Revitalise your wardrobe... for free!

Some time ago I changed a black jumper by adding buttons down the back of the spine of it, following a fashion at the time. That jumper still resides in my wardrobe and I still wear it to this day, because it still looks quite new even though in reality it's nearly 4 years old now. A modern twist to it, that's all it needed, and I've had longer use from it.

It's been a while since I've tried breathing new life into my old clothes, but at this point in my life there is now more need for it than ever! We have recently had an offer accepted on a new house, and are currently in the process of paying out for solicitors, surveys, conveyancers, etc... And it ain't cheap! Last month I managed not to buy any new clothes, and was lucky enough to get a load of hand-me-downs from my friend who was getting rid of a big bag of goodies to the clothing bank. I managed to get two whole new gym kits for nothing! Same goes for this month, too. No clothes shopping, essentials only.

Yet another lazy Sunday sprawling before me today. It's the middle of the afternoon now, and already I've attacked a couple of items. Here, I'd like to share 3 Quick And Easy Ways to Revamp Your Old Clothes with you.

1. Re-hemming a dress:

The quickest and easiest way of changing the look of something like a dress is to make it shorter!! I bought this simple t-shirt dress from Matalan last summer, and I love the shape and colour of it. However the length is a little on the long side and it can look frumpy if I'm not careful. It came to below my knees before... not especially flattering!

Here's my result, but for simple instructions on how to do it yourself, click for the no-sew solution, or here for those of you brave enough to get the sewing machine out!

2. Make a cardigan fit your curves more snuggly:

I saw this tutorial here about how to completely change the shape of a cardigan. I have one in my wardrobe that was rescued from a bag of stuff my Mum was throwing out, but it's a little shapeless around the waist. I'd love to wear it over a vest so it's almost tight, but would show all the (limited) good parts of my body!

First turn the cardigan inside out and mark with fabric pen, then pin along the line. Careful to mark it up to the armpits but not over the pre-existing hemline, otherwise you'll end up with a hole there! 

Then using a machine, sew along the line removing the pins as you go. Cut the now excess material away. Your garment should be considerably smaller in size. This can be done to the arms too in the same way. See the tutorial link posted above if you want to do this.

3. BUTTONS!!!

Like I have ALWAYS said... there is no better way to jazz up your clothes, your books, your furnishings, whatever than with buttons and plenty of them! Also, pin-on roses work too.

Take one quite grubby, fairly underwhelming black body con dress to begin with. This is mini-skirt length and has never really done my hips any favours. So SNIP SNIP!

 I hemmed my new black t-shirt and then started raiding my button tin. I found the white rose broach off something else. It's been sitting in my sewing box for a while, so nice to find a use for it! I have a large selection of buttons, but in the end opted for a pearly one as it smartened the whole look once on the t-shirt.

Using needle and thread, sew the button on to the middle of the rose. Then take a safety pin big enough to hold the broach without it drooping, and sew a few loops of thread over the non-fastening side. I added a dab of all-purpose glue on to the back to secure the pin fully.

Et voila! Plain black tee transformed so simply! The dream is to have different broaches for all occasions, colours, outfits, seasons... then you're really taking 'multi-purpose' to a whole new level!

So three simple ways... which one are you going to try first??

BBxx