9 Craft Ideas for Old Sweaters

Do you have a pile of old sweaters that no longer fit but you just can’t bear to throw them out? How about upcycling them with these fun craft ideas?

Here are ten craft ideas to reuse old sweaters.

1. Sweater Pillow Craft Idea

One thing you can do is make a sweater pillow. Pillows are pretty easy to make – just grab a pillow form and turn the sweater into a cover for it. Here’s one DIY tutorial from The Budget Fashionista.

2. Sweater Pet Bed

Another fun project to make from old sweaters is a patchwork quilt pet bed made from an assortment of colorful old sweaters. Here’s a great tutorial found at Apartment Therapy that gives you step by step instructions for making this cute bed.

3. Leggings

Got kids? Then you can make several kids clothing items out of old adult size sweaters.

How about a pair of leggings? There’s a great tutorial right here on Crafting a Green World that will teach you how to turn a sweater into a pair of child size leggings.

4. Sweater Skirt for Kids

Another sweater tutorial here on CAGW shows you how to transform a sweater into a child size skirt.

5. Stuffies

Old sweaters also make wonderful stuffed animals. Crafter Caitlin Wicker makes stuffed toys out of old sweaters and sells them on Etsy- and the stuffies are super cute.

Martha Stewart has a few great templates and tutorials for making sweater stuffed animal chickens, lambs and pigs. I really love the pig.

6. Sweater Dress

No kids or just want to make something for yourself?

How about turning a couple of man size sweaters into a woman’s dress? Check out the video tutorial here on CAGW.

I also found a tutorial for transforming a sweater into a child size dress at Make It Love It.

7. Dog Sweater

Got pets? In addition to the cute pet bed you could make a couple of pet sweaters out of your old sweaters. Here’s a great tutorial on Craft Stylish.

8. Mittens

You can craft new mittens from old sweaters – make a whole bunch of them and give them out as holiday gifts this year. Get started now and you’ll have a stack ready by December.

Here’s a how to from Martha Stewart.

One Pearl Button offers a tutorial for making both mittens and a matching hat from a sweater.

9. Slippers

Slippers are another cozy option for old sweaters. Sweaters can easily be transformed into a pair of slippers to keep cold tootsies warm all winter long. There’s a post here at CAGW with links to great slipper how tos and here’s a slipper sock pattern and tutorial at Instructables.

10. Sweater Phone Cozy

Speaking of cozy…you can craft old sweaters into several types of cozies. Make cell phone cozies, coffee cup cozies, even old fashioned tea pot cozies.

What do you make from old sweaters? We always love to hear about new and craft ideas!