Living an ecofriendly lifestyle it soon becomes very painful to send anything to landfill! A while back I wrote about ways you can repurpose old leggings, so I think it's time to expand on that and give you 20 creative ways you can repurpose active wear.
This list includes a number of options to repurpose items such as leggings, sports bras, t-shirts and an assortment of gym wear. It will of course depend on how worn out they are and what the item is.
Create a Patchwork Quilt: Cut your favourite old activewear into various shapes and sew them together for a unique patchwork quilt
Design a Workout Bag: Use larger, nicer pieces of fabric from your gym clothes to sew together bits to form a workout bag or duffel to carry your gear
Make Reusable Cloth Napkins/unpaper towels: Cut old clothing into squares or rectangles, hem around the edges if you need to
Craft a Yoga Mat Bag: Use old clothing and turn it into a custom yoga mat bag, you can include a drawstring top too
Sports Bra Headbands: Cut the band section of old sports bras for using as stretchy headbands
Padded Laptop Sleeve: Use the padded sections of old sports clothing (I'm talking bike shorts here as an example)and sew a protective sleeve for your laptop, phone or tablet
DIY Mini Gym Towel: Cut decent sized pieces of your old clothes to the size you prefer, sew a hem and you'll have yourself a nice moisture wicking towelette for your next pump class
Yoga Bolster Covers: Take your materials, the prettier the better, measure your bolsters first, then sew together for a nice easy washable cover
Drawstring Shorts: Repurpose old leggings or stretchy pants by simply cutting off the legs and making them into shorts (you may need to add a drawstring waistband too depending how much stretch the fabric has lost)
Make Dog Toys: Cut long strips of fabric, you can braid them together to create a cute little tug toy for your furry friend(s)
Make Drink Coasters: This is easier than you think! Cut small squares or circles from fabric, layer them ensuring the top layer is to your liking. sew them together and you have very unique, washable coasters
Use as Cushion Stuffing: Cut clothing items into strips (anything works for this) and use it to plump up existing cushions or even make a new one
Create Wrist Wallets: Cut a wide strip of fabric, fold it in half, and sew the sides to make a cute little wrist wallet that can hold cash, lipbalm and keys on your next walk
Cleaning Cloths: Cut squares or rectangles from clothing and use them for dusting and cleaning around the house
Leg Warmers: Cut the legs off old leggings or trackpants, these are great for leg warmers for workouts on colder days
Bike Seat Covers: Sew a fabric cover for your bicycle seat, adding comfort and protecting it from rain, dirt and wear and tear
Make some Hair Scrunchies: Cut narrow strips, get some elastic, and sew them into scrunchies for a trendy and eco-friendly hair accessory
Resistance Band Handles: you can make your resistance bands a little gentler on the hands by sewing strips of fabric for your handles
Craft Workout Sweat bands: Cut wide strips of fabric and sew them into wrist or head bands to absorb sweat during workouts
Design a Reusable Shopping Bag: Use old gym t-shirts to make reusable, washable shopping bags (here are some instructions on how to make a no sew bag)
How well each works of course really depends on the state of your old active wear (I tend to wear mine until they fall apart meaning only small projects are gonna work for me!). I think it goes without saying that some fabric types are more suited to certain DIYs than others.
I hope you have fun repurposing, and hey you might come up with a few more to add to the list!
Head here to learn how to repurpose old leggings