The Great Upcyling Challenge
Have you been following the recent videos and posts about The Great Upcycling Challenge? To kick off this challenge I’m partnering with Candice Ayala, SewingPortfolios.com, and some of my friends to share some tips and tricks we utilize when we upcycle.
Michael Miller Fabrics provided not yet released fabric to incorporate into our upcycle kick-off posts so that we could preview some of these new lines for you. How awesome to get a sneak peak at new fabrics before they are even available?! This was a perk to being selected as one of the first 4 Diamond Ambassadors for SewingPortfolios.com. I was able to select several fabrics for my post from Charming by Gerti. You may have seen my sneak preview yesterday on Instagram. As you know I’m all about florals, so this line was a perfect match for my style.
My Tips for Upcycling:
Find pieces from your closet you don’t wear.
Have a plan before you cut.
Don’t be affraid to be creative and stray from grain lines.
Keep any hemlines if you can.
When I want to upcycle it is typically because I have cleaned out my closet and purged things that I no long wear, but can’t justify throwing it out. When you upcycle, but sure to check your closet before going to the thrift shop. You never know what you might find. I actually used a shirt for this post that has been sitting up in my sewing space for this exact reason for over a year. Seriously, I’m not making that up. To document the transformation we snapped a quick “before” photo before tackling our project. As you can see, the concept of upcycling wasn’t very clear to my 5 year old model. I’m not sure she believed me when I told her I was going to turn all these things into one complete look. The green knit shirt was hanging off her so much we had to cover up with a tank to keep the before photo modest. This is what I call classic honestly right here.
I think the most important part of upcycling for myself is to have a plan before you start cutting into your pieces. If you start deconstructing your upcycle piece, you may miss a feature you would want to utilize. I began my project knowing I wanted to use this knit shirt to make a raglan style shirt with some fabric accents and that I was planning to make a skirt that would pair with the top. For reference, I used the Reagan Raglan from Bella Sunshine Designs for my top. This is actually a free pattern. For my skirt I used the Willow Suspender Skirt from Violette Field Threads. I wanted to be super frugal with my upcycling here, so I utilized patterns that were already in my stash.
After I had my plan in place I worked to cut apart my top along the seam lines. I encountered a problem when I began cutting my project out. I was planning to use all of the hemlines from this shirt that existed, but when I went to cut the sleeve for my raglan from the sleeve of my top, I did not have enough fabric width to cut my sleeve pieces with the original hemline. Boo!
To troubleshoot this problem, I moved the pattern piece up higher onto the sleeve to cut them. Then, I went back and removed the hem of the sleeve just above the coverstitching. I added seam allowance before cutting because I knew I wanted to add this finished edge to my sleeves. When I reattached the hem to the sleeves, I treated the hem like it was a band. I stretched it just enough to be sure it wouldn’t flop around once it was attached. You can see the end result in the photo. I think it turned out great.
Another tip I would like to offer for upcycling is don’t be afraid to stray from grain lines. I almost didn’t have enough space to cut my neckband from my upcycle fabric, but once I got creative I was able to squeeze it in. I folded up the remaining portion of my shirt bodice after cutting the new shirt pieces from it. It was nearly a perfect fit. I actually like cutting my knit neckbands on the bias, so this didn’t bother me at all.
My finished product features an upcycled knit raglan with a fabric feature in the from from Gertie’s Charming line. This is paired with the Willow Skirt and lastly I utilized some of the remaining fabric I used on the raglan to make a headband. We paired these pieces with a fun pair of shoes and were off and ready to go.
This combination makes for a perfect spring and summer outfit. We can wear this to church or even out to dinner. I enjoy sitting back and appreciating how I just saved money creating something new from something I would have thrown out.
Here’s a solid before and after comparison for you.
I hope you have gained a little bit of inspiration from my post today. Be sure to SUBSCRIBE to for The Great Upcycling Challenge and get all the details as they become available. Sign up for the contest begins tomorrow!
The prize package for this contest is so amazing, it makes me want to whip up another piece as an entry. I mean, who doesn’t want a Babylock machine?! I’ll take one of each machine please.
Let me tell you a little about my baby. I have a Babylock Eclipse Serger that I found in the closet at school two years ago. They don’t even sew on machines in FAC’s anymore. Last fall I took a new job and have been asked to return my baby since I’m not longer there… AGH!!! Tears! The receipt that was in the manual said it was purchased in the 90’s. It still runs beautifully and I’ve had it serviced multiple times to keep it that way. If you don’t have jet air threading… you are missing out. People… You don’t get better than that! Pray for me as I have to return this awesome machine and will be using a much less amazing serger until I can scrape up enough founds to get a new baby. It’s like I’ve fallen in love with a foster child and have to send it back home and have a fear that no one will love it the way I do.
