never thought of looking for wool

I have been saving the lint from the dryer to stuff small pillows and also using for pet beds. I also use the small fabric scraps to stuff pillows to.

:-) Good job on all your repurposing.

I love to hit the bag sales and stuff it full of things with cute buttons. Great way to get buttons. No bag sale? If I like the buttons on a particular item, I will buy it for just the buttons. Sometimes I can use the fabric for other things. I've bought full skirts just for the fabric; also jeans and denim items. It's fun - kind of like a treasure hunt.

I saw a wonderful quilt made out of stripes, but had a problem finding what I wanted at the quilt stores...so I have been buying striped mens shirts. There really is alot of usable fabric in the big shirts! And our GW is getting pricey also, but they say they "do" salvage what doesnt sell. It is my understanding they bundle into huge boxes and send to 3rd world countries. I have had several employees tell me that.

Someone gave me old cotton curtains and I will use them for backing. No lining.

All of our thrift stores haven't gotten expensive. I guess they think they are using new stuff I don't know. But you can't even buy a cheap paper back at ours anymore, they are half price of new. Can you believe that? I couldn't. The clothing is $4-5 each piece. Yes there is still some that aren't that expensive but not many, they are few and far between. I can get new fabric at Wal mart for less. I'll take the new.

read my earlier post about this.
when I buy the clothes, they have already been there 6 months where the prices are reduced each month. By the time I buy them, at $.23, it is pretty much a good guess that nobody wanted them.

This is OK..nobody wears WOOL anything so that is fair game.
Cotton shirts require more attention than anyone wants to give it, so it is fair game. Silk is also hard to care for, usually requires dry cleaning, the needy folks are NOT going to pay for dry cleaning.

The suits I buy are out of style, so those who would wear a suit are not buying an 80's hot pink with big shoulder pad suit!

Trust me, The money I pay goes to helping those in need. I also donate all of our used clothing and household, so that helps the needy, and I am using the clothes I buy to make something new so that I am helping it stay out of the landfill one more year anyway!

Thinking that those of us who re-purpose these articles is cheating someone out of a pair of gloria vanderbilt skinny jeans, is like saying buying fabric only when it is on sale is HELPING the LQS stay in business!

I haunt my thrift shops for two things--scrubs and sheets. I only buy 100% cotton and won't buy anything without a readable label. I find the scrubs (tops mostly) have really cute fabric and are high quality cotton. If I can find an XL, I can easily get a yard of cotton out of it. The going price here is $3 - $4 a scrub, so that is a bargain. I also look in the sheet/blanket area. I recently bought a "quillow" that had fabulous novelty fabric for $3 and after I took it apart I had over 2 yards of fabric!! I also use sheets for backing. I am fortunate that our Goodwills here have 50% off everything days about twice a month. And "seniors" get 25% off everything on Mondays. What a deal!

I don't do stripes, but wow...you should see the ones I could be buying at $.23...there are always tons of striped shirts left behind...

I have re purposed since I was a kid. My mom did a lot of it so I learned early. When I moved away from home at 19 (I'm now 63) I would buy cloths at thrift stores with a lot of fabric in them and remake into new styles in my size. In those days a lot of clothes sold for 25 cents or less. I once bought a formal for $2 in a XL size took it apart and used it for a new formal for myself (size 10)for a special occasion. I can re purpose a lot of things.