25 Unique Uses for Pantyhose

The life span of your average pantyhose is, what, 2 months? I have actually had some pantyhose for years, but thats because I only wear them a couple times a year.  So lets say you get 5 good uses out of a pair of pantyhose - what else can you do with them?

I did a little research and found a bunch of ways to reuse your old, tared, lots 'o runs pantyhose.

Step 1: Arm Tattoos

I love this little trick.  My friend was as basketball player for halloween and wanted need fake tattoos to complete her costume.  She didn't want to draw on her arm so she drew her designs on a pair of nude pantyhose and wore it on her arm.

I tried this and tried to trick my roommates.  I drew a flower on the pantyhose then put it on my arm.  When I showed it to each of my roommates they were like, "thats great you drew a flower on your arm....".  When I pulled down the pantyhose they were like, "WOAH I TOTALLY THOUGHT YOU DREW THAT ON YOUR ARM".  True story - and it worked on 4 different people!

Comments

[Phil B]

Years ago I read about some college students on their way home in a small car when the fan belt broke. A female passenger removed her pantyhose while the guys looked the other way. One of the guys slipped them over the pulleys in the pathway of the broken belt and tied the feet together in a knot. He adjusted the tightener pulley a bit and they were able to drive to a garage for a real replacement belt.

[Trollgunn]

After reading this instructable, I don't think I will ever throw away a panty hose/stocking with a ladder in it ever again. Thanks!

[upstaterNY]

Hi former upstate New Yorker. I am a current upstate New Yorker and have been suffering from cold legs in the winter too. I have tried wearing thermals under my dress pants, but they are too thick (and itchy).

Your pantyhose idea sounds great. My problem, I am a single guy, and don't currently have a girl friend to ask. I am too embarrassed to buy them or to ask any girls I know.

Women, If I were your boyfriend, or even just a close friend, would you think it odd if I were to ask your and explain why?

[sunnyb]

didn't a 70s football player do a commercial for nylons?

[wuwendie]

I can't believe nobody replied.
I wouldn't think it was odd. But when I worked retail it wasn't unusual to have guys buying stockings . I never asked, but I'd bet they'd just say they were getting them for their mom.

[RangerJ]

A friend of mine was an exterminator for years. He suggested putting a handful of mothballs in the foot portions of panty hose and cutting them off, then dangling them under the house or in the attic as a repellant for all kinds of critters. Many insects, snakes, mammals, etc. can't stand the smell of camphor.

[phand124]

give em to a military man, navy or air force usually, where they no how to polish shoes.... theyll fix em :P

[juntti]

Finding alternate uses for pantyhose is a national sport in my country. I think it all got started years ago with a bunch of tech students sending pantyhose tips to a magazine that has a section for household tips (they pay for the best ones). Tips range from drying lettuce quickly in pantyhose to DIY hands-free thingy for mobile phones...

[jpnagle59]

juntti-- hey there! Could you explain the DIY hands-free thingy for mobile phones? I'm wondering what it might be???

[juntti]

Sure. Cut off one leg of the pantyhose, roll it up and put it on your head much like a headband (sweatband) and stick the phone in between the band and your ear. ;) You can use the same band to fasten your head to the car seat's neck support to prevent slouching while sleeping in the car. Keeps those nasty back and neck pains away. Handy!

[jpnagle59]

@juntti...thank you...I did 100's of thousands of miles driving over the span of 21 years in the US, mainly Texas and southern states with highways 100's of miles long...wish would have thought of your idea to 'strap the head' with pantyhose, not a bad idea at all...
I saw on TV the other day, one of those commercials of inventions that people have thought of and are selling. The commercial had what looked like a headphone headband with the speakers removed, and they showed it to keep your phone strapped to your head. I think it was called a Go-Joe? Not sure. But the idea was the tension in the 'headband' kept the phone plastered to your head/face. Did not seem too bad once you thought about it...I thought of your project with the pantyhose, and had to tell you about it...

[sherna1]

Another use, for those of us who have ceiling fans.
Slid a single stocking onto each blade. Keeps them clean for ages, and saves heaps on time and energy cleaning them.
Use singles not pantyhose, because it needs to have the 'band' around the top to hold onto the fan blade.
Use white stockings on white blades, etc.

