make-do leg warmers, the buddhist way

"the garments of many of the brothers are in rags; i am going to distribute the garments among them."
what will you do with the old garments?
we will make bed-covers out of them.
what will you do with the old bed-covers?
we will make pillow-cases.
what will you do with the old pillow-cases?
we will make floor-covers out of them.
what will you do with the old floor-covers?
we will use them for wiping cloths.
what will you do with the old wiping cloths?
we will use them for floor-mops.
what will you do with the old mops?
...we will tear them in pieces and mix them with mud and use the mud to plaster the house-walls.
-from The Teaching of Buddha.


i habitually repurpose things if it can be put to good use. not only in the studio, but anywhere in the house. this doesn't mean holding on to junk "just in case"... it must be useful on a daily basis. "what will you do with the old garment?" there are a few fun ways to look at that first question. for example: i've wanted to knit my own leg warmers (have to learn to knit first, lol) but it's cold and i need warmth now. i thrifted a nice solid brown sweater for DH but it was too small for him, and too big for me. so i had the idea to cut the sleeves off and use them for leg warmers! the wrist part keeps them up snug and the raw cut end goes around the bottom for a slight boot flare. this works best with a machine washable sweater, not a fat cable knit or one that will unravel. i went further and cut the tight neckline off and it now it looks pretty rockin' in a rustic-vagabond kinda way, great to wear over long sleeves. project in a pinch:

instant make-do leg warmers:

supplies:

• one "too big for you" sweater (or boyfriends old sweater, lol. machine washable, won't unravel kind).
  
• scissors

cut off sleeves (a few inches below shoulder seam) for leg warmers. optional: cut off neckline of sweater and use as short-sleeved vest. 1 sweater=2 garments. great for kickin around the house or under long skirts. do you have a neat repurposed idea? please share!