11 January 2013

New Life for Old Shirts

This shirt is an old favorite, and clearly it has seen its fair share of use. The collar and cuffs are badly frayed, as are the tips of the collar, and the shirt has shrunk with repeated washing. As much as I don't mind, or even revel in, some proper wear and tear, I must admit that this garments time has come. Having seen the end of its usefulness, donation to the thrift shops is no longer an option. I suppose I could use it as a dust cloth or something. However...
By simply cutting a 16" square out of the back panel, with a little creative folding we have a quick-and-dirty pocket square. Recycling is cool.

13 comments:

Mike said...

Just did this with an ancient Brooks Brothers button-down. Hemmed the edges, now I have a super-soft cotton handkerchief.

Roger v.d. Velde said...

Lovely recycling. You can get a few more pocket handkerchiefs (of the snotrag variety rather than display) out of a shirt fronts and the opened-up sleeves.

WSTKS-FM Worldwide said...

Yep! I've got a couple of cool, worn-out pajama tops that I plan o doing the same thing with. I'll even get my seamstress to hem the edges. Yours looks great.

Best Regards,

Heinz-Ulrich von B.

JeffB said...

Ditto on this - also an old BB shirt. Worked great at a family wedding and set off my seersucker bowtie just right; no-one was the wiser!

Anonymous said...

Excellent idea. I've done this but I put contrasting edging around the edges. You might even be able to squeeze a bow-tie out of the remaining fabric...if not, maybe use another ragged shirt and make a double-sided bow-tie! That plaid would be perfect, Giuseppe!
I've thought about doing this with an old "Ralphie" shirt.

@Heinz-Ulrich Thanks for the idea...now I know what to do with my old and ragged pajama pants my wife keeps threatening to toss out in the garbage.

Anonymous said...

I thought you were going to put new collar and cuffs on the shirt...

Giuseppe said...

On a cheap Polo sport shirt?

2Stoics said...

Genius! This is a great idea!

RHW said...

I have this PRL red tartan shirt in my closet! Wore it to the Falcon's game yesterday and will love it until it is frayed and worn out.

Anonymous said...

That brown herringbone tweed jacket deserves a full photo.

Wil Monroe said...

I've been thrifting women's silk blouses for that same purpose

randall said...

"On a cheap Polo shirt?"

I've got to admit, that is where this was heading too.

Ville said...

This one is a great tip. There really is no excuse for wasting anything.