Recycle Those Ugly Beaded Sweaters

If you have an ugly jewel covered, bead covered sweater that you wouldn't be caught dead wearing--tear it up! Salvage all the crystals, beads and sequins for use in other projects. Sometimes I will seek out an ugly sparkle sweater just for all the great swag I can tear off of it! Tearing all the sparkly stuff off a garment is easy. I use a seam ripper for most of the job and keep some small scissors around for tougher spots. I usually lay a towel across my lap while I work so that all beads and stuff I rip off, fall on to the towel for easier collection when I'm finished. It does take a little patience to clear a sweater but it is easy mindless work that can be done while you watch television. I mainly use to my recovered beads and such for making jewelry and applying them to random crafts. I've included a photo of a necklace made with recycled beads...just to give you an idea. *The necklace is for a friend of mine who wanted a The Cure band necklace. Other stuff on my blog, here

Denim Bow from Children's Jeans

Because children's pants are smaller, this keeps the bow smaller. You could in reality, use any denim scraps you have left over, you would just need to re-establish the side seams.

Please visit my blog for further directions on this....and other creations. Thank you! Summer