[Shut Up Now]

You can stretch pantyhose over a frame made from a wire coat hanger to make a great pop filter for recording vocals!

[blodefood]

This is fantastic!!!

[blodefood]

Fill with a handful of rice, barley or small beans and you have an anti stress squeeze ball.

[sheilamommy]

I use the legs from old pantyhose (ph) to store opened boxes of spaghetti pasta when I have only used a bit of the pasta.

Also, I agree, ph are very strong for binding and toting items. When moving I bundled books in groups of fifteen with pantyhose. Made easy burdens for children to transport. Also I rolled up, tied and stored a 9 X 12 ft rug with ph. Have used them countless times for anchoring items to roof rack of car.

[liveleezgl]

Oh ! Hey ! Maybe filled with rice and placed in front of door to block the drafts... I'm going to try it !!!

[-max-]

do do this, just play around with the contrast level (make it lower) sharpness, color sateration, and brightness levels on the camera in the settings.

[sconner1]

This is the best one.

26. Fill the foot with climbers hand chalk powder and tie it to your belt for easy access while on the ropes. Just give it a squeeze with one hand at a time.

[sconner1]

And this is also good to wick moisture away from your skin to keep warm in the cold weather too. The outdoor stores sell thin, stretchy synthetic fiber undergarments for unspeakable prices to do the same thing.

[sconner1]

An embroidery hoop will hold it better than tape in the water and be sturdier than the wire.

[sconner1]

Scouts use this method out camping at the wash station. Hang the soap in a hose and it wont get lost or dropped. Just wet your hands and rub the soap "dispenser".

[sconner1]

If I want this effect, I just use a disposable camera with slow film and a scratched lens in a dim room.

[sideways]

I use sections of a leg as a pre-filter for my shop vac. It helps keep the expensive filter from getting clogged as fast. I just take a section of leg and slide it over the filter cylinder.

[sconner1]

This works to protect engines from abrasive volcano ash in the air too, I hear.
Wrap hosiery over your car air filter and get out of there.

[mbusby]

Big bronzed Lifesavers on Australian beaches have been using them for years to stop jellyfish stings. They also get strange looks but beats the hell out of being stung by a Box Jellyfish or Irukandji Jellyfish.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Irukandji_jellyfish

[love4pds]

Pantyhose are great for tying up plants like tomato plants to stakes because the hose don't damage the plants because they are soft and the elasticity. :)

[kirnex]

Great ideas! A couple of other uses I've found for them:

1) As ties for delicate plants. They work great to help stake young trees, tomato plants, etc.

2) As hair-bun enhancers. A pair of stockings that match hair color are great when stuffed with a like-colored material (I buy cheap wigs and use the hair) for enhancing french-twists, chignons, even as a better alternative to those "Bump-its". They work great and are much less noticeable than many items sold for the same purposes.

3) I use knee-high stockings with our rechargeable pool vacuum. I find it collects much more debris than the filter the vacuum came with, and have happily noted that where all our neighbors have had to buy new vacuums each year and have their filters repaired regularly, we've had no such problems.

4) to stuff the tips of shoes that might not quite fit right. I, like many people, have one foot bigger than the other. Add to that the dilemma of having feet that grow a good size-and-a-half when I start back up my power-lifting routine, and it leads to a lot of cute shoes that don't quite fit so well. Tissue is a pain--especially if it's summer and your feet sweat. Stockings the color of the shoe or the stockings you are wearing are a perfect alternative.

Might have more if I think about it. :) Great start to a terrific forum!

[NaturalCrafter]

I loved reading all your tips. Please do add more.

[kf4nxs]

One impotant thing for pantyhose, If you break a belt on your car. When I drove over the road my truck broke an alternator belt, Leggs got me home 1200 miles.

[signoutloud]

You have GOT to write Leggs and let them know - soooo awesome :)

[signoutloud]

I need this idea so badly at my home - thank you, thank you, thank you!!!

[signoutloud]

I'll bet cotton balls (or tissue or paper towels) put INSIDE the pantyhose would work well, too? Hmm..have to try that sometime - thank you!!

