This year I made a few items from the Cut Up Couture book by Koko Yamase. I enjoyed doing these projects and it has been a learning curve for me.
I also did one dress I designed myself out of strips of Liberty of London fabric mixed with a man’s shirt and some calico fabric. I had these small pieces of Liberty of London fabric buried in my closet for years and really wanted to do something fun with them. I patch worked the strips together and took a button down section of a men’s dress shirt and situated that part where it would run down one side of the skirt. I attached the skirt with bodice tape onto a old tank top t shirt that was falling apart below the belly button area. Once all sewn together I was very pleased with my dress. If I wear it with a long sleeve t shirt underneath it I can wear it in the winter.
As a skirt
My favorite dress I wanted to try out in the Koko Yamase’s book was the Long Jumper, made from two men’s shirts. The first one I made was denim on top with a navy shirt on the bottom which has little white pin stripes. The next one I made was from another denim shirt with a flannel shirt attached for the bottom half. I chose flannel since I have always enjoyed the flannel shirt wrapped at the hip look however I wanted to take it to another level. Both dresses are incredibly comfortable and warm. This is important since I can’t wear wool dresses without another layer underneath so I won’t itch.
It is nice to have a warm dress that is so comfy!! I also made the Two- Way Poncho/skirt from men’s scarves. I prefer it as a poncho, since my skinny frame makes the thickness of the cord around the waist seem bulky. Plus the skirt seems so full on me. If I wore it on a cold day with a larger, bulkier sweater over it I think it’d be fine. I finished it last week and now I often find myself wanting to wear it around the apartment when it is chilly. I made my daughter one of the Ponchos from Four Scarves.
I have a few pieces of scarves left over from my Two-Way Poncho/Skirt. I plan to make them into a mix matched scarf. One of the scarves I used was vintage wool. I couldn’t wear it around my neck since it made me itch. Now I will be able to move that piece closer to the bottom of the scarf so that I can wear it. That is one of the nice things about upcycling. You can make use of things that you weren’t really using before, but in a new way. You repurpose it in a way that works for you.
The thing that I enjoy most about my denim dresses and my Two-Way/Poncho Skirt is that these items are very comfortable. I find it nice to have some clothing other than jeans that are incredibly comfortable and it reminds me of camping, that earthy relaxed feeling one arrives at when surrounded by nature. The most challenging thing I encountered in flowing Koko Yamase’s measurements is that my own shirt or item may need to vary slightly or by a few inches in terms of where to cut or fold the fabric. Example: when I cut my sleeves too short on the first dress and had to re sew them. Also where she says 30 centimeters for instance from the collar of the dress to attach the other shirt you may need to work around a button on your own shirt. When faced with these challenges you have to make a choice such as higher or lower by 2 centimeters. Either way it works out in the end as long as you are flexible and don’t get too attached to the outcome. I can’t say I am extremely brave about trying clothing on when it has 15-20 pins in them, so therefore I accept the outcome once I make the decision to stitch. If I am really concerned about how it might look I can choose to baste stitch that area by hand first.
I also recently upcycled a vest of mine that was new but had some awful rounded brass buttons on it. It looked too military for me. I took those brass buttons off and replaced the buttons on the shoulder with plain black buttons, and then I attached a handful of vintage buttons on one side of the lapel. Now it looks more like me so I assume I will wear it a lot!
One other article of clothing I made I made is a kimono from an old upcycled Liberty Skirt that was large and baggy. The elastic had worn out on the top. I cut it and made the skirt into the front of the kimono and then I used some lightweight wool for the back. The skirt was a soft wool challis. I wanted a warmer weather kimono and I liked the idea of floral in front with solid fabric on the back so as not to be overly flowery, but enough to brightened up a solid grey outfit. I end up wearing quite a bit of grey in the winter, especially for office attire. I think it looks better on me than black and I prefer it since it is a lighter color than black. If an office isn’t very conservative I may be able to wear this kimono at work. That is another reason I made it half solid.
Upcycled sweater with antique buttons
I am looking forward to a few more upcycling projects soon. In the spring I’d like to make another Long Jumper dress with Koko Yamase’s design, however next time I would like to try it in a men’s floral shirt mixed with a solid, perhaps in soft yellows. I really want to make some scarves as well from a mix of fabrics, lace and doilies. I really want to make a few items with the made by Aya video’s that I have under the DIY section of my blog. She comes up with great clothing or accessory items! Whenever I upcycle something it is fun since in the process I make it my look more like me. That sweater above for instance was pilling. Now whenever I wear it I always receive compliments.
I’d really like to make a gown out of men’s shirts. I don’t have a long, flowing gown and it would be fun to create a fantasy sort of gown that I could wear, even if it just around the apartment!
