Anyone who’s ever sewn a pillow or hemmed a pair of curtains knows that sewing produces a lot of extra fabric. Rather than throwing away those perfectly good leftovers, you can use any of these simple patterns to reuse those leftovers to create something new and useful!
1. DIY Scrunchie
This scrunchie is super easy to make by hand or with a sewing machine, all you need is a strip of fabric and some sort of elastic.
How:
1-Cut the fabric 3 ½ inches wide and 20-22 inches long, fold the fabric over the long side and pin in the center while the fabric is inside out
2-Sew a straight stitch along the edge of the fabric and remove the pins and pull the right side out to make a fabric tube.
3- Take a rubber band/elastic 8-9 inches long and pin one end of the elastic with a safety pin.
4-Thread the elastic in the fabric tube, untie the elastic and tie the ends to make a hair tie loop.
5- Pull the ends of the fabric together to create the full loop and sew a straight edge to complete the scrunchie.
2. DIY heating pad
Heating pads can be a great tool for cramps and injuries, but can also be a bit pricey. However, you can easily make one with spare fabric and a sewing machine.
How:
1-Measure your fabric to be as long as you want the heating pad to be and mark it on two pieces of fabric, when you have two rectangles of fabric the same size, cut them out, pin the two pieces of fabric together (stacked on top of each other).
2- Pin them together only on three sides, when you get to the fourth side, leave two inches of unpinned space.
3- With the sewing machine, sew along the edges by the pins on all sides except where you did not pin, you should now have a pillow type formation.
4- Take enough beans or rice to cover all the pieces of fabric when laid flat, and pour them into the heating pad through the small opening you left
5-Then sew on the open edge to complete the heating pad.
3. Small drawstring bag
Drawstring bags are great for gift giving, jewelry storage and more. All you need is some fabric and some ribbon!
How:
1-Cut a rectangle of fabric approximately 4 x 12 inches.
2- Take your cord (lace, ribbon, string, etc.) and place it along the top of the long side of the fabric and pin the fabric to the string to create a loop around the cord, mark with a pen or marker how far down you need to fold the fabric over the drawstring, sew a straight stitch along the marking (while the fabric is folded over) leaving about a centimeter of space at the end of the fabric.
3- Next, fold the fabric in half and sew a straight stitch (while the fabric is inside out) on the fabric, stopping when you get to the cord mark.
4- Then sew a straight stitch along the bottom edge of the fabric without leaving an opening.
5- loop the drawstring through the fold and tie the drawstring at the very end to complete the drawstring bag.
4. Hair ribbon/scarf to tie
This hair ribbon looks great with a ponytail, braid or hair band, and it’s super easy to make too!
How:
1-To make the hair ribbon, take a very long strip of fabric (long enough to tie around your head), and cut the strip of fabric.
2- fold the fabric in half lengthwise and sew along the long edge, then sew along the short edges to finish.
5. Face mask
Buying face masks can get expensive, so why not make one at home?
How:
1-To make the face mask, cut two fabric rectangles approximately 10″ x 6″ from cotton (t-shirt, scrap fabric), stack the two pieces of fabric on top of each other and fold a very small hem on each edge of fabric and pin.
2- Sew along the edge of the fold creating a tube of fabric along the 6″ side of the fabric.
3-Sew a straight stitch along the 10″ side being careful not to sew over the fabric tube
4- Take a 6″ piece of elastic (elastic, headband, shoelace) and pass it through the fabric tube, sew along the bottom edge of the fabric sewing over the elastic to make sure it stays in place to complete the face mask.
6. Cord reel
Storing your phone cord can get messy and tangled very quickly, but using a cord wrap to keep it in place comes in handy.
How:
1- Cut two pieces of fabric 4″ by 2″, place the pieces of fabric on top of each other and fold each edge to create a 1 centimeter hem and pin in place along all four sides of the fabric.
2- Sew along the pins without leaving any openings.
3- Cut two pieces of ½” x 1″ Velcro, sew 1 piece of Velcro to each opposite side of the fabric making sure they line up to complete the cord wrap.
7. DIY bookmark
Instead of curling the pages of your book, use this DIY bookmark to mark your pages instead!
How:
1-To make the bookmark, cut two 6″ x 2″ pieces of fabric, stack the pieces of fabric on top of each other upside down and pin a 1 centimeter hem along both long and d sides. a short side.
2- Sew a straight edge with the pins. Untie and turn the fabric right side out.
3- Sew along the last edge to complete the bookmark, to add a bit of flare, use a small stitch to add tape to one end of the bookmark.
8. Coffee sleeve
A coffee pouch is an easy and fun way to keep your coffee mug from burning your hands.
How:
1-To make a coffee sleeve, cut out two 6″ x 14″ pieces of fabric that you would like to be on the outside of the sleeve, and a thicker piece of fabric (6″ x 14″) to be the lining of the sleeve.
2- Take a headband and pinch it in the middle and sew a zig-zag stitch on the hair tie on the right side of one of the outer fabric pieces.
3- With the elastic down, layer the lining fabric over it then the last outer piece on top and fold each part over and pin.
4- Sew a straight stitch along the pins to create the hem and untie it.
5- Sew a button on the opposite side of the fabric where the elastic is to complete the coffee sleeve.
9. Embroidered Tee Pocket
Adding a pocket to a basic tee can turn even the most boring garment into a fun new item you’ll want to wear all the time!
How:
1- To make the embroidered pocket, take a basic t-shirt to which you want to add a pocket and select a piece of fabric to make the pocket. Cut the fabric to 2 ½” in diameter and
3 – 3 ½” tall, if you want to add something fun to the pocket, take some embroidery floss and hand sew a fun design (flower, quote, etc.) into the fabric.
2-Then pin the fabric on the t-shirt.
3-stitch the edge of the fabric on the t-shirt and untie it to finish.
10. Fun Hooded Strings
Spruce up a plain hoodie by adding these fun and colorful hoodie drawstrings!
How:
1- For the fun hoodie drawstrings to measure a long piece of fabric 2.5cm wide and 127cm long, fold the fabric lengthwise and pin.
2-Sew a straight stitch along the edge to make a tube of fabric.
3-For the ends of the tube, tie a knot in each end of the tube, then thread it through the hood of your sweatshirt and enjoy your new fun hooded strings!
