Thrifty Wardrobe Makeover

With today's economy and our growing concern for the environment, people are scrambling to find inexpensive and earth-friendly ways to revamp their old clothes, or get a new wardrobe for less money. Clothing reconstruction - or taking an old garment and giving it a new life as something new - fits both of these purposes. It saves money (if you use your own old clothes, it's virtually free!) and it prevents textile waste that could otherwise end up in our landfills. I decided to try my hand at some clothing reconstruction projects and can say from experience that even if you don't succeed, it is still a great learning experience and lots of fun!

I took a recent trek to the local thrift store with one thing in mind: how can I turn these used items into something new? One thing that helped my adventure was to view the pieces of clothing not as garments, but as fabric. I focused my search on finding large pieces of nice fabric – which meant finding the largest sizes possible – or colors that stuck out to me. I ended up getting about 7 sweaters, most of which were 100% wool, and about 6 large and colorful T-Shirts. The grand shopping total was less than $40. Think of all the fabric I got for $40! Incredible! So now I was left to wonder what I was going to do with all that stuff. For the first of my clothing reconstruction attempts, please read on. I will post more updates as I complete other projects. This is an ongoing process as I am constantly learning, experimenting, and getting new creative ideas.

One lumpy sweater (I was struck with the stripes and colors of this piece) took on a new life as…a skirt!

Here is the sweater before any reconstruction took place:

I removed the arms and cut off the top of the sweater. The bottom edge ribbing became the waistband with a little adjusting and alteration of the side seams.

I could have stopped here, but the skirt is a bit short, and lacks some personality. I decided to add a bottom band to the skirt for contrast and length. The sweater arms, when cut straight, became the bottom band of the skirt.
It still needs a lining, and I can do that with some simple knit – I could even use one of the old large T-shirts I found!

Thrift Store Sweater Skirt: $4 Comparable department store skirt: $50 Total savings: $46

Stay tuned for some more reconstructed clothing blog posts and ideas!

For more information and ideas on clothing reconstruction, check out Ohio State University Extension's Recycled Clothing fact sheet.