00:00Don't forget about the scarf section at your local thrift store.
00:04It's a great way to find unique fabric on the cheap.
00:08Look for colors and patterns that speak to you, and then let's get creative.
00:14I have a whole mishmash of scarves to deal with, so I do like color.
00:20So I'm going to pull the scarf that I found at the thrift store.
00:24This is the other scarf from the thrift store, but it's a little more neutral.
00:27It gives the eye a chance to kind of calm down and rest.
00:30So I'm going to put that next to the bright one, but then, hello, here comes another one
00:36with some bright color.
00:37So I'm going to keep arranging these in ways that more muted, color, you might not think
00:45this is muted, but it's more of one tone, and keep arranging them in that order so that you
00:51see color, you see the brightness, but you also see the solid colors, which gives the
00:56eye a rest and tells the color, whoa, back off for just a little bit.
01:01Give your scarves a quick press with an iron before you start.
01:05You can skip this step for any scarf with a crinkled texture.
01:09A simple tension rod is all you need for the base of this no-sew window valance.
01:15Starting with your shortest scarf, fold it in half.
01:19Wrap the folded area over the middle of the tension rod, pull it under the rod, and then
01:25pull the scarf tail through the loop.
01:28Tidy the knot so the fabric spreads open and looks a little like a tie.
01:34Keep adding scarves, shorter to longer, working your way out toward each end of the rod.
01:41Keep an eye on the scarf lengths as you go.
01:45If there's too big a jump from one scarf length to the next, it'll look a little off.
01:50It's an easy fix.
01:52Just adjust where you fold that scarf to bring it in line with its neighbors.
01:57Keep going by wrapping and tying scarves in order, working your way out toward the ends.
02:03Once your scarves are where you want them, it's a simple task to place the tension rod above
02:08the window. You can use regular curtain rod hangers, or if your walls are close together
02:14like mine, just pop the tension rod right in place.
02:18And there you have it, a one-of-a-kind window valance made entirely from thrifted scarves.
02:25Color, pattern, and texture, all for the cost of a few trips to the thrift store and your closet.
02:32I grabbed some neckties from the thrift store for these four creative upcycle ideas.
02:36For the first one, I used hot glue to attach the neckties to a lampshade.
02:40I cut the ties to be a little longer than the length of the lampshade and arranged them
02:45in order to put around the shade.
02:47I used the opposite skinny ends of the ties and placed them between the larger parts of
02:52the tie to fill all the spaces on the lampshade.
02:55I placed the lampshade back on the lamp, added a light, and I love how unique this looks.
03:01For the next upcycle, I used one tie, trimmed one end, and then placed a round piece of velcro
03:07on the pointy part of the necktie. I opened it back up once the glue was dry, and I just
03:12made myself the perfect soft protective case for my sunglasses. How good!
03:17I used all the leftover long skinny scrap ends of the neckties for another necktie upcycle.
03:24I placed the neckties flat on my sewing table parallel to each other, and then I trimmed them
03:29so it was pretty much square. With those extras, I weaved them in and out in opposite directions
03:35of the other ones until the square was completed. I pinned them and sewed the edges to secure
03:41them together. Then I added some fabric to make a sleeve opening. I sewed the fabric right
03:46sides together, trimmed the extra parts, and flipped it the right way around. I placed a pillow inside,
03:53and now I have the perfect upcycle decor pillow. This is a great way to keep ties from special
04:00memories or from loved ones. For the last upcycle, I used two neckties. I folded the bottom part of the
04:07neckties back onto it, pinned it, and I sewed that seam together. I turned one side right side out and
04:14placed them inside each other so they were both right sides together. And then I sewed along that
04:20blast edge to secure them together. I trimmed the threads, turned it right sides out, and now I have
04:28the funkiest wine holder. Strap it over your shoulder and it's the perfect hostess gift. You're ready to go
04:34party. I had a fun idea for this stack of placemats in my drawer. Pick four to five colorful placemats
04:42with
04:42laser cut or die cut patterns. Cut several lengths of twine, string, or ribbon. I'm using a yellow
04:48ribbon that matches my placemats. You want each placemat to hang at a slightly different height.
04:53This gives your window that playful staggered look. Thread your ribbon through a top cutout,
04:58or carefully make a small hole near the edge of each placemat if you don't have one in the right
05:02place. Tie a secure knot, making sure it hangs straight. Clip the top of each string into a curtain
05:10clip, then slide the clips onto the rod. Now head to your window. I'm using a tension rod here, but
05:17if
05:17you don't have a tension rod, you can also place command hooks on either side of your window and
05:22rest your non-adjustable rod on that. Space them out across the rod and adjust the hanging lengths as
05:27needed. The placemats should overlap slightly, but still feel airy and light. This project is both
05:33decorative and functional, letting light pour in, but still offering a touch of privacy, color, and visual
05:39interest. No sewing, no special tools required, just a few basic supplies in about 15 minutes.
05:45So your first step is to simply flip your leggings inside out. Next you want to stitch the ends of
05:54the
05:54legs closed. Now of course you can use your sewing machine to do this, or you can simply glue them
06:02closed as well, but I prefer to use just a really quick and easy running stitch with a back stitch,
06:10and this is more than enough to hold the legs closed for the next step. Once you have both of
06:18the legs
06:18stitched up, then it's time to flip the leggings right side out. And here is my quick tip for affordable
06:27stuffing. Get yourself pillows from discount stores and dollar stores. They are of course stuffed with
06:38stuffing that is very similar to the type that you can get at craft stores, except it is much cheaper.
06:47Next we are going to stuff both of the legs of those leggings. Now you definitely want this to be
06:57firmly stuffed, but still on the soft side. Once you have the legs stuffed all the way down to the
07:07ends on
07:08both sides, then you can decide how you want to deal with that waistband area, because the goal here is
07:17to eventually just have one long stuffed tube of fabric. So you can either simply fold that waistband
07:27over and stick it or stitch it in place or you can of course trim it off and then fold
07:35in the raw edges
07:37and stitch it in place. And now I also have some elastic for a future project. So here you can
07:47see I have
07:48tucked in my raw edges and I am just stitching closed with a very, very quick and easy whip stitch.
07:58Now you
07:59can of course stitch it closed with your machine, or if you want to do a totally no sew version,
08:05just grab your glue gun.
08:07Next, grab that other pair of leggings and flip them inside out and repeat the whole process.
08:13So now once you have both of your legging tubes completed, you want to lay them together in an X
08:21formation.
08:23All righty, now comes the kind of confusing part, but it is all worth it in the end, I promise.
08:29So first you want to grab this underleg and cross it over. All right, next we're going to grab the
08:39other
08:39underleg here and cross that over and then we're going to grab this one here from the bottom and cross
08:47that one over and there's one left and we're going to grab that and stuff it through the kind of
08:56loop of
08:56that first leg. So now we definitely have something that looks like a knot. Now before we move on to
09:07the next
09:08steps, it really is a good idea to just go through and really give each of those legs a good
09:14pull,
09:14just to make sure they are very secure and tight. Once you're happy that your knots are all nice and
09:23secure, then flip your almost finished pillow over and grab each one of the remaining free kind of octopus
09:34legs here and twist it around and then stitch it into place on the back. So once you're finished with
09:44all of your stitching or gluing you'll have something that looks kind of like this on the back but on
09:51the
09:51front it is so cool and so lovely and soft and knotted and now it's time to give it pride
10:01of place.
10:02Once you're happy with your knot cushion then simply pop it in your favorite seat and...
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