[Wimzi]

Keep your skin soft by adding some oatmeal to the foot of an old pair of pantyhose and hanging it under the tap of the bath while filling it....soak up the ggodness while relaxing :)

[metqa]

I have a shoebox Worm Bin and no matter what I did,I'd be plagued by fruit flies and fungas gnats. Two things I've done to cut down on this in my most recent bin a) I freeze all my scraps and add them, still frozen, to the worm bin and
b) I enclosed the entire bin in the "butt" of a pair of panty hose and use the legs to tie down and secure the opening so any bugs inside can't get out and no bugs outside can get in and into the worms food. some how I still have crawly/winged creatures in there but none of them are fruit flys or gnats and they don't seem to be taking over like the flies and gnats do.

I used the Tatoo idea many years ago when I wanted to make my arms look like they were algea coverd ( I was a water fairy) I just put the knee highs in a bowl and dripped green food coloring on them. It ran and seeped in irregular patterns and when I put them on my arms, my own skin showed through in patches and the green looked like ti was growing up my arms.

I also have put the slivers of my favorite soap all together in a knee high panty hose to use in the bathroom. I never lose them down the drain anymore.

I had to use panty hose as a hair tie back because my afro was so big, and panty hose was the only thing long enough and gentle enough to not pull my hair out. It's great to use on children's hair, cause they have sensitive scalps and pulling out hair is no fun.

I think everyone has used pantyhose to tie up garden plants.

I'm gonna use the toe of panty hose to cover my kefir jar. let the air in , keep the bugs out. No losing and looking for rubber bands.

[sdhicks]

NY Jets quarterback Joe Namath did this in the NFL!

[askris]

I have very thin hair, like baby hair, and been using pantyhose scrunchies (black or color ones) for years to prevent my hair from breaking.

[PrismQuartz]

I thought I was the only person who dreads cotton balls (its like thousands of spiders scratching you) and I always hated how much toilet paper I'd have to go threw for my nails. This is awesome :D !!

[pzaleskin]

I cut up old pairs and use them as car mirror condoms. Seriously ... they keep the damn birds off the mirrors and either scratching the finish and leaving their droppings behind.

[the_butler]

I see you have the buffing shoes tip, which I use daily. The Household Cavalry use balled up nylons to remove scuffing from their bees waxed leather items and also have been known to wear pantihose under their britches, to keep warm on guard in the winter. I do have a rather odd use though. While on exercise with the Household Cavalry (armoured) We had an important guest visit us in the field. We provided a very good three course lunch but had run out of filters for our portable coffee machine. (oh how we rough it) I reached into my webbing and produced my nylon from my boot kit, found a clean(ish) bit and cut it off. It was a leg of a pair of pantihose. I filled it with the required amount of filter coffee and used it like a teabag in the coffee pot. I was later complimented for producing the best cup of coffee the guest had ever had in the field
http://a-butler-for-all-occasions.co.uk/

[CathyMik]

You're absolutely right! I worked for the British Army here in Canada for six years (1980-1986) and was always buying pantihose by the dozens for the soldiers - Household Cavalry (armoured) were some, many infantry and any of the others that had to be out in the "field". It gets very, very cold in Alberta! Very brave soldiers but not brave enough to buy their own pantihose! :-)

[TendoQueen]

Wow, how cool! You're like the Pantyhose Queen! :D

[kilbia]

That's brilliant! I never would have thought of this.

[CRaeJ]

I agree that this is a great idea! I've worn pantyhose under my slacks and jeans for warmth during cold weather for many years. I'll keep hose with minor runners and snags just for this purpose, it's a perfect way to get a few more wearings out of them. :-)

[princessdee222]

I'm liking that industrial.

[jdougherty2]

This may or may not be true, but I've heard that high-rise construction workers would wear pantyhose to work to keep warm and not have to worry about the added bulk of long johns.

[RunTotoRun]

I clamp the 'knee-to-toe' section over my dryer exhaust because I don't have an vent to outside

[michelle1198]

We do the same thing here.

[mole1]

Great!! I especially liked the 'soil control' in flower pots and emergency screen repair.

[Lhtrf]

This also works with a magnet inside a plastic (or like here, pantyhose), though only for steel, so this is better.

[Gollocks]

Great for keeping architectural papers organized.

