How can I reuse or recycle strips of sheepskin?
We’ve had an email from “fay bee”, saying:
I had some ankle-high sheepskin boots (australian “Ugg boots”) that are now past their prime. I’ve cut the soles off and now I have 2 pieces of lovely sheepskin (long and thin).
What can I do with them?
Given the wool lining, you couldn’t really use them like, say, old scraps of thin leather to make a purse or wallet but depending on the dimensions and condition of the pieces – and how crafty you feel, you might be able to turn them into a lovely warm pair of mittens or something — anyone know of any good sites that could help get her started?
Any other suggestions?
How insulating are they still? On tv, fleece is often used as a green insulation for timer walls. Maybe you could reverse the theory and make something like oven mitts?
(Why doesn’t this site allow pingbacks or comment subscriptions? I’d link it from my blog sometimes if it did.)
Hi MJ Ray,
We don’t allow automated pingbacks because we used to get LOADS of spammy pingbacks – and I had enough problems managing the rest of the spam without those too. (We use Akismet for spam protection but get just about as many spams comments on this blog – which has about 500 pages – as on another WordPress blog I run that has 10,000 pages – it’s insane.)
I don’t know what you mean by comment subscriptions – there is a comments rss feed though if that’s anything like it (http://www.recyclethis.co.uk/comments/feed – there is a link to it down there on the right in the “subscribe” box).
-louisa :)
(who was also at LRL2008 last weekend)
If the soles need replacing, I’d cut the tops down and reapply a piece for a new sole and use them as house slippers.
:-( Ugg boots are one of many things that make me feel all grumbly about the non-durability of things people buy and sell. Maybe think about getting some more solid boots next time? Good quality, tough leather boots should last a decade if you look after them, and simple classic design doesn’t go out of style.
Couldn’t they be re-soled?
Try this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/SSYA2ZCFB11L4XG/
These would make a great home for mice, guinea pigs or other creatures.
I used the sheepskin to put under my dining table and chairs so no scrape noise on wooden floors.
The sheepskin can be made into driver’s wheel cover.
why not put them inside your gardening gloves for green and toasty fingers!
They’d be great for lining anything, or you could make a fluffy cushion. If you could salvage enough from a variety of things, you may have enough for a sheepskin rug….I have a sheepskin rug, it’s so lovely…I sink my toes into it. If I lived in a cave , I’d sleep on that…but I digress…I hope I helped :)
I wore mine for about eight years and wore them all the time super cozy and long lasting