Hey everyone! Today I have a first to share with you. This is the first time I have up-cycled something I originally made. For those who don’t know, I write the pattern tutorials at Ellie and Mac. What this means is that I am often sewing up the first version or a pretest of a pattern that one of the other designers sent over. At the same time I sew it, I write the instructions to open the test. There are oftentimes many changes a pattern undergoes during testing. In the case of the Gisella Dress, there was too much ease for the design, which resulted in an extremely oversized dress. I loved the fabric a lot (a linen & Tencel denim blend) so I have kept the dress hanging in the closet thinking maybe there’d come a magical day where I’d actually wear it. I’m here to admit this pattern released in June of last year, and friends…I have never worn it!
I am taking Fashion Sustainability, a new class offering at Cañada College this fall. One of the assignments for this class was called the Mending Project. Per the project description “one of the most sustainable actions a consumer can take is to extend the life of existing clothing. For this project, you will repair, alter, update, or creatively transform a garment that you already own. Your goal is to keep a wearable item out of the waste stream while learning about the value of repair, reuse, and garment longevity.” There was a large range of approaches to take, depending on our skill levels, from hemming, replacing a zipper or button, dyeing the garment, hand sewing patches, Sashiko or other embroidery styles, or a complete restyle or rework. After perusing my closet, ya girl settled on a rework with that Gisella.
Funny story is that I originally completed the project requirements a couple weeks ago when I made my rust waffle sweater that I wore with one of my Mila skirts. I decided I didn’t want to submit it for the assignment because it was incredibly easy and took me less than an hour to do. That being said, there is still tremendous value in it, because this sweater was another garment I had made (this one back in 2022) and never wore because I didn’t know better about sewing waffle fabric and it was ugly (looking at you wavy, puckered seams, mismatched threads, and incorrectly sized neckband). Now that I have fixed it, I will wear it. When I got tired of wearing it, I won’t be embarrassed to pass it along because now the seam threads match and it’s beautifully sewn. Here are a couple collages of that project before we get to the main project!
The resulting top after completely sewing it back up is one I am proud to wear. The fit is much better overall and suited to my body. Can’t wait to wear it again soon with jeans and boots!
Now…onto the project I submitted for the assignment! This is the before.
My original idea was easy-peasy. Take the bodice from the skirt, and add an elastic waistband to the skirt. I’ve added three skirts with elastic waistbands to my closet recently, so I decided I should add something different. After separating bodice from skirt, I wrapped the skirt around my waist. I actually really liked the look of it being fitted up top and ruffled on the bottom. The bottom gathers were too out of proportion to the top, so I detached it also, so I could take some width out. While at Sewing Salon with some of my sewing friends this weekend, I jumped in and did most of the skirt. I didn’t have a pattern with me, but I knew enough how to measure my body for the basic shape, and since I was using the height of the top tier, I didn’t need to focus on length. I added the waistband and invisible zipper there and got as far as trying it on…it was so cute as a mini skirt (just not my style). Also, I was so glad it fit without using a pattern. 💃🏽 I miiiight go back some day and shorten the hip through waist to fix all the bunching. It also doesn’t bother me tremendously, but I know it is a fit symptom of there being too much length there, so just acknowledging that before somebody tries to come for me lol!
When I got back home, I attached the new bottom tier that I removed a few inches of width from. I wasn’t a big fan of the length when I actually had it on, but I did like like the look a hi-lo, so I pinned the front where I wanted it and went into hi-lo. This also helped me to keep as much of the original fabric as possible, which was one of my goals. I then hemmed the bodice into a crop. I had removed the pockets and original buttons, so I needed to at least add some buttons back. I chose these emerald/jade buttons for now, but I may take them off in the future if I can find three black buttons in my stash that are the correct size, as I would prefer them to be black.
Since I”ve been in the mood lately for photographing my makes, I ran to my son’s school to grab some pics in time to submit this project before the deadline last night. I love how it turned out! It’s a super cute date night set and now my husband and I both have custom fitted two-piece denim sets haha! I will likely wear the two pieces separately more than I’ll wear them together, but I am still so pleased with how this project turned out. I’m so happy that it pushed me to consider my closet as a playground for reinvention. I don’t make as many new garments as I used to, and am certainly mindful in my sewing practices for the past couple years now, but I know how much potential is hanging on my rack that I made…and I can RE-make it! Who knows…maybe I’ll take on some more….
I hope you’ll be inspired to give this kinda project a go! Take a look through your closet or drawers, yes, even your handmade. What don’t you wear and what would make you wear it? Do you need to shorten it? Wanna colorblock it? Embroider it? Take it in? Is there lots of fabric to re-use it for something else, even making a garment for a kid? There are sooooo many ways we can give new life to the clothing we have abandoned, whether it’s store-bought or handmade. The joy that comes from getting to wear something again after a long time is so worth it! It was also so rewarding to use a sustainable practice in my sewing that I ordinarily might not have. Will you join me in doing our best to keep our clothes wearable and out of landfills? 😘