New Clothes...No Shopping
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
As my vision for what I am as an artist and designer grows I am strongly convicted about what I put into the world. I often ask myself (by the minute) what can be reused, reconsummed reinvented. It’s truly my passion - it was my parents influence before me and now I have fully embraced this way of life for my own family.
Therefore to pay homage to this belief I am upcycling my wardrobe as well. I am not much of a shopper unless it’s junk stores so this year I decided to not add anything to my current wardrobe unless it falls into the category of “reinvention”.
I have many favorite pieces that I’m going to augment... so here goes...
Favorite short sleeve sweater with the addition of rays of vintage lace and a Bakelite Button.
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Black Cardigan: I added a zigzag of stitched ribbon. I tried a similar sweat on that was over $100. This was far better... A well loved sweater with a new look!
Rock Star Coat: heehee...This was made from scratch but I wanted to add it, because with the crazy gold boots my husband gave me for Christmas... it’s the perfect coat.
Heather Grey T-Shirt: LOVE IT! But in the spirit of what I’m trying to accomplish I added some fun to it for the spring and summer.
And for the pièce de résistance... wonderful expensive Lucky Brand jeans that are no longer in style because of the HUGE bells at the bottom... pegged and embellished for a new look AND the tuto for how to peg jeans.
I’m an 80’s girl who spent many hours pegging and bleaching and altering my 501’s to be the perfect 80’s style. OHHH the fond memories of scrunched socks, 7 Swatch watches on one wrist and the headache inducing hair do’s.
Step One: Put the jeans on (inside out) and determine how you want them different, ie. narrow legs, straight legs, shorter - whatever the desired end result. Place a mark where you will start the alteration. Mine was about mid thigh where the fabric started it’s gradual flair out. Remove them and lay them out flat - inside out. Use a straight edge to make the necessary lines based on your measurements. You can see in the picture that I decided on skinny legs, therefore they will cut in toward the ankle. I measured in 4 inches at the bottom of the jean. Connect the two marks with your straight edge. If you simply want to get rid of a bell leg, your line will be straight.
Step Two: Trim excess fabric, leaving only a 1/2 inch seam allowance. I also shortened the jeans by two inches to make the skinny jean “look” complete, since I’ll be wearing them with flats and sandals rather than heels.
Step Three: Starting at the mark on the top, sew the new seam toward the ankle. Start back at the top and sew another seam 1/8 “ outside of the first seam to reenforce the denim. It frays a lot, therefore this will keep the seam from tearing out as you wash and wear them.
Step Four: At the ankle I chose not to turn and hem it as the desired effect. I did a zigzag 1/2 inch from the bottom in a contrasting thread and it will fray as I wear them. Then I used yarn to embellish the new side seam on the outer part of the leg. Voilà... new jeans that are already broken in. :)
