Old jewelry pieces and buttons, a placemat, an old belt: The trinkets you find during your spring cleaning could be just what you need to spruce up your wardrobe.

Fashion crafting is an easy way to take clothing you already love and give it a new look. It's good for the environment, good for your budget — and good for your favorite duds.

It's also big business: Fashion crafting accounts for more than $180 billion in sales of apparel and accessories in the U.S., according to the NPD Group, a leading global research firm.

At the winter Craft and Hobby Association convention, options ranged from simple to sublime: placemats folded in half and trimmed with felt became handbags, with an old belt used to make the strap. Embellishments such as beads and paints were used to spruce up old jeans. There were dresses made of paper.

Terri Ouellette, known to crafting fans as "Terri O," explains that the benefits of fashion crafting — which she calls "Creative Couture," include a measure of bragging rights: "When someone says, 'Hey! Where did you get that?' you can say, 'I made it.'

"I look at things when I go to the department store and I say, 'Wow those jeans are $250. Wow, I hope they fit well,' because basically what you're paying for are the beads and baubles and the lace. And then I like to look at that and go: you know what, I can do that myself."

It's also popular among young fans of "indie crafting," and environmentalists who snap up earth-friendly materials like recycled felts and plastics, soy and corn-based biodegradable yarns, eco-friendly dyes and earth-friendly glitters derived from spices.

To Oullette, that's not the only way crafters are "green."

"We never throw anything away. You see a true crafter's closet, you know that we were the original eco-friendly people!"

OLD PLACEMAT BECOMES NEW BAG

This simple project from the Craft and Hobby Association can turn an unused placemat into a fun and unusual bag.

You can use any size, or shape of placemat to make your bag. Get creative and use old belts of rope or chain to create different looks. Add trim to the top and bottom and use embellishments in the center for hundreds of different looks.

Materials:

Fabric placemat

Trim

Leather belt

Fabric glue or sewing machine

Utility knife

Embroidery thread and needle

Embellishments (buttons, trims, jewelry, craft items, etc.)

1) Fold the placemat in half with the side you want showing folded in. Stitch the sides together and turn right side back out.

2) Cut and glue trim along the top of the opening about 3/4 inch down from the top. Add embellishments.

3) With a utility knife cut two holes in the leather belt at each end. Attach the belt to the sides and the top of the placemat using the embroidery floss.

NEW LIFE FOR BOOTS

Give your old boots a fresh look with fabric paints, which can be found at crafting shops. The paint is made to remain soft and pliable when dry so that your boot design won't chip with everyday wear.

Materials:

leather boots

fabric paints in various colors

brushes of varying sizes

small hard flat surface that will fit inside the boot

spray waterproof sealer

1) Leather is the ideal material for the boots to be made from, as the paint absorption is great and the durability is excellent. Always test the paint on the material before setting to work.

2) Ensure that the working surface is extremely clean. Wipe the boot with a warm damp cloth and remove any excess water beforehand to remove all dust. Let dry thoroughly.

3) Remove any laces or surface embellishments before you start and ensure that all buckles are undone so that you can get behind and around all edges as you work your paint into the boot.

4) As you will need to maneuver the boot to different angles, it is easiest to leave the painting of the heel to the last element. This will enable you to hold the heel to steady your work. Wipe down the heel again before painting it as the oil in your hands may affect the paint application.

5) Insert your small, hard flat surface into the boot to provide a stable work area and use your selected fabric paints and brushes to paint your design onto the boot.

6) Work with color-specific brushes. Keep your yellow brush for use with yellows and oranges. Use another brush for your pinks, purples and reds.

7) Leave 20 minutes drying time between layers so that the paint dries well.

8) Once you have completed painting your boot, leave to dry and apply a spray coat of waterproof sealer.

Learn more:

www.joann.com/joann/

www.onlinewithterrio.com

www.michaels.com/art/online/home