Upcycling Clothes: The Ultimate Guide For Beginners

This clever upcycling method comes in really handy for kids' clothes. I don't know about your kids, but mine constantly wear through their clothes & small holes and rips seem to be a constant.

Visible mending is not only a practical way of fixing clothes up but also gives them a brand-new look. It's a super easy way to add some character and personality to your kid's clothes (and adults' clothes too if you have a small hole!)

I love how much material men's shirts have when you unpiece them, they can be turned into a whole range of things, including this cute fitted blouse!

Sometimes upcycling clothes involves just a little tweak to the original garment, and others, like this one, involve lots of work for a completely new piece of clothing - I love it!

This upcycled t-shirt dress uses a few different old coordinating t-shirts, and the result is just beautiful!

You could use this tutorial and any old t-shirts you have to make a unique dress for a special girl in your life!

What is it with women's clothes and the lack of pockets? Well, this tutorial is here to remedy that!

Add a pocket to any piece of clothing with this handy tutorial which shows you how to draft and sew the pocket onto a t-shirt.

Tracy Garcia's YouTube channel is jam-packed with upcycled clothes.

This particular tutorial shows you how to upcycle a regular thrifted top into a much prettier crop top.

This one is quite a quick and easy make, all you need to do is add a waistband - the length of the dress is left alone.

This is a great upcycle if you have a dress that is too large, or you simply don't wear it anymore.

I don't know about you, but it's so hard to find tops and dresses that fit just perfectly, especially around the bust area.

If you have a dress of top that you love, but the bust doesn't fit, this is a great way to take it in!

These kids' skirts are so cute, you'd never even guess they were a skirt before!

Using another pair of shorts as a guide, this tutorial shows you how to turn a skirt into shorts. I love this hack and you can quite easily use any garment you like to use as a template for your new piece of clothing.

Using a Cricut maker is a great way to upcycle old clothing. You can give any piece of clothing a makeover using your machine.

If you've never used a Circut maker before, this tutorial is for you. It's for total beginners and will talk you through exactly how to upcycle your clothes in this fun way.

Do you have a piece of clothing that you just don't love? If you love the print but just not the style, how about turning it into a scarf?

As long as you can cut and sew in a straight line, you'll be able to make this project.

T-shirt head wraps are perfect for a whole load of reasons, including people going through chemotherapy (because the material is so soft), and for curly haired girls (because the t-shirt fabric helps the hair to retain moisture!)

So if your old t-shirt is looking a bit worn, give it a new purpose and turn it into a comfy head wrap.

If you're looking for other things to do with t-shirts, check out my post on t-shirt yarn projects.

This hat is such a simple design that even beginners will be able to follow the free PDF pattern and whip up a new sun hat in no time.

The pattern is available in four sizes, from babies up to 10+, and it is reversible so you can upcycle a couple of pieces of clothing to make this hat!

School backpacks can get quite a battering over the course of a year, this upcycling tutorial is a great way to give a dated backpack a brand-new look.

Using old clothing or pieces of scrap fabric, this tutorial shows you how to add pieces to your rucksack to give it a completely fresh look!

This adorable little heart-shaped clutch is made from off-cuts after a dress altercation, however, you can use any piece of clothing you like.

It's the perfect size for carrying around small things like lipstick, a phone, or some loose change.

I made this apron in part of a challenge that I set myself to upcycle two men's shirts, using every last piece of fabric - there is a surprising amount of fabric in men's shirts!

It was actually one of the arms that made a perfect size for an apron for my then three-year-old. You could alter this pattern to make a slightly bigger apron for older children.

I made these bunnies using old scraps of clothing and fabric for my boys as Easter gifts, but they make sweet gifts for any time of the year!

They're really quick to make as last-minute gifts! There are loads of stuffed toy ideas you can make using old clothing, here is another owl tutorial that I loved making.

I just had to include one more soft plushie idea when I saw this one! It's it the cutest!

This is a really innovative project that you or your kids could use as inspiration to design your own project.

T-shirts are really popular pieces of clothing to upcycle. They come in such a wide variety of colors and sizes which makes them really versatile.

Who would have known you could make a pencil holder from an old t-shirt?! In this tutorial, I talk you through how to make yarn from old t-shirts and some beginner crochet stitches to make this simple project.

This has to be one of my all-time favorite things to do with old clothing - turn them into quilts! I've made so many quilts over the last few years and have documented lots of them over on my sister site Scrap Fabric Love.

This particular quilt was made from old jeans, and it's reversible. You can make picnic blankets or quilts from any upcycled clothing, but I really love the look and feel of denim quilts.

This fun and bright rug is made from upcycled t-shirts, by turning the t-shirt into yarn first and then crocheting rounds.

If you're looking for other upcycled rug ideas, I have loads you can look through here.

If you have a particularly special T-shirt that you'd like to preserve and keep, this is a great and quick way to turn it into a piece of art.

All you need is an embroidery hoop, some ribbon, and your old t-shirt and VOILA! Easy Peasy.

Why should upcycling clothes be limited to only clothes and not shoes?! When my leather boots came to the end of their life, I decided to turn them into a handbag.

There was enough fabric left from the boots to make at least one more bag, possibly two!