We all have some clothes lying around that either don’t fit or are simply out of fashion nowadays. Jeans, sweaters that our grandmothers have sown for us and other similar stuff can be creatively re purposed to fit our four-legged companions’ needs or, if you happen to own a fashionable dog or a contest-prize winner cat, their quirks. It has become very common nowadays to have clothes wearing pets, as they are getting closer to us. If you happen to have a sweater, some t-shirts and a pair of old jeans lying around and don’t really know what to do with them, but would love to re purpose, here a few tips.
• Turn the t-shirts into toys!
You’re going to want to use those old, time ridden t-shirts and jeans to make your adorable little pet some new toys, especially if you’ve just about had it with squeaky stuff all day long and can no longer hear your thoughts when trying to work. Let’s start by getting a few t-shirts for our best friend, the loyal dog. We’ll be using two t-shirts and a pair of scissors to make a braided chewing toy which you can throw away when you next take your dog for a walk in the park. The results are quite… fetching!
We’ll start by cutting 2-3” wide slits at the base of the t-shirts and then ripping along the slits to get some perfect strips, which we’ll use for our next step. Now, take your strips and tie them off at one of the ends, then braid them together, as you would with your hair, or if you’re a guy, just place them one over the other, twisting them about a third one over the other. Do these until you reach the other end then tie up the bottom. Now, use the scissors to cut off any loose strings and trim any braids that don’t look like they belong. That’s it! You got a new braided toy for your loving friend.
• Put those jeans to good use!
This is an easier alternative to the first toy we made. I personally found it easier to make as I’m really bad at braiding.
First, to make a toy from the denim jeans, we need to cut the lower part of the pair, and then cut one of its sides lengthwise. From here on out it’s all very simple: just fold them together, make a loop and then a knot and there you have it!
• Dress up time!
Winter is coming and we don’t want our beloved pets to get cold in any way, shape or form, so it’s time to re purpose that sweater grandma made us when we were little and that our parents made us wear and keep for all eternity. Got the sweater? Good. Let’s begin! We will need one sleeve that we’ll have to make sure our pets will fit in, so first I recommend doing a few measurements. When all measurements are good, we need to cut off the sleeve, but not the wrist cuff. This is very important because it’ll make a nice finished neck edge. Now, cut the end of the sleeve into a saddle shape, fold, cut the edge under and then stitch it with thread, so that the fabric doesn’t fray. Then, cut openings for the front legs, centered along the length of the sweater, fold the edges and stitch them into place. All done! Now fit your cute little cuddly buddy into it and go win a beauty contest!
Comments