13 DIYs To Transform Old Clothes In The Garden

We may receive a commission on purchases made from links.

Skinny jeans, pale denim, and overly matching sets are out, according to the fashionistas of the world. Of course, you don't have to follow the trends, but if you want to slim down your wardrobe, whether it's due to clothes being out of fashion or simply wanting a more minimalist attire, you have to decide what to do with the clothes. Donation is always an option and can benefit causes that are dear to your heart (while also being a sustainable choice). Or, keep some of the clothes to repurpose around your garden — from plant ties to garden aprons, the options are beneficial to your plants and can make gardening easier.

We've already covered clever ways to upcycle old clothes into unique home decor, but these options are made for the outdoors. Denim offers a durable material for things like knee covers, garden aprons, and unique planters. Another useful material comes from your old T-shirts. The stretchiness is often an advantage for projects like plant hangers and plant ties. You can even make your own gardening gloves from that old, stained sweatshirt or craft creative planters from rain boots, jeans, or button-down shirts. These projects offer an affordable way to dress up your garden with unique touches made from your well-loved and well-worn clothing.

Repurpose your worn-out jeans into a gardening apron to protect your clothes and keep small gardening supplies handy while you work. You'll use the top portion of the jeans with the pockets intact for holding items. Cut the legs off the pants, and cut just below the waistband about 2 inches across and then down to the legs, essentially removing the front seam, to create a large rectangle. Hem the bottom edge, or use bias tape along it, and sew a loop of elastic on the waistband opposite the button for a simple closure. 

If you've ever thought of making a scarecrow for your garden, use old clothes for the outfit. Make a simple T-frame from wood, making the vertical post longer than the clothes for the head and under-ground stake portion. Dress it up with your clothes — the crossbar holds the shirt sleeves. Tie the pants to the crossbar with string. Stuffing options include old plastic tied inside a bag, straw, or old lawn clippings. Add your choice of accessories to finish it off. Even if your scarecrow doesn't work on wildlife long-term, it still adds a classic look to your garden.

Find an old shirt made from durable fabric, create a DIY kneeling pad for gardening. Use a basic foam kneeler you already have or a chunk of uplostery filler like GoTo foam, cut to size, as the cushioning. Sew a cover using your old clothing as the fabric to encase the foam. Close the end with a zipper or Velcro if you want the insert to be removable. You can also sew on sturdy loops made from an old belt or denim as handles. Or, DIY stylish garden knee pads by reusing another closet staple.

Another way to cushion your knees during gardening is by adding knee pads to a worn pair of pants. It's a great way to save pants with worn knees. Create the pads by cutting rectangles or ovals out of fabric and sewing stuffing or padding between the two pieces. Then, cut the same shape out of the jeans at the knees, and sew the pads in the opening. You can customize the thickness of the padding and the fabric you choose to cover the knee pads, but make sure it's durable.

There are many fun ways to repurpose old rain boots in the home or garden, including whimsical planters. For drainage, either drill holes in the soles of your old rain boots, or add short sections of pool noodles in the bottom with soil on top. Then, plant your favorite flowers or greenery in the boots. They look adorable on a patio, front porch, or steps.

Gloves are a must-have when weeding your garden, and you can DIY your own gardening gloves. You'll need a sweatshirt — the sweatshirt cuffs become the opening of the gloves. Flip the sweatshirt inside out, and place your hand on the sleeve with the cuff where it would sit as a glove. Then, trace your hand with chalk, leaving extra space around the fingers. To make the gloves identical, cut out the first one, leaving the cuff intact, and trace it on the second sleeve. Now, just sew around the cut edges, and flip the glove the right way.

Looking for clever ways to use old T-shirts around your home and garden? Turn them into colorful plant hangers. Cut eight long strips cut from a T-shirt, 1½ inches wide and the full vertical length of the shirt. Give them a stretch, and tie the ends in a knot. Now, you'll do a macrame-style tie, knotting every two strips about 5 inches down. Alternate and tie the strips on the other side to make a diamond shape. Repeat if needed for larger pots, then tie the other ends together. Small pots slip into the knotted area.

T-shirt plant ties are perfect for use with your garden trellis structures that upgrade your garden game. The fabric is soft, so it's gentle on the plant's stems, but it's still strong enough to hold the plants against the supports you use. Cut a small slit to start, and then rip the shirt into a narrow strip. Stretch the fabric a bit, and then tie it around both the stem of the plant and the support. It's a free option, and you can easily cut more if you hold onto the remaining shirt material.

Yet another use for those old T-shirts is a stretchy harvest bag for collecting your fresh produce and flowers. To start, cut the sleeves off close to the seam, and cut off the neckline, leaving the shoulders intact — they'll create the handles. You now have the rough shape of the bag. For a no-sew version, cut 5-inch slits from the bottom seam up, and tie the front and back pairs of fringe together, similar to making a fleece tie blanket. Or, sew along the bottom hem to enclose the bag. 

For this unique planter, you'll take a button-down shirt, dip it into a bucket of cement mix to lightly coat it all over, and hang it in the position you want until it dries. Sewing extra pockets onto the shirt before covering it in concrete creates more spaces for plants. Make sure you position them so they're open before drying. When the concrete is hard, paint the stiff shirt with a non-toxic paint. Then, fill the pockets and crevices with soil, and plant flowers or greenery in the spaces. This shirt planter looks cute hanging on a fence or garden wall.

Another clothing planter option uses denim — one of many clever ways to repurpose old jeans around the home. Zip tie the leg bottoms, and fill them with straw, plastic bags, or another filler. Tuck a round planter in the top of the pants. You might need to add extra stuffing around the pot to secure it. You can also glue the pot to the inside of the jeans. This planter works well if you sit it on a bale of hay, step, chair, or other objects. As the flowers grow, they hide the edge of the pants. 

Lining a liner seems redundant, but coir or coco liners tend to dry out faster than plastic planters. To cut down on watering frequency, wet an old T-shirt, and lay it inside the coco liner. Covering as much of the material as possible without letting the T-shirt show is ideal. Simply cover up the shirt with potting soil as you would normally, and plant your selected flowers or greenery in the planter. The T-shirt helps retain more moisture for the plants, and it helps block some of the wind that would dry out the soil faster.

Don't toss your old shirts and sweatshirts: Repurpose them into unique custom pillows. If you have a covered patio, your old button-down shirts or T-shirts make a cute pillow cover option. Cut two squares of fabric slightly larger than the pillow insert. You can sew along three of the edges, or use iron-on fusible bonding tape to close up the seams without sewing. Slide the pillow in through the open side, and then sew or fuse that opening closed.