[luckicharms]

this was an awesome tutorial...I will use alot of these panty hose uses. THANKS!!!! =)

[dbochett]

A Crab Net! Now don't worry, this doesn't require fishnet stockings! Any pantyhose will do! Fillem with table scraps, stuff them up good but not too tight. Tie the waistband up in a knot or use a rubber band to seal it all up good and tight. Next, string a nylon line around the same so you can tie it up over the dock, the boat, pier or whatever you are crabbing from. Throw it over and leave. Give your panty hose some privacy for a tide or two. You 'll be amazed at the amount of crabs you pull up tangled in your nylons!

[opiewan]

When fishing for catfish I use a square of panty hose to tie the chicken liver in. The catfish have to work at sucking the liver off the hook.also I have worn panty hose when deer hunting and i do get strange looks when I buy them as I am male ,6ft 3in and over 250lb.s great job.

[Suzanne in Orting]

If you will extend "pantyhose" to include tights, then I have one more idea for you. I have used and old pair of tights to wash whole skeins of yarn. It's a method which anyone who's had to wash yarn will appreciate.

I was given a stash of yarn that was in good condition but dusty smelling. I cut the legs away from the body of the tights. I removed the labels from the yarn, stuffed them into the legs of the tights and tied them shut with a short piece of yarn. Then, I threw them into a regular load of washing.

Afterwards, I removed the individual skeins and hung them to dry. They didn't unravel or tangle. I didn't even have to tie between them as long as there was sufficient tension within the leg to keep them from shifting around.

Now, when I have a short load of laundry, I throw in some yarn to wash.

Suzanne in Orting, WA

[naomiandtom]

Here's a use for the panty portion of some queen-size pantyhose: I have an Excalibur food dehydrator which uses plastic mesh drying screens (something similar to plastic mesh canvas used in crafts) resting on a square plastic frame. When I want to dehydrate very small items that would fall through the screen, I insert the frame with plastic mesh screen into the panty from which the legs have been cut. It usually is big enough to cover the frame, nothing falls through, and the fine mesh allows air to flow freely underneath the food aiding in more efficient dehydration.

[pattyann]

I love your suggestions. I currently live in upstate NY and have found that a double layer of panty hose gives as much insulation as wearing a pair of thermals or heavy tights without the added weight or bulk.

[n1qaw]

Not only can they work as a soft focus filter, but layers of them over a flash will control the often harsh lighting and using different flesh tone or other colors you can often get better skin tones and interesting changes and richness of colors

[bertus52x11]

What about robbing a bank?

[LilithAvalon]

I never understood that one. Faces are still recognizable under them.

[dreamweaverabc]

You must have an extraordinary face, LilithAvalon because back when I was first married, my husband and I along with his brother all pulled pantihose over our faces. I still have the ridiulous pictures. And if anyone could recognize me with that thing pulled over my face, squishing every thing flat and distorted, I'd be SO upset.

[LilithAvalon]

I guess I just come from the age where men have long hair and not all people of the same race look alike that I can recognize someone with a slightly squished face. Guess it also has to do with being able to recognize your own reflection in the mirror.

[bertus52x11]

It works for me! ;-)

[Spokehedz]

Onion tip: Put an onion into the hose, then tie a knot in it. The put another one in, and tie another knot. Keep doing this until you've reached the top. Fill up the other leg. Now you can cut off your onions from the hose from the bottom to the top and not have them touching--which also makes them rot faster.

Grandma showed me this, and I (a man) have been doing it ever since. The strange looks I get at the dollar store where I buy the hose is fantastic.

[weirderthanthou]

Ever get deodorant marks on the outside of your shirt? Rub pantyhose over them--voila! It's like they were never there!

[NitroRustlerDriver]

Soap inside pantyhose works great for removing fiberglass fibers from your skin like you get when installing insulation. The pantyhose grab the fibers and pull them out.

[dreamweaverabc]

I keep a bar of soap outside next to the water spigot to wash my hands after working in the garden. Then I thought to put the soap into the foot part of pantihose, cut it off several inches above, tied a knot, and now I have the benefit of the soap AND a scrubber. When some men from my church came over to rake/blow the leaves and a few other yard chores, when they saw my homemade scrubber hanging from the faucet outside, they said I'd make a wonderful Boy Scout. I told them "No, it all comes from being a mom as we are always discovering new uses for things that others would simply throw away."

