Places to source recycled materials for your DIY projects

giffgaff recently teamed up with Mike from the blog The Crafty Gentleman to share his top tips for where to source fabric and materials for your recycled DIY project.

Thanks, Mike, take it away:

Hi There, I’m Mike from The Crafty Gentleman

I’m going to talk through three different places that I like to source materials to upcycle and recycle for my crafting projects. Ready? Let’s get started:

1. Check your Drawers...

Now, the first and the most obvious place is to use what you already have, instead of going straight to a fabric store and buying new fabric.

Look in your wardrobes and under your beds. Maybe there are old bedsheets or damaged clothes that you’re not really going to be able to repair. These items are great for upcycling into different projects. For instance, I made a drawstring bag, which started out life as the pocket in a pair of trousers.

2. Be a second-hand fan

The second place that I like to look is charity shops, as well as secondhand or vintage shops, and even car boot sales. All those sorts of places can have some really good quality items such as curtains, bed sheets or clothes that are really good quality.

They might have a few tears in or a few stains, but you can easily cut around those and the fabric is going to be great to use in different craft projects.

There’s a reason that they are being sold on again and again - it’s because they’ve lasted through potential generations. Impressive.

3. Online is fine

My third recommendation is again, quite an obvious one but certainly, one to keep in mind; go online.

Online auction or second-hand websites are a great source of fabric remnants and offcuts. I personally go to ebay to find mine. And sites such as Oxfam and Etsy are also great places to look at.

Many people make something and then they have some leftover fabric and tend to sell them online to avoid waste. Not only can you get the offcuts really cheaply, sometimes you can get a whole job lot of fabric for a really reasonable price.

When searching on the sites use the keywords such as “bundles” or “remnants of fabrics” to help you locate those listings quicker.

I hope I’ve managed to inspire you to start your own craft project and, if so, make sure to share anything you make with us on giffgaff’s social channels.

Feeling inspired to start a refurbished project? Check out our Recycle Week Content over on the Refurbished hub, for lots of hints and tips on all things recycling, refurbished and upcycling. Be sure to share your top refurbishing and recycling tips over on our Twitter, Instagram, or on our community post.

If you are interested in looking at giffgaff’s fully refurbished selection of phones click here to find out more.