Friday, February 11, 2011

Breathe New Life into Unwanted Clothes

Living in a town with no fabric stores has taught me to get creative when looking for material.  I don't always feel like driving 35 minutes to get to a fabric store, so I found a new way to find what I need:  thrift stores and yardsales. 

Yes, I know they don't typically sell material, or do they?  As I walk thru the store looking up and down the racks, I switch my brain over from thinking "Wow thats an ugly dress" to "Wow thats some nice material in that dress".  Its amazing how different things look when you look at it thru different eyes.

Example:  I was at a yardsale this summer and the clothing was fill-a-bag for $1.  The clothes were pretty old or just not my size or style.  However, they had some great prints in them.  So, I filled a bag with a bunch of stuff, and in the end, I paid about $.10 per piece.   Here is the first adult sized (not my size) skirt I bought:

I cut it into pieces and added hems.  The top piece I cut and sewed to where the zipper could still be used.  The second, I just added elastic to the top for a waistband.


Here is the second skirt I came home with:

This skirt had an awesome waistband that I thought would work perfect for a dress top.  So, I measured the length & top, marked it, cut, and sewed a seam down the side.  I used the left-over bottom piece to make two straps and attached them to the top.  Here is how it turned out:



Next time you're at a yardsale and nothing is your size, flip your brain to fabric mode, and take another look around!! 



1 comments:

Anonymous said...

nice job

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