Turn An Old Sweater Into A Stylish Way To Upgrade Clear Planter Pots

Clear planter pots add such an interesting detail to your flora displays. They offer a look at the underpinnings of the plant, giving you glimpses of the roots and the thick, rich dirt — or water, if you're into using LECA to grow indoor plants without soil. That said, sometimes it's better to leave the base of the plant a little less uncovered. Plant roots stress out when they're exposed to too much light, and water-based flora that's housed in clear glass grows algae. If this is something you've run into, never fear. TikToker @easygrowing found a stylish workaround for this issue by cutting the sleeves off of some old sweaters and wrapping the remnants of them around glass planters.

Old sweaters and a pair of sturdy fabric scissors play the major roles in this DIY. Keep in mind you'll be upcycling sweaters into decor for this, so use only the clothing you don't mind cutting apart. If you have nothing suitable, you can find cheap sweaters at summertime garage sales for as little as $0.25 a piece. This repurposed sweater hack works because you can easily remove the sleeve from your planter to monitor your plants' soil, water, or roots. Therefore, choose sweaters with sleeves that are snug enough to stay put, but loose enough to slip off when needed.

To make the cover for your glass planter, push the sweater sleeve up onto the planter. Next, cut the piece off of the shirt. It should be long enough to fit around the pot from top to bottom, plus a little extra. You'll tuck the additional fabric under the glass planter. If you've found a sweater that sports looser sleeves, grab some scraps — like old ribbons or fabric remnants — from your crafter's table, and make drawstrings for your plant coat to keep it from falling down. Buttons at the top of the sleeve's edge, near the mouth of the pot, offer another clever way to tighten the grip of the planter dressing. For that, you'd cut a slit at the top of the sleeve. On one side, make a button hole, and on the other sew on a repurposed leftover button.

You're not limited to sweaters for this DIY. You can make use of just about any shirt with generous sleeves or made with a stretchy material, like velour, sweatshirt fabric, or even some types of flexible lace. Depending on the width and height of the container, additional items like winter stocking caps, long, wool socks, or even knit legwarmers also have the potential to keep your plant container all covered and snug.