101 creative things to do with old tights

[hart]

Last night, I noticed that one of my ballet friends had made a shirt, of sorts, out of her old tights. Now that the weather is getting colder, I have been thinking of lots of ways to make use of old tights, like as arm warmers or neck warmers when running. I am wondering what creative uses others have come up with for making use of old tights.

[Funny Face]

You mean, besides disguising ourselves when robbing banks?

 

You could make sachet bags out of them, and fill them with those cedar chips, or lavender, that people were talking about in discussing smelly ballet slippers.

[Amy Reusch]

If you stuff 2 pairs of them and attach them by strings to your wrists, you can make a pretty good spider Halloween costume.

 

Just trying to be helpful!

[Swiss_Chard]

My aunt used to make rugs for the kitchen out of old nylon tights, which would also work for ballet tights. She cut the tights width-wise so that they formed loops. We children would tie the loops together to form a ball of 'tights-yarn'. I believe she then crocheted them into rugs. Looked quite nice too.

[Amy Reusch]

Now that you mention nylons... my grandmother used to have all sorts fo uses for those... stretchy ties for packages.... tomato plant ties...(for which I hear also a good use for old videotape)...

 

And my memory is once again failing me... but I seem to remember people doing something strange with them regarding their hair... tying up a bun? hairband? can't quiet remember....

[diane]

The "shirts" - yes - have been around for ages. They are very practical for keeping the upper body warm while not hindering your partner for supported pirouettes.

 

I have also made a medusa-style witch-wig out of a whole mess of old black tights.

 

Cut off the legs just above the knee and they are shorts-of-sorts...

 

Cut off the feet and the tops and you have: arm-warmers

 

Cut them into verticle strips, braid them together and add fake flowers or whatever and you have: headbands for elves or flower-children.

 

I like the idea for rugs. Also those little "rings" could be used for hair-rubber-bands, couldn't they?

 

-d-

[Guest Zarafa]

My grandmother's cousin used to make "pickled people" out of old nylons - you cut a circle out, stuff it, tie it at the back, and then add eyes, nose, and mouth (looks especially good with those wobbly eyes). You then put a number of them into an old jam jar, and put the lid back on - hey presto, pickled people.

 

They end up looking a little like the smilies on this board - a bit like this:

 

I have a set that lives in my kitchen. I tell people they are my magic ingredient in cooking!!

[Guest Arak]

My great-aunt used to make "pickled people" too. But hers were on refrigerator magnets.

 

I read somewhere that Allegra Kent used to turn her old tights into purses (sew up the waist, cut out the crotch, and tie the feet together).

 

We use old tights to make under-the-costume garments, when they are required for certain costumes that might be a bit see-through otherwise. They make very nice seamless bras.

[Momof3darlings]

Cut off the elastic waist bands on tights to make an instant alignment belt.

 

Put Vidalia onions in them, knotting in between each onion. Makes them last forever. Weird look to the kitchen though.

 

vj

[Mel Johnson]

And if you just feel like hanging out, you already have the makings of a prefabricated noose.... (Back, Mr. Addams, back into the cage, back I say!)

[pointehill]

Late one night when I had a sick fish in my aquarium and couldn't find the fish net... an old pair of tights came in really handy when I strung them around a hanger and used them for a fish net to be able to quarentine the fish. Sorry to say, to fish didn't make it.

[Guest FRA0408]

Could someone please explain the "shirt" concept? I'm having difficulties visualizing...

[diane]

Right.

 

You cut out the crotch and cut off the feet.

Then you put the tights on over your head, upside down.

The waistband of the former tights is now around your mid-chest or - if you are lucky, even your waist -, and the place where the crotch used to be is now where your head and neck stick out.

This is why you should not cut out _too_ much of the crotch, for if you do the "shirt" will continually slip off of your shoulders.

Your hands come out at the ends of the legs.

 

Does that help?

 

-d-

[Guest FRA0408]

Very much! Thank you!!

[Guest Nicole Foss]

I use the legs (when they still have some stretch left) as resistabands, Tie the legs into complicated tight knots and the puppy has a new chew toy (it helps that he loves smelly feet, he'll lick them for hours ) They make quite nice braided rugs (again, the legs) Use the feet to hold buttons/marbles/anything that doesn't quite fit anywhere else. For a christmas parade, I had 2 pairs, red and green, put a leg into one of the legs on each pair, pull the other leg up and cross at the back, and bring over the shoulders to attach to a belt, voila, matching stockings and suspenders