Escape Artist Dress

I found this interesting-looking homemade 1940's dress at an op-shop. It had a beautiful sweetheart neckline and I could tell that it would fit just by looking at it. But there was one problem...no way to get into it. I'm not sure what shape the creator was, but it is a fitted dress with no zips, buttons or hooks. My theory is that the maker finished it and realised her mistake. Sometimes it's better to get rid of the evidence by giving it to an op-shop that to undo all your good work. Or she may have been an escape artist...

Sweetheart neckline with black piping.

 Seams finished with pinking shears. Haven't seen that for ages.

 I unpicked one side seam and added a white zip. Problem solved!

It's not the sort of thing I'd wear on a regular basis, but with a red cardigan and post-war hairdo, it'd be great for a 1940's event.

Silk scarf halter

I know that it's been a bit quiet at 'A Sow's Ear'. I've got four weeks to finish my PhD and I'm trying to resist all other distractions. However, after my trip to South Australia, I picked up a few things which almost make themselves.

I found a big silk scarf for $3 at an op-shop in a very funky purple and green pattern.

Tie around Genevieve and knot at the back.

I already had a few silver collar necklaces picked up in Melbourne for 50c each.

 It was just a matter of sewing one seam across the top and threading the necklace through.

The top's a bit revealing in the back area - I'll probably wear a singlet top underneath.

So there you go, a piece of upcycling which took less time than uploading the photos to this blog!

The Final 'New Dress a Day' challenge

Today is a sad day for upcyclers everywhere with the final day of the gorgeous Marissa Lynch's 'New Dress a Day' challenge.

This girls is a complete inspiration and if you haven't been keeping track for the past 365 days, don't worry, it's all archived here:

http://www.newdressaday.com/


Day 365

Before

 After

'Sold as is'

Q: What do you do when you find a gorgeous RED Chinese top in an op-shop and it only has one out of a total of five buttons left?

A: Grandma's Button Box to the rescue!

The top come with a little tag which said 'SOLD AS IS'. This might have discouraged some people, but I had stowed away a tube of sparkly black buttons with a diamond-cut look which were just right for the job. Originally I had the feeling that they should be sewed onto some sort of cocktail dress.

But they looked at home on this number.

Upcycling Supplies

Here's a quick tour of one of my favourite op-shops in South Melbourne.

 The upcycler can also view thrifting as a means of gathering inspiration, supplies and items to reconstruct.

The $1 bin is a great place to find things to cut up and remake. See it as a fabric remnants bin.

 Ties for making into...pretty much anything.

 Jewelry to remake.

Somebody else's upcycling project!

My Loot?

Furoshiki Skirt

Well here's one from my archives. My FIRST EVER (successful) attempt at upcycling from 6 years ago.

The front panel of this wrap-around skirt is a piece of Japanese cloth called a furoshiki which is traditionally used for wrapping food and gifts. I found it in an op-shop about 9 years ago and knew that eventually (when I learned to sew properly) that it would turn into something awesome. The op-shop was in the Adelaide Hills, which is a veritable treasure trove for thrifting. My Mum and I do an annual pilgrimage to Adelaide each year in December, so stay tuned for some kick-arse photos next month.

The sash for the skirt is a men's tie which is hideously ugly by itself, but matches the mustard tones in the furoshiki perfectly.

Placemat Phonecase

Well, after seeing my brand new phone case, Cam asked me to make him one with a more manly aesthetic. He also has a new phone. I won't tell you what happened to the last one, but it involved a flushing toilet.

The fabric he chose from my collection had been a table mat in a previous life, but it had a gorgeous purple and green pattern of grape vines which suit him perfectly.

 Grape vines grown in our front garden by Cam.

Half a table mat pre-upcycling

 Reincarnated as a durable, but unfortunately not waterproof, phone case.

Tie Post #3 - The coin purse

Find a fun, patterned tie in an op-shop or an unsuspecting man's wardrobe. I generally go for a pretty dark colour because I carry around a lot of crap around in my handbag and my purse tends to get grotty. Fold the tie over, add a zip, stitch. Voila!

Tie Post #2 - The Tie Top

Start with an old black top which you've already started wearing as a pajama top

Find a tie at an op-shop.

Pin the tie around the collar of the top. Use a loose tension when you're sewing to avoid the tie bunching up
.

Cut a V shape in the back neckline of the top and sew the two pieces of the tie to match the V.

Use the left-over pieces to make two small strips for the sleeves.

Pin, sew and ask Genevieve to model it!

Tea towel skirt

Summer is just starting to hit Melbourne and I started thinking about the holiday we took in 2003 to the Greek Islands. I found a tourist tea towel of Sicily at an op-shop and that combined with some left-over red cotton was enough to inspire this skirt.

This was also the first piece that I used to try out my BRAND NEW over locker. Unfortunately it's very easy to get carried away with these things and so this nice little 'Island of the Sun' patch is actually covering a boo boo i.e. frustratingly large hole.

I'm not really a hugely curvy person, but I had made the skirt so straight, that it was difficult to walk in. I generally find walking to be a necessary mode of transport, so I fixed the problem by putting a slit up the back and decorating it with pieces cut off the edge of the tea towel.

Tea towels have huge potential as an upcycling material. They generally have bright, colourful graphics and opp-shops are generally only too pleased to find somebody who actually wants them!

Upcycling

From the age of sixteen, I've had a compulsion to cut up and reconfigure my clothing. As a self-taught sewer it was a fairly dodgy process, often ending in total disaster and a healthy supply of scrap material. Over the years, through a system of trial and error, I actually learned to sew properly and was ridiculously excited to find that there is a name for what I do: Upcycling! This blog is a type of archive for all the bits and pieces I make. Enjoy!