As a busy mother of 3 kids, there are times when I look around our family home and am shocked by the amount of stuff we have. Piles and piles of books, clothes splayed out on the kids’ bedroom floors, overflowing, disorganised cupboards… urgh.
That’s when I get all ranty and demand we start clearing out and organising some of our possessions.
But when I say “clearing out” I don’t mean throwing out. To our family, it means finding new life or new homes for our unwanted things.
As someone who loves sewing, I tend to squirrel away bits and pieces of unwanted textiles during our “clearing out” phases that I can upcycle sometime, somehow. (That’s one of the advantages of being able to sew, right?)
So, while “clearing out” recently I discovered that my collection of rescued old ratty towels was larger than I remembered it being 🙈. I decided I needed to find myself some DIY projects to make a couple of useful things out of them.
Which lead to me scouring the internet for ideas for myself. And then of course I had to share some of my favourite finds with you here!
And since I am all about simple sewing projects that are low-stress and no fuss, I’m know you’ll find something perfect for you and your old towels, no matter how advanced (or not) your sewing skills are!
Take a look for yourself and give your old towels a new lease on life with these fun upcycling sewing projects!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, meaning that I get a small commission if you decide to make a purchase through my links, at no extra cost to you.
Don’t throw away your old towels! Reasons why you should recycle them!
Instead of throwing old towels into your regular rubbish bin, what are you supposed to do with them instead? And why?
There are many reasons why you shouldn’t throw away old towels!
Save money: Being a crafty type is a great way to be able to create things you need and love in your home with recycled towels (and textiles generally) that others have to pay top-dollar for.
Environmental Impact: Towels are typically made from cotton, which is a resource-intensive crop. By chucking your old towels, you contribute to the demand for new cotton production, which requires significant water, energy, and other resources. Reusing towels (yes, even the thinning, ratty ones 😉) minimizes the need for new materials and reduces the environmental impact associated with their production.
Reduce waste in landfill: When old towels (and any textiles) end up in landfills, they take up valuable space and add to the growing problem of how to deal with waste. Towels, being pretty bulky and slow to decompose, can occupy landfill space for a really long time. Repurposing or recycling them helps reduce the amount of discarded textiles lying around in landfills.
Sustainable living: Finding a new life for old towels is a simple way to start sustainable living. It’s a practical way to extend the lifespan of materials and reduce your family’s overall consumption, contributing to a more environmentally conscious lifestyle.
Psst! Start here for more sustainable living and plastic-free ideas or upcycling old jeans sewing projects or even turn an old towel into a hair turban wrap. 😉
5 fun DIY projects to sew using old towels
Of course, you could try making any of these projects with brand new fluffy towels, but since a little eco-friendly is what I’m aiming for here, used towels will work perfectly well for these sewing projects too 💪.
And what’s really cool, is that you can wash all of these things exactly the same way as you did in their former lives as towels! No fussy washing machine settings required. 😅
30-minute drawstring bag to sew
A way to upcycle not only old towels but also recovered shoelaces and uses ONLY straight lines of stitching? I’m in! Uncomplicated, fast, and mega practical, this easy drawstring bag will get plenty of use, whether for shoes, camping supplies, baby diapers on a day out or gym gear.
Discover the tutorial at Everything’s Famtastic.
Vintage towel bib
If you have a little one who loves dribbling their meals all over themselves, then a bib is what you need! Well, more than one, but you know what I mean 😉. This sewing pattern is a super cute way to use up brightly-coloured or patterned towels and make sure your bib stash is well-stocked for the next meal explosion!
See how easy sewing a bib can be at Bloesem Design.
Turn a towel to a beach bag
While it looks like a brand new towel was used in this sewing tutorial, there’s no reason why a pre-loved beach towel wouldn’t work perfectly well too. Get ready to look chic at the beach or pool with this practical carry-all shoulder bag.
See how to make one too at A Shade of Teal.
Old towel, new washcloths
Remember what I was saying about saving money? This one’s a big one! New washcloths can cost a small fortune, so why not pretty up an old towel and create a pile of like-new facecloths yourself? Get some cute binding to add a colour pop to your bathroom (perhaps you’ve got some left over from sewing those bibs 😅) and update your washcloths stash instead of simply dumping your old towels.
Grab the details at Michele Made Me.
Easy DIY unpaper towels
These UN-paper towels are really cute and bright and a great way to have an absorbent cloth nearby for any spills. Quick to make, easy to store a bunch of them and easy to wash, they’ll be put to good use in your family household!
(This is the trickiest tutorial of the bunch here, but it’s actually still simple to sew along with. Just be sure to pay attention to the Velcro *ahem* hook and loop fastener pieces, that you have one half of the fastener attached to the back side of the unpaper towel, and the other half of the fastener attached to the front side at the opposite end 😉.)
Take a look at the sewing instructions at A Blossoming Life.
No-sew DIY ideas to repurpose old towels
If you’ve got old towels that aren’t in a fit state anymore to create something new, there’s still ways you can reuse them without resorting to the trash can!
👉 Use them as blankets for your favourite furry friend to snuggle into or as towels to dry them off after a bath or muddy adventure.
👉 Donate them to your local animal shelter where there are plenty of animals who will enjoy the comfort of a dry, fluffy towel.
👉 Cut them into squares or rectangles any size of your choosing and use them for rags to clean around your house, your car or ??? 🤔
So, don’t let those old towels gather dust in the back of your cupboards. Dive into these creative and sustainable DIY sewing projects, and watch as your worn-out towels quickly and easily transform into functional and fabulous handmade helpers. Your home, your wallet, your overflowing linen closet and the planet will thank you! 😘
What are you planning to do with your old towels?
