Marieline, a designer from Recyclart.com, turned a collection of pill vials into a royal dress; another designer, Dominika Naziebly, used thrift store clothes to create couture. If you possess skills in sewing and cutting, you can turn your winter coat into a fashion upcycling project. Upcycling (distinct from recycling) turns waste into usable products.
When upcycling winter coats, allow your kid to explore his creativity. If he wants to make the coat into a cape, allow him. After sewing, add paint, buttons or other objects for decoration.
With a few additional supplies, you can turn your child's winter coat into a sculpture. Collect branches, old pieces of wood, scrap metal, wire and whatever other scrap materials you have lying around your house. Cut the winter coat into several strips of fabric. Tell your child to instruct you on what items to put together into a sculpture (using glue to fasten will prove safer than nails or staples). At the end, wrap pieces of fabric around the core of the sculpture to create a "skin." In this way, you can create a sculpture cat, dragon or house.
Depending on the fabric, you can turn your child's winter coat into a canvas, upon which he can paint. To do this, obtain a few pieces of square plywood from your local home supply store. Cut square pieces of the coat so that each piece fits around a square, with an inch overlap on each side. Staple the overlapping fabric to the back of the piece of plywood. Make sure that the fabric holds tightly to the plywood. Then allow your child to paint the canvas how he wishes.
Use your child's winter coat to explore the art of photography. Do more than just hand your child a camera -- ask her to tell you a story about the coat. What is the coat doing? Where is the coat? After your child answers these questions, help her set up scenes where she can take pictures of the coat to help tell the story.
For example, if your child decides that the coat wants to climb a tree and sit by itself, then use a broom handle to set the coat in a nearby tree. Your child then takes different pictures and tries to capture the story she told you before.