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DIY Stylish Garden Knee Pads By Reusing This Closet Staple

Homeowners all over the world turn to gardening to bring more peace and tranquility into their lives. However, many beginners discover that this cozy activity can easily turn uncomfortable when the right precautions are not taken. If you are a gardening enthusiast, you may already know just how painful it can be to repeatedly get down on your knees to reach your plants. Regardless of whether the layout of your yard requires you to dig your knees into concrete or grass, this position causes pain after a while. Special knee pads are commonly used to relieve this pain, but you can keep things eco-friendly by turning an item of clothing you already have into custom knee pads: an old pair of socks. To complete this DIY, cut the bottom half of the socks away, sew a pocket inside using a piece of fabric, fill the pocket with a soft material, and sew everything closed.

This will leave you with two comfortable cushion kneeling pads that make it easier for you to tend to your garden on your knees. One of the most impressive benefits of this DIY is that it allows you to reuse any mismatched socks you have laying around the house. If you are a crafter, you likely already have the materials you need to pull this off, too. In addition to two old socks, this simple project only requires cotton or polyester filling, two small pieces of fabric, thread, a needle, and scissors.

How to craft your DIY knee pads

This DIY is so simple that it is arguably one of the most genius ways to repurpose mismatched socks. You will need to start by gathering all of your supplies. The Polyester Fiber Fill ($9.90 on Amazon) is an affordable material you can use to fill your knee pads, so you may want to consider adding it to your cart. Feel free to use a T-shirt or any other old clothing item in your closet to cut out the small pieces of fabric you will need to sew inside of the socks. As for the thread and needle, you might want to snag the Coquimbo Sewing Kit ($4.99 on Amazon). If you already own a sewing machine, you can, of course, use it instead.

After you have gathered all of your supplies, begin your DIY by cutting the bottom of your socks off. Next, cut a square shape out of your fabric scraps. Flip both socks inside out, and sew the fabric squares onto the middle of the inside of each to create pockets that will hold your cotton. Ensure that you place your cotton inside before sewing them completely shut. Finally, flip your finished knee pads so the outside is showing again, and you are done!

Other household items you can use to protect your knees

Although this knee pad DIY is a great way to repurpose old socks, it will not work as a solution for every gardener. Maybe you don't have any old socks to repurpose, or perhaps you want a more cushioned pad. If so, you can reuse old pillows to create extra comfort when gardening. On the other hand, if you are unable to safely kneel, neither of these ideas will make things easier for you. Those who cannot kneel often rely on chairs to be able to reach plants without putting strain on their knees, but what if you don't have an outdoor-friendly chair on hand? In that case, you can use other household items for this purpose.

If you have an old paint bucket in a garage or storage closet, consider using it as a seat to help you garden without knee pain. You can turn it upside down and sit on the bottom side. Since this makeshift chair might be uncomfortable for some, you should know that you can also use an old bench or stool as a seat. A shower bench would be perfect for this as they are typically both water and rust proof, meaning that they can likely withstand various weather conditions outside. Ensure that whatever you choose to use as a seat is lightweight and easy to carry around your garden.

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