Maybe you’re thinking about upgrading your bed or you have old sheets that are ripped, worn, stained, etc. If the sheets are nice you might consider freecycling them. But if not, don’t despair, they can still be salvaged. I’ve found a number of ways to give new life to old sheets.

  • Curtains – sheets make great curtains, they’re light and airy and can be pretty and decorative. All you have to do is fold over one edge and make a pocket for the curtain rod, you could also get really fancy and make tabs for the curtain rods, but that really isn’t necessary. If your sheet has a decorative trim on the top you can hang it upside-down and use the decoration as a nice border. Sometimes your sheets are in pretty bad shape and probably would be an eyesore hanging up in your living room. In that case you can use the sheet as a liner, or you can cut it up for …
  • Material – sheets are great material to use in smaller projects like tablecloths and potholders. Because these items are so much smaller than the original sheets, you can (probably) just discard the ripped, torn, faded parts and have a lot of material left over. If you feel weird about eating off of your old sheets, you can always use the material for the insulating layer. And if you do that you don’t have to worry about removing the bad pieces. So now you’ve made some nice flowered kitchen curtains with matching potholders and tablecloths but you still have some material left over. Well you can always take those scraps and make …
  • Stuffing – take all the soft, ragged material you have left over and use it as filling for a pillow, a doll, or a pet bed.

I’ve made curtains from sheets and hope to make some potholders and tablecloths this summer. Here are some other ideas of what to do with an old sheet (if fact it’s worth checking out the whole page). Know of any others?