Spring is here, and of course I’m craving new clothes. But instead of going on a shopping spree, I’ve decided to take a different approach this season. I’m going to try and avoid buying new, and instead try upcycling clothes I already own.

After all, I’m stuck at home with a lot of free time. It’s the perfect chance to give upcycling a try.

To motivate myself (and you), I’ve complied a bunch of methods for upcycling clothes, all organized by sewing difficulty. There are no sew, hand sewing, and more advanced sewing projects, so you will find a project no matter your ability.

{RELATED POST: What to Do with Old Shoes: The Best Shoe Upcycling Projects to Try}

I am not the best at sewing by far (my sewing machine and I have a love-hate relationship), so I will definitely be sticking to projects in the first two categories.

If you’re looking for something to do while you binge watch, or you just want to refresh your wardrobe, look no further than these ideas for upcycling clothes.

Table of Contents

How to Tie Dye 6 New Ways

There are so many ways to dye clothing and fabric. I’m pretty sure I could list ten off the top of my head and it still wouldn’t be all of them. The most popular ones nowadays are tie-dye, bleach dying, and direct dying.

Tie-dying had seen a resurgence recently (thanks to TikTok), especially because it’s so affordable and easy to do. So if you have something white, or light colored I’d give it a go. You can get an affordable tie-dye kit on Amazon, just make sure you’re careful when it comes to the shipping.

Another option, as mentioned above, is to do a reverse tie-dye with bleach (also called bleach dying) — just dilute some bleach and use that on a colorful item. (See a tutorial on this here!)

Add a design with paint or fabric markers

I personally believe that fabric markers are a god-send. (Just be sure to heat set them before washing your clothes. I learned that tip the hard way.) There are so many ways to use them to upcycle clothes!