Waste Not, Want Not - what have you reused/recycled today?

p00

Evil_Olive wrote: »

Groan - thanks tru - that's my evening gone now - have you seen the length of those threads - I won't be able to not read them now though

I was hoping to find something more geared to sewing, particularly clothing though - must be a lot of old stylers that do dressmaking or upcycle old/charity shop clothes, surely?

it would be fun to see how other people have altered things beyond all recognition, customised them, made them fit or brought them up to date

I'm thinking along the lines of people posting before and after pics of their projects with a bit of blurb about what they did to it to achieve the end result.
Tips & tricks for minimum effort size/style alterations, stories of really nasty things you've managed to turn into wearable things, how you've managed to incorporate bits of your scrap or haberdashery stash you thought you'd never use.
Pics of things you don't know what to do with so that other posters can suggest ideas,
that kind of thing.

Will keep looking (once I've finished reading those two threads)

A bit like the shabby chic thread but for clothes? Someone needs to start one off.

Xxp00

[Deleted User]

I would like someone to do something simple and easy that I could have a go at I knit daily so that's not a problem I have never got the hang of a sewing machine, so don't own one, but any ideas about what to make with a needle and thread I would welcome The only thing in the past year that I've done was to unpick the frill from a fitted sheet that was so thin you could shoot peas through it and recycled the frill into lots of seperate cleaning clothes that can be binned when past their best.The middle square (well the bits that weren't too worn I cut up and lined my DD's toy box with.I bought some quilted material and cut it to fit and DD and I with the help of a staple gun fixed it around the inside so the toy box is now lined with lavender checked material and I use it for all my knitting wools so I can keep it all in one place The box itself was given to my DDs over 45 years ago by an old chap we knew who had made it pre war in 1932 as his 'apprentiship' piece when he finished at 21.
So its still going stong as my wool storage box 82 years later. My youngest DD has said when I shuffle off this mortal coil she wants it to keep as its full of memories of her childhood as she used to sit in it and play house back in the early 1970s. Hopefully it will be passed onto her grandchildren eventually (complete with my checked lining)
I do like to renovate and renew old clapped out furniture and bookcases.I found an old ladderbacked pine chair for 50p at a booksale a couple of years ago The seat was in good condition so it didn't need renewing, but the woodwork was a bit battered about I sanded it down (took ages ) then one base coat,two undercoats and two top coats of white and its a smashing chair that I use almost daily.(the paint was in the cupboard anyway left over from decorating )

rosie51

katkin wrote: »

I've lost a bit of weight due to being a bit more frugal with my portion sizes. It's good news, I could be doing with losing a good few pounds. However, my clothes are getting loose - including my knickers lol!!! Instead of buying new things I've had my sewing machine out, taking in and altering things. It's been a big success, I'm well chuffed.

I have been recycling my clothes for years, recently turned a jumper into a cardigan. Cut down the middle and a nice trim I had in my stash sewn on. Looks great.

Evil_Olive

p00 wrote: »

A bit like the shabby chic thread but for clothes? Someone needs to start one off.

Xxp00

Yes! - exactly like the Shabby Chic Thread p00 - cheers
OK, I done it
Lets see if people like it/find it useful.
I'll have to remember to take before and after pics of what I'm doing for it in future.

If anybody's interested, it's here...
https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5104075

VintageLady

Really pleased with myself on this front today. I have a nasty habit of buying a whole pointed cabbage when I have a hankering for Japanese miso ramen. I use about a quarter and then the rest always seems to get left until I have to throw it away as I can never think what to do with it. To use it up I made this little impromptu recipe.

1/2 onion sliced and lightly fried in some olive oil
2 celery sticks chopped and added to onions
left over cabbage chopped and added to the pan too. Poked it around a bit and then added a drop of water from the kettle to stop sticking. The cabbage cooked surprisingly quickly and I kept moving it to stop any sticking/burning.
When pretty much all the water had gone I added lots of pepper and a 1/2 tsp of wholegrain mustard and stirred through.
Then added big dollop of crème fraiche which also needed using and stirred through with a little milk too loosen.

I have put into a dish and will heat through tomorrow and then top with breadcrumbs with a little grated cheese mixed in and pop under the grill.

I only used crème fraiche because OH had bought some at the weekend as was trying out a New Orleans recipe. It's not something we usually have in and I'm certain value soft cheese would be just the same. Also the mustard gives what I call "the illusion of cheese" so only need to use a little bit on the topping. If I ate meat I would serve this with gammon but as it happens I'll be having quorn sausages and baked beans with it. YUM!

sparrer

I don't have a sewing machine so stitch by hand which is time consuming but no more so than knitting, when you have to make the fabric before you can sew it together . I've recently turned a pair of curtains into 4 cushion covers and 2 sets of arm covers (antimacassars for them wot knows ), two plain cream chesterfields now have a new look and the arms are well protected.

I've just started making a pair of pillow cases from an old sheet and will embroider a pattern along the short edges, to match my bedding.

Needed a table runner for my Christmas table, I dug out a long blue and silver scarf which will look perfect on the silver grey crushed velvet cloth, and I can still use the scarf afterwards.