Linda's wardrobe Challenge

So, I set myself the challenge of not spending any money on clothes for an entire year…..yes, a whole twelve months! Instead I’m going to refresh and revamp the clothes I already have so that I can still satisfy that ‘need for something new to wear’ feeling! Okay, I do have the massive advantage of working as a costume designer and a dressmaking tutor, which means I have cupboards and cupboards full of fabrics, trims and exciting glittery things that can be used for alterations, plus I’m great at sewing! I gave myself this challenge on February 1st 2014. It’s been over nine months now and I’ve managed to completely stick to it…..and so far it’s not even been difficult. I’d actually go as far as to say it’s been easy! Why am I doing this?: There are several reasons why I gave myself the challenge of no new clothes for a year 1. I often say “I have nothing to wear”, (just like so many girls I know) This, however, is a lie. In reality I have a wardrobe and chest of drawers crammed full of clothes. What I actually should say is “I have nothing I WANT to wear.” Some of the things hanging in my wardrobe I’ve never even worn, but bought second hand or in a sale because I intended to alter it in some way, but (as in several cases), years(!) later I still haven’t got around to it. Some of the things I own I suppose I’m just a bit bored of, and think that with a bit of glamorization I’d fall in love with them all over again! So what better motivation to revamp my current wardrobe than having no new clothes to wear! 2. Being a dressmaking tutor I thought it would also be a great way to show via this blog how to carry out alterations so others can do it too! For every alteration I carry out I will post a step by step tutorial set of instructions that can be followed. 3. Money!!!!! Yep, obviously not spending money on new clothes for a year is going to be financially beneficial. It’s not like I spent loads anyway, in fact I love a bargain and bought many of my clothes second hand from charity shops or ebay, or if I did buy new it wouldn’t be from expensive shops. But I’ve noticed the financial benefit already, and have more money to spend on fun things like days out. 4. I’m a costume designer for goodness sake! I can have a beautifully creative wardrobe if I put my mind to it. I don’t like much of what’s in fashion now anyway so I can easily create unique pieces to suit my very own style. 5. It's eco-friendly! Upcycling clothes helps the environment by saving materials and clothing from clogging up the landfills. We all have a social responsibility to try and limit damage to the environment because if nothing is done about it our natural resources will all be used up eventually. We should all do what we can, and as small as this step may seem, it's still a step in the right direction. 6. Okay…brace yourselves, here comes the profound bit!! Buying a new expensive dress doesn’t bring happiness. Hmmmm....okay well, it might make you feel great when you wear it, but only on a superficial level. What I mean is: it won’t bring life changing happiness, (despite what magazines and advertising tell you!) Being creative, on the other hand, has been proven to stimulate positivity and happiness. Now add to that the fact that you’re also saving money, being eco friendly and creating a truly unique and personal wardrobe………it can only mean one thing: bish bash bosh everyone’s a happy winner! The rules: 1. I will not spend any money on buying clothes, (except for underwear, socks and shoes - after all, there are limits!) 2. No new or second hand clothes can be bought. 3.Clothes swapping and clothes as gifts is allowed as long as no money is exchanged.

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Upcycled T-shirt Rugs: A beautiful hot and sunny day, so I spent the afternoon sitting in the garden working on the upcycled rugs I started months ago. First cutting the t-shirts into long strips, then plaiting them and then finally coiling then around and zigzagging them together on the sewing machine. Its a very time consuming (but theraputic) process and ive a long way to go before they are finished, but they do look lovely.

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Making a large top smaller: I'd got this lovely thin cotton top from a clothing swap party recently. I really like it only it's like a tent on me. Because its such a basic shape it makes it really easy to adjust the fit by just taking in the sides and sleeves. I put it on inside out and put pins down the side seams of how much I wanted to take it in by. Then I removed the top and checked that id be taking in an equal amount on both sides. Then I sewed this. I then did the same on the underarm seam of the sleeves. Next I cut away the excess fabric and overlocked the seam. And tadaaaaaa I have a new top to wear.

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world environment day

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Easiest and simplist ever alteration! NO SEWING REQUIRED! Its been a very busy few months for me lately and I haven't been able to do as many clothing alterations as I would like although I have been to several clothing swap parties and carboot sales where Ive picked up a huge stock pile of clothes id like to adapt. One of the dresses I picked up second hand for a pound was this pretty little coral pink summer dress. Literally perfect except for some weird fussy frill around the neck. So how did I fix it? Surprise surprise, I cut the offending frill off. No sewing needed for this little lovely dress. :)

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Changing the Neckline Shape (ever so slightly): I bought, yes that’s right, BOUGHT! (Because after all the year of no buying is up), this cute little summer dress, second hand for all of £1 from a carboot sale a few weeks ago. It was a bit too big so I had already taken in the sides and have worn it a few times, but I still wasnt that happy with the neckline. And I figured if im gonna to splash out ;) and actually purchase a dress I want to be 100% happy with it. So being a bit pedantic I decided to change the curve of the neckline into one more square - which I know suits me better. First I cut away the corners of the neckline to the new shape (ever so slightly less than the desired finished shape to allow for seam allowance). Then I needed binding of the same material to finish the edge off in the same way as the original. Because the dress came with a thin fabric tie belt in the same fabric which was long enough to loose a little length and still work, I used this to create the binding. I cut two small lengths, unpicked and ironed. Then I sewed this to the original binding and folded over to the reverse of the neckline copying the way it was made. Bit fiddly and took probably a good hour to complete after a few bits were unpicked and resewn, but I am now really pleased with the result. Just a teeny tiny adjustment but I think its made a huge difference. :)

