Turn Sports Bra Into a Cute Top
I am not comfortable just wearing a sports bra as a top so I put a big hair bow on it to make it look different and then tie up the straps behind my neck like a halter. I like to wear it this way and it is cooler than a shirt.
Hand Wash Dry Clean Only Clothing
If you have items that you have been dry cleaning (say, a silk blouse), a way to rejuvenate them is to wash them by hand. That will freshen them up by removing cleaning fluid buildup and make the whites white.
Use Ladies Shirts as Girls Dresses
This is a photo of my 2 granddaughters wearing their new "dresses". They both wear size 4 clothes. Their dresses are actually ladies shirts, size small, that I got brand new off the clearance rack in WalMart for $1 each!
Use Old Swimsuit For Exercising
Last year I purchased a new woman's swim suit for myself. I didn't know what to do with the smaller one that I couldn't wear to the pool. I contemplated on whether to donate it to the Good Will or Salvation Army, but I came up with another solution.
Add Longer Sleeves To Summer Dresses
My Rabbi's pre-school daughter attends a non-religious school. For religious reasons, she must wear 3/4 or long sleeves and winter outfits are simply too warm to wear in the summer. To remedy the situation, I collect light weight long sleeved shirts from our local freecycle and re-use it.
Since I have the space, I keep my late fall and winter clothes on one side of the closet and the spring, summer, and early fall clothes on the other side. Without this space, I would store them in a plastic bin with cedar to deter bugs.
I've just changed the buttons on an old coat and it looks just like a new one. I buy buttons in thrift stores (where you can find horn, mother-of-pearl, or brass ones) or take them off other pieces of clothing. I also often dye clothes, particularly woolens, to revitalize them.
Buy Secondhand Shoes For Gardening
I love to garden and, more often than not, I ruin my shoes when I'm immersed in black dirt. I constantly go outside to garden. Sometimes I'll actually remember to slip on my plastic garden shoes...
Craft Project: Protective Button Covers
If you have lovely vintage solid glass or perhaps old rhinestone buttons you'd like to recycle and sew onto homemade or even purchased garments, but were afraid they'd break in the laundry, here's another solution rather than having to pin them on each time
Make Wire Hangers Into Scarf Hangers
Scarves are all the rage now and I wear them almost daily. I have always had a scarf collection, but with the fashion, I like to keep them handy. I hang them on wire clothes hangers that I have bent to form an "O" shape.
Girl's Fashion Show to Clean Out Closet
Here is a fun way to get your girls ages 7 and up to clean out their closest. Hold a "Fashion" show, where they model each of their summer/winter outfits.
Use an Electric Pants Press for Wrinkled Pants
Hubby found an electric pants presser for $20 at a thrift store. I am learning to use it to "press" his khaki work pants, which come out of the wash all wrinkled. The press is not supposed to DO that. I find I can more or less iron out pants with it while watching TV.
I saw that some time ago, someone requested a way to stretch shoes. Bunch up newspapers, wet it, and stuff it in your shoes. The key is to make sure there is enough newspaper in each.
Keeping Bra Straps From Slipping
How do I keep bra straps from sliding off my shoulders?
When I do my laundry I separate the clothes by color. I put the greens with greens, reds with reds or pink, purple and blacks with black, etc. This way the colors of the clothes circulate throughout the wash and thus preserving the colors in your clothes.
If you want your jeans pressed and starched: after washing them, put them on jeans stretchers, heavily spray them with spray starch. Let them dry, remove them from the stretchers, dip a rag in white vinegar and run it along the crease of the pants.
I enjoy the luxury of having a clean paper towel to wipe all and any messes, but I'm not okay with how fast I could go through a roll, the loss of forests, and the expense.I live in a household overrun with guys so we have t-shirts coming out of our ears.
Straightening Clothes Without a Iron
Don't have an iron? Use your curling iron to straighten your hems. After curling your hair, simply run the curling iron along the hems of your cotton or cotton-blend clothes.
Lengthen Jeans With Contrasting Fabric
Parents of small girls, don't throw away those jeans because they're a little short yet still fit everywhere else! I used spare fabric to make this top (just used one of her dresses for a pattern), and then sewed a cuff around the bottom of the pants to match.
Prepare Next Week's Clothes On Sunday Afternoon
Put your clothes together on Sunday afternoon for the whole week. I iron and hang everything together. I put outfit, jewelry and underwear on the hanger with socks/hose and shoes directly underneath.
Craft Project: Alter Sweater To Cardigan
For over a year, I've had a pretty knit top that a friend gave me. The fabric was so soft, it was one of my favorite colors, and it fit everywhere EXCEPT the neckline, which was so low and stretchy that I could never wear it and nothing looked good worn underneath it.
Craft Project: Protective Button Covers
If you have lovely vintage solid glass or perhaps old rhinestone buttons you'd like to recycle and sew onto homemade or even purchased garments, but were afraid they'd break in the laundry, here's another solution rather than having to pin them on each time
Saving Money On Winter Clothing
Christmas is over and we have several weeks more of cold wintry weather. Here are ideas for saving money on warm winter clothes as suggested by the ThriftyFun community Post your own tips here.
Tips for novices sewers about how to shorten long sleeves and pants. Also advice on beginning sewing machines. Post your ideas.
