Pantyhose Uses

I cut the elastic waistband off old pantyhose. My favorite use for it is to put on around a kitchen trash can to keep the trash bag from falling down inside.  It can also be used as a giant rubber band for many things like stacks of newspapers or magazines. 

I use the foot part as a filter to put over the end of my shop vac hose.  When I want to clean my aquarium I remove the fish to another container.  Then I use the shop vac with the pantyhose filter to "vacuum" all the water out without sucking up the gravel.  It beats trying to lift the aquarium to empty it or to bale the water out

Here is an idea to use up both old pantyhose AND those leftover slivers of bar soap. Put the slivers of soap in the pantyhose, and hang it outside by your water hose ( or anywhere else you might need to wash hands up quickly) to wash your hands with after gardening and other outdoor work. That turns TWO things that would have been trash into something useful! Christie

Cut a piece and tie off one end, fill with garlic bulbs (or onions) and hang.  Keeps garlic from rotting by allowing air to flow through.

It can be turned into a wig for a young girl’s dress up box. The legs will need to be cut into thirds lengthwise and then braided. Put a pretty bow of  yarn or ribbon at the end of each braid to secure closed. The white panty area of the pantyhose (if your pair has that) can be sewn closed so that it is not visible from the outside. The elastic waistband goes around the child’s head and holds the "wig" in place.  This idea looks even nicer if you have two of the same colored pantyhose to work with. In this case, put one panty hose inside the other; all the way from the waist to the toes. Sew the two waistbands together with a zigzag stitch on the sewing machine. The two legs are braided together in the same way you would do it for one pair. This "wig" will have more fullness and body than a single pantyhose wig. I have made these for my daughters and they both really liked them quite a lot. Mary Alice

I use pantyhose tied to the end of the water hose that runs from the washing machine to the sink to collect lint etc. that would otherwise end up in the sink drain. I tie it to the end of the hose using garbage ties.

We put a portion of a ruined pantyhose over the back of our hard drive to help keep dust out.– Susan R

Pantyhose make a great cat toy, and if it gets hunted into cat space, or clawed to pieces, you’re not out of pocket. Snip of each leg of the hose, add a little dried catnip in the toe (or if the ladder is in the toe, a couple of twists later) and give it a twist, turn it inside out, give it another twist, turn it back on itself. You can finish it with a couple of stitches if you think it needs it, but often the stretch of the fabric holds it in shape.   they also make great dusters for doing fiddly things, just slipped over the hand, and moved around when that patch gets dirty. — A. Nutton

This is my use for old knee highs and pantyhose without holes in the foot or lower leg area). Knee highs work just as they are. For pantyhose, I cut the panty part off and discard. I then take the leg part and use it to line my swimming pool’s skimmer basket. This keeps lots of fine dirt and hairs from going into the filter unit which cuts down both DE and on water usage in frequent cleaning of the filter. It also makes cleaning the basket easier as the hairs do not get tangled in the basket. My daughter works in a retirement home that requires its female employees to wear dresses/skirts, so she collects used pantyhose from her peers at work. I never have a lack of skimmer liners.  Karen W.

Here is my tip for old pantyhose. When I was a teenager in my decorator pillow and soft sculpture stage, I used to cut them up in smallish pieces and use them for stuffing. They worked quite well. My sister and I would cut them up and store them in paper grocery bags in our closet until we needed stuffing materials.  I really enjoy your newsletter!  Julie T

I am a gardener, so the old standby, I cut the legs crosswise to make loops which I loop together to tie tomato plants to the stake, or other plants, flowers, etc that need some support. I was unhappy throwing away the elastic waistband, and came up with this new tip. I cut the waistband off, and using the long pieces of scrap material from my sewing projects, I make hair scrunchies. My daughter has lots of thick hair, so I use the waistband as is for hers, and make a 31/2 inch wide strip, which I fold over the wrong way around the band, put in the machine and sew, adjusting as I go along, till I get to the end of the fabric. Now, it is simply a matter of turning the fabric to the right side, then tucking and sewing the opening, and I have produced a nearly free scrunchy. I loop the waistband in half for myself and my granddaughters, which makes a tighter circle. I adjust the width of fabric and length to make a variety of looks. Since they are so cheap, you can make many of them, and the girls enjoy combining two of them for a fuller look.

I was a waitress for over 12 years. Being on my feet required me to wear good support hose, but they were expensive. When I would get a run in one side of my hose, it would cut the runner leg off and paired it up a second one legged pair. I would be wearing two panty tops with a pair of perfectly good pair of hose to wear…..giving me extra tummy support.   I also saved and wore runner hose to wear under pants. No one can see the runs but you still get the support and comfort of hose. JoAnn

This is for making recycled paper. You need:
pantyhose
wire coat hanger
blender
water
a small tub (such as a Rubbermaid tub or a large bowl)
old paper: newspaper, card stock, construction paper

Directions:    a. Stretch the coat hanger into a square shape. Pull the pantyhose over than hanger so that it is taut and makes a tight "screen". Tie off the pantyhose at the corner and cut off what remains.  b. Fill the blender to the halfway point with water. Tear the paper into small strips and drop it into the blender. Blend the paper into a mushy pulp and blop it into your tub, which should already contain some water.  Blop at least one blender full of paper into the tub for each person who is doing this activity. (I hope you don’t mind my use of the English language, but I’ve done this several times, and it does blop.) c. Use your hands to mix the paper pulp through the water in the tub and make sure there aren’t large glops. d. One by one, have each person doing this activity take his or her pantyhose screen from the bottom of the tub up to the top, so that there is film of paper goop on the top of the screen. If the film seems REALLY thick, swish it back into the water and do it again. Do the same if it is not sufficiently covered.  e. Carefully allow the excess water to drip back into the tub, then find a  safe place to hang the hanger where it can finish drying (and it can drip).  Also, if you want to add a creative touch, you can drop pressed flower petals or glitter on the paper before it dries.  f. Once it is dry (a few hours at the least – overnight is safest), you can get the paper off by carefully stretching the pantyhose, starting at one corner and working to the other. And there you have  homemade, recycled  paper!