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The upcycled blanket poncho: This was so easy to do - even if you’ve never sewn before you could do this. I came across this old blanket lurking at the back of the cupboard, (I dont know where it came from as I swear id never seen it before). Anyway I was going to take it to the charity shop but I couldn’t get over how the shape would make a great poncho, so thats what I did. I followed a small centre circle with a zigzag stitch to secure the wool threads. (The circle I stitched was much smaller than the finished neck hole required as I knew circle would stretch once the centre hole was cut). Next I cut away the centre inside the zigzag stitch line. Then folded the hem over twice and zigzag stitched again. And that was it! Seriously quick and easy. I think its lovely and pretty…..but my daughter said I looked like I was wearing a blanket which in fact I am!

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Restyling sofa (to cover up the attacks on it by my cats) I have two cats that I adore. Mr Harry Carrot and Molly are little darlings, but they have shredded the side of the sofas by sharpening their claws on them. I was wondering how to cover up the damage without recovering the sofas entirely. I had collected a few old crochet doilies for a few years just because I thought they were pretty and could be used for something one day - And that 'something' turned out to be revamping the shredded sofa. I pinned them in place and just handstitched them down. They look so pretty and lacy. Ive decided I'll add to it by stitching several more over the sofa. I know Harry and Molly will probably wreck these too but they can easily be replaced in the future. Much easier (and cheaper!) to sew on a doilie than replace the whole sofa!

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A whole year without buying clothes - Done!

On the first of February 2015 a whole year had passed since I'd set myself the challenge of not buying any clothes, neither new or secondhand. Did I stick to it? Yes! (Except for one summer dress bought when I was in Costa Rica as I knew id never get the chance to get it again. And surely that sort of counts as a souvenir?!?) How did I find the challenge? The last couple of months were the hardest. I wore out three pairs of jeans over the year, so I felt like I was living in leggings after 11 months. And I found it harder to be inspired to upcycle winter clothes than I did summer clothes. Worst thing about not buying clothes? The temptation if around clothes shops. I just stayed away from shops as much as possible. Best thing about not buying clothes? Staying away from shops and finding more fun things to do instead. The money saved which I could put towards fun things was fantastic. Learning to appreciate what I have and realise that buying stuff doesnt make me feel better, look better, or be a better person. Its also allowed me to meet some great and creative like minded people doing similar things. Ive also learnt a lot about where clothes come from and the importance of ethical fashion. Its inspired me to lead workshops in schools to teach children about the true cost of fashion and how they can upcycle clothes too. Would I do the challenge again? Yes! Abso-bloody-lutely! Just because the year is up, I will never return to shopping frivolously. I love upcycling - it makes me happy. If I really need something I will buy it, and preferably secondhand, but otherwise I will just continue as I am.......forever! :)

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New shoes! (Well almost! Old shoes revamped!) I had this pair of cheapo stripy shoes that I bought a while back but had only worn a few times as there was something a bit……erm……boring about them. But I can solve this boringness I thought and so I did, and here is how: First I unpicked the small bows from the front. Then I hand stitched a pretty ribbon I had, around the top of the shoes. I stitched along both the top and bottom of the ribbon to make sure it was held firmly and neatly. (I initially tried gluing it around but it was so fiddly and I realised it would be a messy finish). To create the bows I cut two rectangles of material that used to be a pair of pyjama bottoms. I folded over each of the longest sides into the middle. Then I folded the shorter sides into the center and roughly stitched these down. Next I cut a thin strip of the same fabric and again folded over the long sides into the middle. I wrapped a piece of the thin strip tightly around each of the rectangular pieces to make into a perfect bow and handstitched to hold it together. Lastly I positioned the bows at the front of the shoes and handstitched these down in place.

From boring shoes to exciting shoes in about an hour and revamped from things I already had! ♡

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This year I'm going to be running upcycling clothing workshops in primary and secondary schools. It will be teaching the true cost of fast fashion as well as how to upcycle clothes too. And in the post today the education pack from 'War On Want' arrived. Full of posters, flyers, badges and information booklets about the lethal working conditions of sweatshops. A great resource to go with my upcycling workshops. :) Check out War On Want and what awesome work they do: http://www.waronwant.org/

