I’ve been on a roll since May with refashioning clothing pieces. I have several pieces to share with you, so here is the first.
It all started with a green linen shirt (bought from thrift store, as always with me) that didn’t quite fit right and had some small torn sections. I didn’t want to just start stitching through tears with thread, so I added patches to the backs of each hole. Then I used those patches to reinforce whatever I would next decide to be the visible mending part. Have you heard of visible mending? It’s basically where you patch over a hole or a stain with whatever materials you want, and you use that visible patching work to add to the decor of your clothing piece. I love doing it! It helps me let go of some unidentifiable notion of perfection, and adds quirkiness to my clothes. As you can see from the second and third photos above, I added a linen patch with embroidery to the top of one reinforced section.
The little section near the bottom of the shirt was the result of the patching above. I patched two sections with the watermelon-coloured linen, then added beading and embroidery to create a picture of sorts.
This flower applique above is not visible mending; just a decoration I wanted to add. It’s so calming to sit and cut out shapes from quality cloth, lay them out randomly, and shape them into a unified piece. And I still love embroidering with thread and beads. For the sleeve, I cut the cuffs off and added quarter-circle sleeves. The pink linen comes from a thrifted tablecloth. I love the look of quarter-circle sleeves because they just drape without being tight or looking bulky.
The final creation. You can see pink running up one side of the shirt and sleeve; this is because I added a strip of fabric to each side after cutting the sides and sleeve sides apart. This made the shirt a bit more flowy. You can also see binding around the neck; I had cut a collar off the original shirt. As well, you can see a tiny patch of green stitching. That is the “right” side of the first reinforced patch photo above. To me, the finished shirt (tunic?) looks randomly patched but somehow put-together. I wore it last week to a farmer’s market, and got compliments from a vendor who does something similar!
I’ve got more refashions to share, so I’ll get them posted as soon as I can process all my photos. Please share this blog post with anyone you know who also enjoys this form of creativity; thank you!! Do you have any refashion experience to share? Please let me know in the comment section!
This is so unique and I love how free flowing it is. It’s a perfect fit for your unique wonderful personality. Love It!
Ah, thank you! I was telling a friend the other day about the things I sewed for myself as a kid and as a teen. I realized that I’ve always loved this type of garment; flowy, colourful, bedazzled, etc., lol.
I would bedazzled from head to toe if I could be, I think a sparkle and a shine does the soul good and brings a smile to someone else’s face.
You should just do it!