Those who do it, know. They know how satisfying it is to magic something out of not much, in a style that pleases, and is comfortable on yourself.
Pamela knows. She created this outfit from a black cashmere sweater (her husband’s) that had seen better days and was about to be consigned to the reject pile, combined with a two-metre piece of hand-printed silk purchased at a market in Udiapur, Rajasthan when living overseas in a previous life.
Pamela has been making clothes since she was about 10-years-old, so she has sewing skills. But in the same way Pamela doesn’t follow a recipe when cooking, she doesn’t follow a pattern when sewing. I get where she is coming from – and we had fun together upcycling and experimenting with what was to hand.
We turned the jumper inside out and decided to create the garment that way. We roughly pinned it to fit Pamela (who is much smaller than her husband), before pinning and cutting a slice off the end of the sleeves (getting rid of the raggy ends in the process), and out of the arms and sides. The jumper length was left intact for winter warmth. We tore a segment off the silk to use as a scarf, before folding the main piece lengthwise, so the colours were fully displayed and the skirt length suitable to drape from the hips to just above the boots. This was then pinned and sewn in place, before Pamela pinned, then sewed, some random pleats which sit on one side, then other random pleats on the other side to complete the skirt – which is sewn directly to the jumper. A press-stud stops the skirt from flapping and the seams which attaches it to the jumper is trimmed with rickrack (Pamela had several rolls found at opshop). It’s a case of trying on, and playing with the fabrics and style until it works for you. We even left the cashmere label on the outside – as an upcycled badge of honour and talking point. Pamela can be certain that no-one else has a dress like this – and that’s the beauty of upcycling. It is individual, comfortable, unique and utilises resources that are otherwise going to waste.
