Volunteers upcycling donated clothes for charity shop

Volunteers make new clothes and accessories from old donated items

A charity shop is training volunteers to help upcycle donated clothes and accessories for sale.

The blood cancer charity Linc is celebrating the first birthday of its Winchcombe Street shop in Cheltenham, with its new "re-loved" collection.

Staff and volunteers are making use of clothing which may be too damaged to sell in its original form but can be cut up and repurposed.

They have now launched a "re-loved" workshop for volunteers to come along and lend a hand.

Old ties repurposed into spectacle cases are among the items being made and sold

Angela Barnes, Linc's engagement officer said they started upcycling donated clothing in May: "Mainly items that were going into our 'rag' - maybe they are stained or they've got tears and things like that, looking for ways to reuse them."

"We started selling them in the shop and they're going quite well, but we're finding we just need some more pairs of hands to help us upcycle and create the items," she explained.

Volunteers of all abilities have been getting involved, learning and sharing skills.

Linc retail officer Laura Lee explained how they are using a surplus of men's ties to make spectacle glasses: "You cut off a length that's appropriate for a pair of spectacles, sew up the bottom, make sure the insides are neat and tidy, then sew on a popper to hold it down."

She added: "There's no fancy stitching in it, you can do a plain back stitch - which is the strongest. It's not using a machine or knowing how to thread it, it's basic stuff."