In the world of fast fashion, our wardrobes are often teeming with clothes we wear once or twice, and then they never see the light of day again. Either we forget about them, or a new trend has arrived which we are lusting after – so last season’s clothes get relegated to the back of the wardrobe.

A lot of us recycle by donating our old clothing to charities which is great if you are definitely never going to wear the clothes again. However, why not update your old clothes instead of getting rid of them? Not only will you be recycling, you will be saving money which is always a welcome bonus. Here are some tips to help you create some new looks from your old t-shirts.

Slogan t-shirts

Slogan t-shirts are everywhere this season, and are really versatile pieces of clothing; dress them up or dress them down, they always look great. But as they are everywhere, everyone is wearing them – so stand out from the crowd and create your own.

Pick an old plain t-shirt or vest; ones that are baggier tend to be better for slogans as there is a bigger surface area to write your message on. Think of a slogan to put on your t-shirt, take it to a t-shirt printing company and you can usually work with them to pick the font and size of the message.

Alternatively you could use fabric paints and pens to draw on your own message – a great option if you’ve got a creative streak! You’ll achieve a unique look and style without spending a fortune and you’ll be recycling a t-shirt you thought you’d never wear again.

Motif t-shirts

If you prefer something a bit prettier than a slogan t-shirt, and you’re quite artistic, you could create and draw your own design straight on to your old t-shirt – without even having to buy any specialist tools.

All you need is an old t-shirt, chalk, household bleach, a paintbrush, newspaper and a bit of imagination. Dark colored t-shirts usually work better for this, but you can always experiment and see what works for you.

Get your t-shirt and place some newspaper inside to prevent the bleach from going straight through the garment. Using the chalk, draw a design on your shirt. Simple shapes work best and you can always practice first on paper. Once happy with your design, place some bleach in a mug and dip your paintbrush in. Trace over the chalk with the bleach and once you’re happy with the color of the design, pop the t-shirt into the washing machine. The bleach will have soaked in to the t-shirt, leaving behind your unique design.

You can experiment with different techniques and styles and create some really interesting t-shirt designs. They don’t even need to be plain shirts; you could always embellish or alter existing designs on t-shirts by using fabric pens to bring the trends up to date. The important thing is that by recycling these old clothes, you’re being environmentally friendly, saving money, and still managing to look stylish!