The #CraftBlogClub upcycled challenge was launched at the end of March. This challenge is always good fun! Last time we had the challenge; in 2016; I was really pleased with my project; which of course I talked about in this post.
This time I actually upcycled several things. Some was planned, some just coincidental. So I thought I’d share them all in one post.
Upcycled Clothing
Once again; I decided to get out my sewing machine and alter not just one, but two items from my wardrobe!
This Dress, which I actually bought in H&M in Prague, and wore this one time in Cheddar, with the straps tied in knots at the back…
And this top which was so cheap; around £5 or something in Sainsbury’s; I don’t do floral, but I am a sucker for paisley; and genuinely loved the elephant pattern! I didn’t have a photo, so found one online (if I find one I’ll add one in), which I have worn once or twice, before I altered it, again with the straps tied…
Both suffered from the same problem; the straps on both the dress and top were far too long; and not adjustable! (Boo, this needs to not be a thing!)
So, other than tying them to shorten them; they were virtually unwearable; and I loathe tying my tops in knots, so I decided to simply change both to halter style straps.
For more quick clothing upcycling, check out this post.
This was essentially fairly simple, cut the straps, and alter the back slightly, which is exactly what I did with the dress, though the top had a tie front bow thing, which you can see in the photo, so I did away with the straps entirely, and refashioned the sides and back to make a low scoop-back halter-top instead! Perfect for summer!
I didn’t take photos, because it was such a quick job, I forgot! But all I did was cut the back of the top and the dress to shape; and roll, pin and stitch a new hem. Both took just a couple of minutes to run through the sewing machine! This was such a quick fix and now I have two items of clothing I can wear again!
Photo taken by my friend Kara at the hotel pool in Spain this May, much to the amusement of people sitting outside the bar at the time!
And photography here by Stu in the front garden!
Upcycled Extras
If this wasn’t enough I also made some adjustments to a cheap pair of flip-flops, plastic toe posts are a little too uncomfortable for me, so some braided fabric and a few beads later, I made these:
Upcycled Planter
And last but not least on what ended up being a very upcycled month! I also finally got around to turning “ugly Belfast sink dumped in the back garden for three years” into “bright cheery planter! Which mostly required wedging one end with some old stones found in the hedges, and of course filling with some compost (I also used some stones in the bottom for better draining, so a good tidy of the garden involved in this one!)
This was done on the bank holiday at the end of May; as you can see, we didn’t clean it up beforehand. Here it is after a bit of a wipe down, and some growing time!
It does a great job at brightening up a corner of the garden, and the sink has been used too! (It’s quite tempting to decorate it… what do you think?)
Have you done any upcycling? Comment below! Share a link to a blog post if you have one, I’d love to read!
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