A bit of tweaking...

This is not my most dramatic or creative posts, but I am secretly proud of this upcycle. Often you buy something which is a fantastic piece, but there's a small aspect that makes it incredibly unflattering and consequently unwearable.


I found this jacket at an op-shop in Victoria St

 and fell in love with the buttons!

 It cost this much, but it was made by one of my favourite designers and would usually sell for at least $200 dollars

 This is why is was still at the op-shop:

 From the back this rutching looks ok...

But when I put it on Genevieve: instant hunchback!

 After examining it from every possible angle, I decided to deal with the problem by unpicking the back shoulder panel thusly.

I then also unpicked the inside lining, gathered up all the excess material and sewed a new seam.

Shoulder baggage begone!

 I also took some of the buttons off the front and placed them here to liven up the back

Finished product modeled by Genevieve and photographed by slightly smug self.

'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.

The Further Adventures of Grandma's Button Box

Button Necklace/Three Strand Bracelet

Featuring: Grandma's Button Box.

While I'm not really into whites, creams and beige, I've been noticing the incredible beauty of mother-of-pearl style buttons and decided to make a necklace using these and some muted shades of gray and black. Of course, REAL mother of pearl would be lovely (see below) but as Grandma's button box didn't stretch to that, I had to settle for some completely acceptable imitations.

 They all had to be fairly small buttons as I only had a packet of medium sized jump rings.

After hooking the rings through the buttons, I added an extra link to make a chain effect and finished the necklace with a small lobster clasp.

 Close-up on Genevieve's elegant swan-like neck. She could model for a late night infomercial channel!

And if you're not a necklace kinda gal, you can always wear it as a bracelet.

Buttons!

Every dedicated upcycler needs a few things to really come to grips with their craft:
1. A schedule which allows for visits to op-shops between meetings/appointments/deadlines etc
2. Big plastic tubs to store odds and ends of fabric, paper, thread, cotton etc
3. A patient partner/housemate who accepts that sewing projects take precedence over food on the dining room table.
AND
4. A button tin!

My button tin is over 60 years old and was originally a special edition biscuit tin to celebrate the wedding of Elizabeth II and Philip.

I think that both Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret were incredibly beautiful as young women. While portraiture of royalty is generally idealised, I love the fact that with each new edition of Australian coins, the Queen has more and more chins!

My button tin was inherited from my maternal grandmother who, as a result of living through the depression, never wasted anything. Coming from a large and poor family, clothes were generally second, third or fourth hand. Once the garment had completely worn out, the buttons were cut off and saved before the clothing was cut up into cleaning rags. This is a habit she continued her whole life and now that we live in a time where waste is looked down on as un-environmental and unsustainable, I do the same.


Button Cushions!

And to match the button tin....Button cushions which liven up our incredibly comfortable but fairly unattractive display model couch.

 Purchased for the grand total of:

 I love the fabric and they haven't been used!

 Buttons are something which can be found in multitudes at op-shops and I've even been known to buy bits and pieces for the buttons. Because buttons (I feel like this paragraph is suffering from a gratuitous overuse of the word 'buttons) are such an important part of upcycling, stay tuned for the further adventures of grandma's button tin!