Seasonal Sunday: Upcycle Fabric Scraps and Old Clothes

Many of us have fabric scraps from quilting or sewing, and everyone has old clothes that have holes or are stained that are unable to be repaired.  Maybe you came across these such items while kicking off your spring organization.  I had a heap of holy socks on my dryer that I wasn't sure what to do with.  I also had two pairs of yoga style pants that were torn and had holes.  

I remembered that a few years ago my husband bought a bean bag chair for the boy and over time it had become limp, as bean bags and the like tend to do.  I had finished a couple of quilts and had odd scraps and batting left over.  I opened up the bean bag chair and stuffed it full of the scraps and batting.  The bean bag chair was actually better than when it was new.  I'm happy to report that the bean bag chair is still plump and glorious today.   

Remembering this gave me an idea for the yoga pants and socks.  I cut them down to smaller pieces and decided I would solve two problems at once.  I have four limp throw pillows on our upstairs couch that I've been thinking about replacing but I haven't, because in the past when I've replaced them, the old ones went in the trash and the new ones eventually became flat, and the process slowly repeats.  The pillows I have now still have nice material, they are just, well, flat.  

Here's how to upcycle fabric scraps and old socks and clothes into plump, glorious pillows.  Side note: The socks and yoga pants were washed and dried first.  I had a scary dinosaur (with very sharp teeth) help me with this project and it was a success!  

Supplies:

Cut up fabric scraps and old holy socks and/or clothing.

Scissors, thread, needle, seam ripper.

Use the seam ripper to open the pillow along the original seam.

Fill the pillow between the existing stuffing.  Stuffing it outside of the existing stuffing will result in a lumpy, unsightly pillow.

Enlist help from your scary dinosaur.

Notice how the scraps are between the existing stuffing.  Carefully sew up the seam that you opened with thread in a color close to the pillow material.

A plump, glorious pillow!

A weird thing to do?  Maybe.  Or maybe it's friggin' genius.  You decide.