The Pandemic has really opened my eyes to how many clothing items I have amassed over the years. As a Canadian, I have sweaters for every occasion, and enough socks to last me a month before needing to do laundry.

One of my pass times from my life before pursuing my passions was shopping. I am not alone in this, as many women would agree. When the Pandemic began to spread and lock-downs became the norm, I realized that many of my outfits could easily be refreshed and given a new look by making simple changes (without needing to be an experienced seamstress).

Here are my…

5 Ways to Refashion Old Clothes on a Budget

Add designs to your clothing using fabric paint.

Fabric paint is easily obtainable at a craft or fabric store. Using a paint brush, you can personalize your clothing as much or as little as you want. If you are very talented, why not paint versions of your favourite designer logos to impress your friends?

Add elastic for a better fit.

Ill-fitting clothes can occur at different stages in our lives. If you have recently lost weight (congratulations by the way!) and your clothes seem a bit loose in undesirable ways, you can add elastic to help obtain a better fit. This method works well with waist bands, and sleeves.

Add ruffles, lace, and zippers.

Do you have a basic black dress that could use a bit of an update? Fabric stores have many varieties of notions that you can purchase by the meter or centimeter (metric). Sometimes a little ruffle on a hemline or some lace across a neckline can add value to a basic-looking item of clothing. The best part about this idea is that you may not even need to sew anything- fabric glue works great!

Sew a design.

Perhaps you are better acquainted with a needle and thread than others, and you have some experience in needlepoint. If so, many denim items are made beautiful by adding a patchwork design, or some simple needlepoint design. Brands like Levi’s already offer services where you can pay extra to have a design sewn onto your new pair of jeans, so this idea is very trendy right now for 2020.

Remove sleeves or shorten pants.

I have done this many times when it comes to summer clothing for myself and for my daughter. When warm weather hits, sometimes there is no better option than to take a pair of scissors to an old pair of pants or an old blouse to turn them into shorts and a t-shirt.

If you are careful to cut along seams when removing sleeves, the difference is usually impossible to tell! The downside with this idea, is that if you cut the sleeves off of a favourite top, or shorten a pair of pants that you hope to wear again in the winter, you might not be able to re-attach those lost appendages.

Do you have ideas for how to refashion old clothing? Have you needed to think outside of the box when it comes items that have been unavailable due to the worldwide Pandemic? Leave your comments in the section below, and as always, thanks for stopping by.

Stephanie