Recycle Clothing 

Sewing Friends:

Do you have some dresses that you just love, but they don’t fit around your hips anymore?  They just hang in the closet taking up space waiting for you to lose those inches.  You know you aren’t going to do that soon, but you can’t bring yourself to get rid of those pretty garments.

Don’t throw them away!  Recycle your dresses into great tops and blouses. 

As long as the top still fits, there is no reason to discard the dress.  With just a little sewing, you can add new blouses to your wardrobe almost instantly.

Measure the length of a favorite blouse or top that you have in your wardrobe.  Then, measure the dress in the same way.  Add 1/2 inch for a hem and cut off the lower portion of the dress.

Serge or zigzag to finish the raw edge of hem allowance.  Press the hem up to set the crease.

You have several options to finish the hem either by hand sewing, machine sewing including machine blind hemming or by using a fusing agent to fuse the hem in place.  It’s your choice how you want to hem your top!

I particularly like some of the new 1/4 inch paper backed fusibles.  They are great and an extremely fast way to hem!  Test on a scrap first.

TIP:  Carry some of this fusible when you travel.  It’s fantastic to have to repair a ripped hem, etc.

Try adding some slits to the sides of the tops for a more flattering look.  Wear the blouse as a light weight jacket over a camisole or tank top.

How about removing the sleeves to make a sleeveless top or a vest?

Use the skirt fabric to make a matching scarf, sash or belt.  Or add a coordinating fabric to enlarge the skirt, change the style and make it work with the new top. 

It’s amazing what you can come up with when you use your imagination.  You might even like your new creation better than the old one.

Try it!  It just makes sense!

To Your Sewing Success,

Marian

PS:  Please share your ideas for recycling clothing with us.

Recycle Clothing

 

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This entry was posted on Thursday, April 12th, 2007 at 6:32 pm and is filed under Sewing Projects. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.