Making Clothing with Used Sheets

Reusing trash and recyclables is great for the environment, and frugal as well, but it can be difficult to know where to begin. In this series of articles, I will be examining the possibilities of reuse available for a number a different items, including crafts and other possibilities.

Castoff sheets, blankets and other linens are easy to come by very cheaply at rummage sales, thrift stores, and even in our own linen closets. Maybe these have become outdated, or maybe they just never fit correctly, were not comfortable to sleep on, or wore out in the middle. This does not mean they have to be discarded and added to landfill piles.

The amount of fabric available in a sheet is more than enough for most items of clothing in most sizes. They are usually made of quality cotton or cotton blends, and they can be bought for a fraction of the price of buying new fabric by the yard. These are some of my favorite uses for sheets and linens when sewing clothing.

-A pair of pillowcases can be opened and used to cut a pants pattern, using one case for each leg. A regular set will yield enough fabric for even a plus-sized pair of lounge pants.

-Used sheets make great fabric for sewing pajamas and night dresses, as they're usually broken in and very soft, lightweight, and smooth and comfy. One way to make a cute set of jammies is to make the bottoms out of a printed sheet, and then use a cut out of the pattern to appliqué a knit top to match.

-Adorable little girl sundresses can be made from single pillowcases quite easily. There are a lot of instructions online for this project. This site has my favorite explanation. http://www.refashion.com.au/pillowcasedress.html

-Linens make are sometimes ideal fabric for linings and interlinings. This can really cut down on the cost of a dress, when the lining can be made so inexpensively.

-If you have a sheet that seems so ugly or so badly worn that you couldn't bear to wear it, even around the house or to bed, you can use it for sewing a muslin. A muslin is a mock up sewn from fabric of the same weight out of the same pattern you plan to use for an piece of clothing. This allows any fitting issues to be addressed and taken care of before expensive fashion fabric is cut. A muslin, despite its name, can be sewn from any fabric, and in fact, it is best to use fabric that most closely matches the drape and weight of the desired fashion fabric.

-Character printed sheets are fun to use when looking for appliqué pieces for kids clothes, or "ironic" adult clothing.

-Tablecloths and other table linens are often made from actual linen and other fabrics, like damask that can be very expensive. Sometimes these are discarded because of food stains, but when cutting out the pattern for a jacket or skirt on a tablecloth there is likely plenty of room to avoid anything like that, and still make use of beautiful quality fabric.

Sewing clothing with sheets and other household linens is creative and fun, not to mention affordable and good for the environment!