I found a beautiful Indian vintage dress made of silk/cotton blend in the local flea market a while ago. The dress was in excellent condition and appeared unworn. The fabric was beautiful, in subtle pastel shades, perfect for the autumn, and with a very beautiful pattern, but the fit was poor and we decided to upcycle.
My mother, who is a professional fashion designer, produced a pattern, cut the dress and made this tunic, and I beaded the neckline and edges of the sleeves with seed beads in coordinating colors.
This was a pleasure to do - choosing the beads of right color and observing the appearing depth and richness.Beading is easier for me than embroidery, because I see results sooner and it is an excellent motivation for me. This was such a rewarding work, I enjoyed every minute of it. Now we are thinking of uplycling more items - I need to take a stock of what we have.
I personally think we should upcycle and reuse what we can, but of course we have to by new fabrics and other things when necessary. What do you think?
Would you wear an upcycled item like this one? Do you think this is an eco friendly approach that should be followed and further developed or is it just a whim?
Such a beautiful tunic! Great job!
ReplyDeleteBeautiful work! Love it!
ReplyDeleteArctida, Inessa, thank you for your comments. I would buy upcycled items if they were really well made, with a high quality of craftsmanship. But I suspect that many people would not, treating them as a mere second hand. Which is OK too - all people have different tastes.
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