Do you have a closet full of used clothes? If so you are like millions of other people who have accumulated closets full of used clothing that they no longer wear and full of children's clothes with their children no longer living at home. If you love crafts, there are several ideas that you can do to use up some of your used clothes.

Idea 1

Collect some of your children's used clothing to create a memorable quilt. Choose old sports t-shirts, theater t-shirts, words t-shirts, volunteer t-shirts and any other item that is important to your kids. Choose approx 12-15 shirts to design your quilt. The main fabric of the quilt will be used in between each t-shirt and on the back for support. Cut around each t-shirt so that the primary design and imagery is centered on the quilt; use a variety of quilting techniques to piece the fabric and t-shirts. This is a great high school or college graduation gift.

Idea 2

Search through you used clothes to select pieces with unique pattern, textures and materials. Textures such as silk, wool and cashmere make great crafts materials. Set these materials aside to be used later in a variety of crafts and as materials for fabric samples, instead of having to go the fabric store each time you need something new to work with.

Idea 3

Take some of your favorite used clothing pieces to a local fashion student or designer. Ask them update the piece to be in fashion and let them use their creativity to design and recreate new clothing items for your old items. Also, be sure to bring a variety of clothes with you, such as: jeans, shirts, skirts and pants with an assortment of colors and types of fabric. This is a great option for fashion conscious teenagers as well as you end up with several unique designs by recycling old pieces. It will be a complete surprise as to what they design specifically for you. You can also have your old and worn clothing pieces re-created by taking them to a fashion designer or materials with fabric samples to match. There is an unlimited amount of options to use when recycling your current wardrobe.

If you are looking for ideas on how to use your used clothing, review craft books for ideas and visit your local fabric stores. There are countless ideas about how you can be crafty with your unwanted clothes. If you are creative, innovative and crafty, you can create some great projects from your own closet. And, if you are not crafty on your own, you will be able to work with a professional to help you create interesting arts, crafts and fashion projects using your used clothing items.

If you are not so into craft projects yourself, it can be fun for your children to do, or you can donate the clothes to a friend with an interest in crafts. If you don't know anyone, you can always sell your used clothing.