[robertjc]

Yes, I ran a car for a week with one of these as a fan belt in my student days. But now I find them indispensable as tree ties. I have a young forest but even around the garden there are so many situations where they can be used to secure plants. The elasticity is the vital thing, the tree/shrub moves with the the wind and the hose will stretch so as not to cut into the trunk. And you never have to remember to remove it as the tree grows (the reason for many tree deaths, the tree outgrows the tie and it cuts into the trunk.) It simply disintegrates after a few years.

[sitearm]

Nice range of applications and excellent humor (scrunchy shoot, teddy oohs). Congrats on your internship!

[AlvinMaker]

I've stretched them on a screen for low cost screen printing.

[NaturalCrafter]

Please do add this one to your Instructables. Make a soft dog toy ball out of pantyhose. You can make one from each leg or a larger and stronger one from using both. I take the top of the pantyhose and stuff as much as I need to get a ball the size of a tennis ball. (I leave out the elastic top band) Then shape while closing a finger to form a neck, then tie off the ball shape. Then invert next segment of stocking over ball and tie again. Do this till all the the length of the leg have been used up. You can cut off any tail or leave as a handle. If a layer gets too ragged and hanging, just snip it off.

[deltasierra]

The only drawback to this is if you've captured bugs that chew. I tried to keep ants in a jar with netting on top. They were gone the next morning. :( Best to use something little mandibles capable of tearing apart leaves or other bugs can't chew through.

[jimofoz]

I've used them with a little light weight oil to rub down firearms after field stripping and cleaning. It's a mild abrasive and doesn't leave lint.

[LilithAvalon]

They also make good wig caps, if you have some plus size ones that hang loose on you. I use them all the time for cosplay. Just tie a knot with enough room to hold your hair and cover every bit down to your hairline.

[dagwoodandblondie]

I use the leftover liquid to make soup; too much:I freeze it for later.

[moengineer]

Awesome Instructable. I have two more uses you can add. I use them for straining old paint (to get the big chunks out). Also you can fill the foot with sand and tie it off back and forth making as many layers as you can with one leg and it makes a great shooting rest for the rifle range. You should make a 365 calendar like the one for duct tape.

[LilithAvalon]

On the note of paint, if you're mixing your own henna paste for tattooing, painting drums, or hair dying, stocking make great filters.

[kcbirder]

Tie a note between each onion, and as you use the "bottom" one, cut just below the next knot with kitchen shears, leaving the rest hanging within reach.

[LilithAvalon]

I saw that on a tv show once before. Yeah, it keeps them airy without touching surfaces that would encourage rot.

[jpetty]

My mother-in-law filled old pantyhose with hair clippings, hung it in her garden as a non-toxic rabbit deterrent.

[palambert]

Wow! That is the best tip EVER! I'm gonna try this!!!

[medionlvr]

here's another use. fill it with Calcium Chloride and hang above a coffee can to draw moisture out of a damp basement. try it and be amazed!!!

[Bosun Rick]

One year my 'old maid' Aunt decided to hang her pantyhose up on Christmas Eve for Santa to fill. (everyone else had the usual red Christmas Stockings) The pantyhose never got totally filled up, but my Dad & 3 Uncles had a great time trying to find things to put in them. We all had a great laugh over this on Christmas Morning!

[RedneckEngineer]

I use them as a dust filter on the back of my desktop computer. Ducktape a square over the intake on the fan and it collects the dust before it gets in. Then to clean it off just pull/stretch the middle and let it pop back. So easy a caveman could do it, I'm living proof.

[rimar2000]

I did this instructable about one use of panties.

[musick_08]

You can also use pantyhose as a pop filter when recording music

[Tomcat94]

It seems like every other day a new "42 unordinary uses for an ordinary product!" instructable pops up...

... I love it. :)

[scoochmaroo]

These are really good!

[Carleyy]

Thanks! It took me a surprisingly long time to test them all out!

[GailC]

Awesome! Thanks, I'd rather not throw out something that can be re-used..now I have some ideas to ponder for my nylons!

[srk]

Yu made a few there.

great instructable nonetheless.