Creative people like the challenge of turning something old into something else and new. And what could be a greater change than taking a straitjacket and making it into something else? Well, we have a few ideas that you may want to try if you get your hands on a straitjacket from eBay or the likes.
The Materials
Straitjackets are no longer used in mental asylums since treatment has advanced to not needing them. However, you can still find some on the world wide web at decent prices. Straitjackets are known to restrain people and therefore, they are made out of strong material. The common materials that make these items up are canvas and duck clothes. You may even come across some that have belts already on them.
What You Can Do With Them
The thing with a creative challenge is that there is no limit. Therefore, if you are someone who likes to craft, enjoys the challenge then grab yourself a straitjacket and let’s get going. Straitjackets, at the end of the day, are like any other item of clothing. They can be transferred to the point that their original function is lost and made into something new.
You can go the simple route of turning this item into a jacket by removing the belts, and maybe even shorten the very long sleeves. Or you can fold them up to add more of a fashion statement to it.
However, if you want to make a thick jacket then you would have to put in a bit more work. A suggestion would be to add a layer of warm material to the inside of the jacket. The canvas and be on the outside to make the jacket sturdy against the elements of the weather. Make sure that your sewing work is on point so that the inner layer does not fall off.
Another way to reuse these items of restraint is to cut them up and turn them into a handbag or a backpack. The latter already has all the pieces in the old jacket; you just have to use your creativity to pull it apart and rearrange it. You can use the canvas material for the outer layer of the backpack and the sleeves are the straps. Add and zip at the top, even a few to the side. Dye it a different color and you are done. Plus, no one would guess what it started as.
Costumes
While the straitjacket is an old-school symbol of madness that can work as a Halloween costume you can add to it. You can make it more creepy by adding fake blood, dirt, or even cut holes in it to tell a story.
However, another thing you can do with it is to add to it. As in to cover it with other types of materials like clothes, feathers, etc. You can use the jacket as a base that you can add to. Just make sure that you take the restraints for safety.
Even the long sleeves of the jacket can be added upon. An idea would be to make wings that attach to the arms and the sides of the body. With an eye-catching design and colors, patterns, or well-placed holes this look can be the talk of your next Halloween party.
To Pieces
While you can use the whole jacket it does not mean that you have to. You can spread this across multiple items and all of them can be different. You can use the belts and straps to make a more stylish, thick belt. The long sleeves can be turned into wrap-around ones. This means that they can wrap around your arms instead of going through them. All you would need is a skin-colored material as a base to sew the sleeves onto. The body of the jacket can turn into a small handbag.
Basically whatever you imagine creating out of this type of jacket you can. Plus, the material will last. Happy creating and crafting.
