

4
 CHANGING THE STYLE
 Fashions change from year to year, so having the
ability to make small changes to update your
clothing can save you a lot of money!
 Raise/lower the hemline on pants
 An oversized jacket can be taken in to be fitted
 A belt can change the waist-line on a full dress
 Wide-legged pants can be straightened or narrowed
 Denim jeans can be turned into shorts

5
 Oversized jacket can be taken in
to be fitted

Wide-legged pants can be

straightened or narrowed

Denim jeans turned into shorts 6

 ADJUSTING THE FIT
 Clothing that doesn’t fit correctly can be
annoying to wear. By altering the fit, the
garment can be more comfortable for
your body type.
 May be done by a simple as moving a
hook or button
 Length adjustments
 Width adjustments

7
ADDING ACCESSORIES AND
TRIMS Jewellery
 Ties
 Scarf  Lace
 Belt

8
CHANGING THE COLOR
 Dyeing fabric (Liquid or
powder form)

9
REPAIRING
CLOTHES
• “A stitch in time saves nine.” 10

• Repair made early prevents a bigger job later.

RESTITCHING SEAMS AND
HEMS
 Can be done by hand or on machine.
 Simple and quick fix.
 Remember to reinforce stitches that
receive extra stress.

Worn out seams

Restitching
hems
11
REPLACING FASTENERS AND
MAKING EMERGENCY REPAIRS
 Reinforce or apply clear
nail polish to new
buttons. They may not
be sewn on well.

12
REPLACING FASTENERS AND
MAKING EMERGENCY REPAIRS
 Save buttons that come with
your clothes. You may be
thankful that you did if you
lose one.

13
REPLACING FASTENERS AND
MAKING EMERGENCY REPAIRS
 Keep an emergency
sewing/stain kit in your locker,
car or office desk just in case.

14
MENDING TEARS
 Mending is done with a thread and
needle to fix tears in clothing.
 Quick repair can prevent it from
becoming larger.

15
PATCHING HOLES AND
COVERING WORN AREAS
 Patching is done from either side or more commonly done from
underneath a hole. It is either sewn or fused (ironed) on.
 Oval patches are commonly used on men’s jackets to cover worn
elbow spots.
 Patches, pressed or stitched on pant legs can increase strength of
pants

16
 Patching holes
Covering worn areas

Oval patches

17
RECYCLING
CLOTHES
RECYCLING CLOTHES
 Recycle: to reclaim items for
another use.
 Often times we think of
recycling aluminum, glass, and
plastic.
 How can you recycle clothing?

19
PASSING IT ON
 One person’s trash is a another person’s
treasure.
 Sell unwanted clothing at a second-hand
store, garage sell, flea market, etc.
 Switch articles of clothing with a friend.
 Pass items that you have outgrown to a
younger sibling, cousin, or friend.
 Donate unwanted but useable clothing
items to people in need.
20
FINDING OTHER USES…
 If your clothing is too worn or too out of date,
give it a new purpose!
 Be creative!
 Make something new.
 Ex.
 Badly stained tablecloth turned into place mats
 Old t-shirts turned into “T-BAGS”
 Old pair of jeans turned into an apron.
 Extra ties turned into dress or skirt, etc.

21
Place mats
T-BAGS Dog’s Clothes

Decor Planting Pots

Apron
22
CHILDREN’S CLOTHES
 Can be “downsized” to
make children’s clothes.
 Children can like used
fabrics because they are
softer and more
comfortable

23
 PATCHWORK PROJECTS
 Sewing together small fabric
shapes to create a new,
decorative piece of fabric
 Patchwork quilts are made
today
 Wall hanging or t-shirts

24
HOUSEHOLD CLEANING
 Bag of cleaning cloths
 Larger pieces can cover floor
when painting or staining
 Cotton fabric for dusting
 Absorbent fabrics for cleaning

25
THANK YOU FOR LISTENING
REFERENCES:
 http://
mennenfacs.weebly.com/uploads/3/8/2/0/38208135/repair_redesign
_recycle.pdf
 http://wp.lps.org/tway/files/2013/08/chapter-16.pdf