Repurposing With A Purpose

Dress and graphic by Maisy Weber

With today's fast-paced trend cycle and fast fashion, it’s easy to forget the unused objects collecting around you. Clothing, bags, and books of the past can easily be repurposed into something that brings you joy in the future. 

After learning how to sew, I was creating with whatever materials I could get my hands on. Most of the time it was menswear that was given to me by my family and friends. One of my favorite projects has been re-constructing my dad's old button-down into a skirt. I cut the arms off the shirt and sewed them together, and five years later I still love the skirt. I love making girly fashion from masculine pieces because of the visual contrast it creates. Once I draped a midriff top with a matching skirt set from men’s ties. The ties were donated by a retired family friend who wanted his no longer-worn ties to be used for something creative. Purposing items from the people around you is an amazing opportunity for new upcycling ideas as well as a way to remove clutter from their lives. One person's trash can be another's treasure!

If you are new to sewing, a great upcycling project to work on is creating scarves. Their simple shape makes them beginner friendly, and you can create them in any style that speaks to you: skinny (which has been trending recently,) oversized, or classic. Patchworking unworn clothing is an awesome way to make the piece unique and personal to you. Adding fringe to the scarf is another way to make the piece more custom. You can do this by cutting old jeans into thin strips and sewing them onto the ends. 

Reworking the forgotten objects around you is a special way to create something new that makes you happy, in addition to giving a purpose to the unwanted clutter in your life.