Need a (rubber) band, a head band, gift wrap or small tourniquet in a hurry? Use an old nylon stocking that has been cut in strips to securely tie, organize or wrap small things together. Simply cut old knee highs or panty hose in 1/2 to 1 inch strips and use them instead of rubber bands. Old colored hosiery cut into bands make a nice alternative to those unsightly rubber bands. Nylon bands can also be cut to use to tie a "small" boxed gift if ribbon isn't handy. Add a neat sticker or two and Wallah! You have a last-minute wrapped gift and saved yourself a trip to the store. You can think of dozens of other uses for the little nylon bands.
By Pat Af. from San Diego, CA
After reading the tips friends sent in for nylons, I was surprised that no one had mentioned our family's favorite uses.
Old used nylons are the BEST at helping my husband scrub off all the flakes of fiberglass and metal shavings that his skin gets when he works in the auto-body repair shop (his job). He uses the nylons wadded up as a washcloth, the fibers of the nylons capture all the little itchy pieces and his skin feels MUCH cleaner than when he uses a regular washcloth. He throws the nylons away after he is done.
Also - a leg of a pair of stockings, or a knee high stocking work great as an outside soap holder. Toss a partially used up bar of soap and hang it by the faucet and the kids can scrub all the mud off their hands in the yard before coming inside. Also works great in a camping shower in the same way. We used that all the time when I was a young-one in scouts.
I work with small kids doing all sorts of crafts and I decided it would be neat to make plant buddies out of nylons. Here it is: What you will need: 1 pair of old nylon pantyhose scissors drinking glass with a wide mouth rubber band measuring spoon 2 Tbs. grass seed (Rye works the best) 1 1/2 cups sawdust Big googly eyes Pink pipe cleaner for mouth
Directions: Cut off one leg of the pantyhose about 10 inches from the toe. Place the toe of the panty hose into the drinking glass, until it just touches the bottom of the glass. Stretch the cut end around the top of the glass, and secure with the rubber band. Pour the grass seeds into the toe of the stocking. Gently pour the sawdust on top of the grass seeds, trying not to mix the two. Slide the rubber band down the glass until it releases the stocking. Then, remove the stocking from the glass. Squeeze the nylon together just above the sawdust, tightening the seeds and sawdust into a ball in the end of the stocking, making sure that there are no gaps between the nylon and the sawdust and seeds. tie a tight knot at the end of the nylon. Cut the extra nylon off. Decorate your Grow Buddy with eyes, and a mouth. Place your Grow Buddy in a bowl of water, grass seeds up, Place the dish in a warm sunny place. Keep a little water in the bottom of the dish, so that it remains moist.
I keep a few pairs of them in the trunk of my car. They are far better than rope to secure the lid when hauling, and I lose nothing if I have to cut them to remove items.
If you sew, you can make a neat baby quilt. Find two coordinating pieces of fabric and put them together, wrong sides together. Next sew parallel seams about 2 inches apart. Now, put a safety pin in the end of the nylon and pull it through one tube and secure it on both ends. Keep on till all the tubes are filled. Then sew around all 4 sides and then bind it. Presto! A neat quilt, lightweight but warm and very washable and durable.
The Finches love them as feeders. Just pour in Finch seeds. USer Nyger/flax seeds, tie a knot to close it and hang in a tree or plant hook.
Wear Under Pants
Memere (Guest Post)
Where under long pants, nobody sees the runs then and you will have extended their useful lifetime.
Shoe Shining and Fan Belt
darrellg in Oklahoma (Guest Post)
Shoe Shining
If you have shoes or boots that have to be polished use them to shine shoes after brushing the shoes after applying polish. They work great!
Makeshift Fan Belt
Also keep an old pair of pantyhose in trunk of car they can be used for a fan belt if caught away from parts store, they won't last long but maybe long enough to get to a phone or a parts store.
If you were to happen to have one good leg still in your pair of pantyhose and have several pairs of them you can try this. Cut the leg off at the thigh on all the pantyhose legs with runs in them. Then you can wear the two of the remaining good legs. You can get some more good wear out of them before it's time to toss them out. Then go ahead and use the pantyhose legs that you cut off at the thigh for some of the uses that these other fine folks have mentioned. Pantyhose aren't cheap, might as well get as many wears out of them as possible.
Scarecrow Craft
I use old panty hose to make scarecrows or "people" for fall decorations. Stuff 2 pairs of panty hose with leaves up to the waist band. Attach the two pairs together by taping or sewing the waist together. you will have two legs and two arms to put clothes on. use your imagination for the head. Sometimes i will stick a 2x4 inside the waist so it will be more ridged.
Cutting Down on Window Draft
Stacey Liddle (Guest Post)
I fill them with old worn out clothing, towels, jeans, just about any type of material and put them in-between my window and storm/screen window, it helps keep the drafts down.
You can stuff cloth dolls or teddy bears with them. When they are washed they dry more quickly than with the poly batting.
Straining Paint
Jacquelyn (Guest Post)
My husband uses them to strain paint. They are great for getting any stray matter out of the paint that you have just used before storing for the next use.
People with fish tanks or live shrimp use them as pre-filters on their filter intake tube. This way baby fish and baby shrimp don't get sucked into the filter and ground up.
I have used them for years to tie up, outside plants. They are especially good to use on large scrubs due to their (the panty hose) strength.
Storing Onions
Sharon
They also will work for storing Vidalia onions for long term use. put an onion in the toe and tie a knot between each onion in the stocking. Hang the onions in a cool dry place. the onions will keep longer with the air flow in the nylon. works well here in the south.
For the Washer Hose
I put one on the end of my washer hose and fasten with another piece of nylon or elastic. You would not believe all the gunk it catches from the washer, which eventually clogs your drains. This idea came from a guy who cleans out the drains!
Cord Organizer
Also, if you have a lot of cables and cords you want to coil up and hold together neatly, use strips of nylons to tie them together. I use it for all my computer cords; black nylons on black cords. Then I use a little hook on the back of my desk to hang the nylon on and the cords are hidden between the desk and wall. It also keeps them off the floor.
Storing a Garden Hose
This also works well to keep your garden hosed neatly rolled up when you store them in the winter.
Storing Rugs
You can also tie them around rolled up area rugs when you store over the summer. Nylons are a good alternative to rope or twine.
RE: Uses for Nylons
Carol (Guest Post)
Put a bar of soap in it and hang outside for a soap on a rope...
RE: Uses for Nylons
Cam Walker (Guest Post)
Fill them with salt in sausage links(ie tie off every few inches) and lay across ice dams to melt them and direct water into gutter
Making Rugs
siris (Guest Post)
Nylons or pantyhose take dye and I have hooked a rug with strips of them. My grandmother made hooked rugs of stockings so I tried it. Turned out very well. Grandma used gunny sack as her backing. I bought the ready made stuff.
Somewhere down the road I heard, but have never done it, that one can use old nylon pantyhose for storing opened rolls of wrapping paper. Stick a roll in each leg and proceed to hang the garment w/paper inside in a storage closet, I would imagine directly over the rod. Sounds good huh?
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