Upcycling is all the rage. Maybe you have been thinking about upcycling old clothing already, but don’t know how to sew? Fret not, all you need is the right glue and Loctite’s how-to guide!
In this era of fast, low-cost fashion, it’s common to find our closets and drawers bursting with clothes. It’s very tempting to just throw some of them away, only to buy even more. Needless to say, this cycle is not good for our environment.
According to Greenpeace, in 2015 the fashion industry consumed nearly 80 billion cubic meters of fresh water, emitted over a million tons of CO2 and produced 92 million tons of waste. Two years later, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimated that one garbage truck of textiles is wasted every second – that’s $500bn we waste every year on clothes that are barely worn and rarely recycled.
As this simply isn’t sustainable, it’s time to look at upcycling clothing as a genuine alternative. With a good fabric glue, a pair of scissors and some upcycling clothing ideas, you can turn your old clothes into functional and practical items, instead of sending them to a landfill. Best of all: you don’t even have to know how to sew!
Repairing instead of throwing away: Give your clothes a new lease on life with textile glue
As multi talented as DIYers are, sewing might be one of the skills few are familiar with. Fortunately, with the right fabric glue, you don’t need a needle and thread for any upcycling clothing projects. What’s most important is finding an adhesive both flexible and waterproof, so it can survive the rigor of regular use and washing.
Loctite Vinyl, Fabric & Plastic Flexible Adhesive offers both these qualities and provides long lasting results. It dries transparent to eliminate unsightly patches and will not yellow or go brittle with age or sunlight.
Customizing clothing transforms an old pair of jeans into a unique and stylish piece of fashion
If you have any old slogan t-shirts or beloved football/sports shirt you no longer wear but don’t want to get rid of, turning them into an artwork is a great way to preserve and display them for posterity.
- Cut. Use a sharp pair of scissors to cut the slogan (e.g. ‘I ❤ NY’) or the important part of the sports shirt on the front of the top.
- Frame. After you’ve cut the portion of the t-shirt you are keeping, measure and buy a picture frame that will be large enough to house it.
- Glue. Apply a good amount of spray adhesive to the backing card that comes with the frame, then stretch the portion of t-shirt over it so that there are no wrinkles, place a heavy object on top (such as a large hardback book) and leave to dry.
- Display. When the adhesive has dried, place the backing card back in the frame so that the slogan or sports top is clearly displayed through it, close the back of the frame and hang or place wherever you want.
Another item of old clothing we always have in the back of our closet is a pair of jeans. Instead of leaving them to gather dust, give them new life as a ruggedly attractive storage box.
- Measure. Measure each side of a small to medium-sized cardboard box, such as a shoe or sneaker box, then cut along the seam of the legs of your jeans to create two denim sections that will wrap around and cover them. You want these denim sections to be around an inch taller than the sides of the box, so that they will overlap the top of the box and can be glued down on the interior side to create a strong rim.
- Glue. Spray the sides and the interior top rim of the cardboard box with spray adhesive, wrap the denim sections around them and fold them down over the top rim, using bulldog clips or clothes pegs to hold the denim tightly in place. Leave to dry.
- Line. If you want to line the interior of the cardboard box, do this before wrapping the exterior with the denim. Measuring the dimension of the box’s interior walls and base, cut an old t-shirt or shirt to create sections that cover them, spray the interior with spray adhesive and glue the fabric in place, again using bulldog clips or clothes pegs to hold it in place, and leave to dry.