I just went through my stored clothes again and got rid of a lot. Some I had kept because they were made well out of high quality fabric, and that’s not the norm anymore. Then I had a thought. A while back I made myself a top out of very nice knit I had picked up on clearance at a fabric store. I wasn’t happy with how the top turned out, so I only wore it at home, not in public. Then I decided to alter the top but that didn’t really improve it. But that fabric was so darn nice! I hated to donate it or throw it out. So I made a pair of shorts out of it for one of my granddaughters. They turned out so cute! I was able to lay the pattern so that the top’s hem became the leg hem of the shorts, saving me some time.

That success led me to pull out some clothes that I don’t really wear anymore that are made of beautiful fabric. I think a bright pink seersucker caftan is going to become a little dress, and a beloved Lanz flannel nightgown with some worn spots can become a little nightie if I work around those worn spots. There were two Lands’ End t-shirts from at least 15 years ago that I haven’t worn in while; I’m thinking they’ll make nice sturdy leggings.

By repurposing my clothes, I don’t feel bad about letting go of some high quality things I don’t wear anymore. My gram would be proud of me. She invented repurposing back in the 1930s, I think, when she cut up coats given to her for her own use and turned them into coats for her four small children.