DIY Design: Giving Old Garments New Life

by Amber Eden (Subscribe to Amber Eden's posts)
Posted Mar 4th 2010 at 7:35PM

Revive your favorite skirt! Photo: Getty Images

Just because your favorite garment is past its prime doesn't mean its life is over. And you don't have to take it apart to remake it. Here's how to give it new life:

Get up to speed: For a quick primer on how to make a new pattern from your old garment, check out this post on PatternReview.com. (Lots of expert sewers create posts on this site, so it's a great place to get plenty of tips on sewing.)
Tales from the city: Check out these ruboff tips from a longtime fashion designer with sixty years in the biz and learn from the pros.
What about the sleeve? While certain pattern pieces in a garment may be very straightforward, the sleeve, for instance can be a real brain-teaser, especially if it's in two pieces. Click here for a great post on how to recreate a tricky sleeve.
Compare, don't despair: If you have a pair of pants or a blouse that fits particularly well, you can also compare them to your commercial sewing patterns. If your garment is beyond wearable, take it apart and use the garment pieces instead. Learn more here.

These are just a few resource to get you started. With practice, you'll find that you can recreate and revive your favorite pieces with ease.

Next week: Recycle fabrics like old linens to make something gorgeous.

For more DIY Design articles, click here.

Read All Comments

Filed under: Fashion, How To
Tags: copying garments, CopyingGarments, CreatingARuboffPattern, diy, diy design, DiyDesign, sewing, tracing off garments, TracingOffGarments

Style Around the Web

ImaxTree

Make Up Tips For Girls With Glasses - Refinery29
How Celebs Work Red Into Their Wardrobe - FabSugar
Celebrity Wardrobe Malfunctions - The Daily Beast
Deodorants that Actually Work - Daily Candy
Would You Wear Long-Sleeve Shirts As Skirts? - The Frisky
Tricks That Guarantee Gorgeous Hair - Daily Makeover
Celebs Have Us Seeing Stars - People Style Watch

READER COMMENTS

(1)Add A Comment

Leila Silva, 3-05-2010, 6:42AM

Tips on how to adjust clothing to serve us well, serve as for recycling of the used models and for the purchase of new clothes. Only a perfect fit, can value our shapes.

Leila Silva
http://www.leilasilva.wordpress.com

Reply »

ADD A COMMENT