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Refashion of an odd fitting maxi dress into an awesome maxi skirt: So I had this maxi dress that I kind of loved but since its made of jersey fabric it did this weird thing that made the top of it stretch from the weight of the skirt so it ended up being quite revealing around the chest. It meant I only ever wore it with a jumper. I thought if I turned it into a skirt I could wear it with any top instead. Soooooo......I chopped off the top of the dress so just the skirt section was left. Then I had to figure out how to finish it without creating gathers. I did this by measuring a piece of elastic around my waist so I knew what size the waistband would be, and I stitched this into a loop with a zigzag stitch. Next I pinned the elastic to the front of the top of the skirt. I then sewed the two together using a overlocker, (stretching the elastic slightly to be equal length to the skirt waist). When this was done I folded the waistband to the inside and secured it in place by a few hand stitches just at the seams so they aren't noticeable from the front. And its done - ta dah!!!! I have worn this loads already. An easy upcycle but a good one :)

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The beautiful top refashioned into an even more beautiful bolero jackety thing! PART 1: I bought this gorgeous second hand satin, beaded, indian top off Ebay a couple of years ago for about £2.00 (I know! What a bargain!) Anyway ive never worn it because it looked awful - the shape is not fattering at all on me! But I thought if I turned it into a little jacket I could wear it. To do this I started by sewing up the centre back seam. Originally it was open at the back and fastened with hooks and eyes but I just closed up that seam completely. Then I had to cut it open at the centre front instead - arghhhhh! That was a bit worrying as id be citting through all the decorative beading, but I didnt suit or wear the top as it was I did have much to lose! Then I found a couple of scraps of silver ribbon that I had in my costume sewing cupboard and I pinned these to the front along the newly cut edges. Then I stitched the ribbon to the top about 0.5cms from the edge. I did think the beads and sequins may snap my needle but luckily it worked fine. Next I folded over the ribbon to encase the raw edge and stitched along this too. I finished off the tops and bottoms of the ribbon neatly by hand stitching. And the top is now a jacket. Its not finished as there are still shoulder pads to remove and fitting to be done but right now I have to go teach a dressmaking class, so I shall post that in part 2. :)

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An A-line skirt upcycled from a top: Ive got just four days left of this no buying any clothes for a year. And ive found it harder to stick to in winter than I did in the summer. I haven’t given in to buying anything but recently having the same old choice of clothes has been somewhat uninspiring. The last month I’ve just been living in leggings and skirts as ive worn out my three pairs of jeans. So…… I figured if I had a new skirt at least to wear with my leggings id feel a bit better about it. I decided to use a top I had been given second hand. Id never worn it but I liked the pattern on the material so hung on to it. First I cut away the top section and the two waist ties from the side. Already this is looking skirt like! Then I put it on and pinched the sides of the skirt at my waist so I could work out how much to take it in by to make it fit. Next I pinned where I wanted the new sides seams to be (I did a gradual diagonal line to create an a-line shape). Cut this excess away leaving enough for a seam allowance. (As you can see from the photos Harry Carrot tried to help me with this). Then I removed the cat and stitched one skirt side closed where id pinned, and on the other side I put in a concealed zip. Next around the top of the waist I pinned a wide ribbon to the front of the waist band. (Using a grosgrain ribbon to create a waistband facing is not the usual thing to do but it made it quick as I already had it and it would make the band more rigid without having to use interfacing). I sewed this together. Then folded the ribbon over to the inside of the skirt and top stitched along the top edge to hold the waist band in place. I finished off by hand around the top of the zip…….And tah dah it’s done. And now I at least can feel a little excited about having another choice of skirt to wear with leggings. :)

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Upcycling an old tshirt into a vest top - super quick and easy project! I had this slightly shrunk and shapeless Rolling Stones tshirt that I never wore, so I decided to give it a new life. This is such a simple way to transform a tshirt and can easily be done in half an hour even if you're a beginner to sewing. The great thing about working with jersey fabric is that it doesnt need hemming as it wont fray and instead just curls. Start by cutting off the sleeves an across in a straight line under the neckline at the front and back. Next fold under about 2- 3 cms across the straight edges which will be the neck line. Pin this in place. Sew over this folded edge with a zigzag stitch (use a zigzag to allow the fabric to still stretch). You should now have created a channel on the front and back. Cut from the sleeves that were removed, two strips about an inch wide. Sew these together to make one long strip. Put a large safety pin on one end and thread this through both channels. Try the top on to see how long you want the straps to be. Sew together at the correct length. And it's complete......all done! How simple is that! ♡

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The revamped 50’s style party dress: I wrote a post last year (oooh I can write that now since it’s 2015!), showing how i’d adapted a black dress and a vintage basque into a gorgeous Christmas party dress. I wore it to an amazing event in December and wanted to show how it looked when worn. I was so happy with it….and the dress looked great even when I got ridiculously drunk and didn’t! ;)

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After 11 months and 1 day of challenge:

I have less than one month to go now of 'No buying any clothes for a year'. It's totally changed my shopping habits and changed my values for the better, but I'm so looking forward to buying myself some new jeans. Geez, I miss jeans.

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After my enormous clear out of my sewing and fabric cupboards last weekend, I decided I should try and use up some of the small amounts of lovely trims and materials I have.  So I made a couple of pretty vintage circus style neck ruffle capes which look so pretty when worn. I’m now selling them on Ebay. Quite a productive clear out I think!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/151504276982?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1555.l2649