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Mother's feedback on deciding if I should sew from scratch or upcycle second-hand clothes

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Mother's feedback on deciding if I should sew from scratch or upcycle second-hand clothes

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Because I was really stuck on whether I should create a garment entirely from scratch or upcycle second-hand clothing due to considerations like costs and skill, I decided to ask my mother because she has very good advice and perspectives about costs and practicality. She suggested that I should upcycle second-hand clothes instead because it's less work and a good method to not waste clothes. After receiving this feedback and gaining this new perspective of recycling, I decided to upcycle second-clothes as my final outcome of my learning progress.

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Initially, I thought about buying raw fabrics from Lincraft or other sewing stores. However, Ms. Maree, an experienced seamstress, informed me that she had some scrap fabrics that I could use. Thus, I've decided to use the scrap fabric from Ms. Maree because I want to avoid the expensive cost of buying fabric from fabric stores. After being given 3 types of material, cotton, rayon, and stretchy fabric, I've decided to try sewing on all of them. I plan on focusing on working out the tension for different material. Based on Ms. Maree's feedback, I've also made sure to wash the fabrics before using them. Doing all of this will help me to progress more quickly because I will understand and master the basics of sewing first before starting any significant upcycle projects.

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After being interviewed by Zia and given suggestions, I've decided on a few things, such as calculating costs of the things I need to buy, look for sewing patterns and clothing tutorials. I've also decided to ask my roommate, Zia, about materials I've gathered and help with technical difficulties because we live together and it's much easier.

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This was my second attempt at trying to use the sewing machine because in the first one, my stitches were bunchy in the bottom. After I watched a Youtube tutorial for this sewing machine, I managed to get a normal stitch into the fabric.

After this, I decided to try all 16 stitches that this sewing machine has on this fabric just to see how all the stitches look and to get used to using the sewing machine. This strategy can help me to get closer to my learning goal because I can know the different type of stitches and which one is suitable for certain techniques, projects, and fabrics, which will be extremely useful for when I start upcycling my clothes.

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From practicing, I learned that I should hold the thread at the back when I start the stitch, how to use the backstitch, and how each type of stitch looks.

After succeeding in trying all 16 stitches on cotton fabric, I'm going do the same but on other types of fabric. I probably won't do every stitch just to save time, but maybe a few just to see what tension setting I need for different fabrics and how it works on different kinds of fabric.

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I asked Ms. Maree about thrift stores because she has lived in Adelaide for longer than I have and knows more about Adelaide. After I got some advice about thrift stores, I decided to check out Rundle Street like Ms. Maree suggested and see if there are any good thrift stores there. There were thrift stores and vintage shops, but like Ms. Maree said, they're pretty expensive because they're located in the city. So I decided to look for thrift stores out of the city to see if maybe there would be cheaper options.

I took into consideration what Ms. Maree said about going to Lincraft and taking pictures of the fabric there and also thinking about what garment to make. Like I said in the video, I decided to go to the thrift store first to see what they have available and decided what to make based on what's available.

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Testing the tension on different fabrics

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Testing the tension on different fabrics

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I tried sewing on other fabrics while testing out which type of stitch suits each fabric and what tension setting I should adjust it to based on the fabric. I learned that having the tension on 4 works really well on non-stretchy fabric like in fabric 1 and 2 of the video, however for stretchy fabric, it's best to lower it down to a 1 or 2 for the tension. I also learned that zig-zag stitch works better for stretchy fabric to allow it to stretch. These adjustments really helped me to get closer to upcycling clothing because I know how to adjust my tension based on the type of fabric on the clothes that I'm upcycling. This has significantly progressed my learning along with my sewing skills because now I automatically know what tension setting I should have for which fabric and can immediately change it when sewing.

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trying different tensions on different fabrics (1)

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Using the seam ripper was a bit difficult for me because I had never used one before. Therefore, I looked for a tutorial online on how to use the seam ripper and found a good one. I followed the tutorial by taking out the seam on both ends then pulled the middle just a bit and keep pulling until one of the sides come out and I managed to take out a stitch on the cotton fabric. However, I was struggling to take out that same type of stitch on the stretchy material. On the stretchy fabric, I couldn't take out the straight stitch but did manage to take out the zig-zag stitch. Using this strategy had a significant impact on how quickly my learning progressed because I tend to make mistakes when sewing and learning how to use the seam ripper helped solve my mistakes. This allowed me to slow down my sewing process if I have to rip any seams and be careful not to rip the fabric.

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First attempt at sewing 2 fabrics together

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First attempt at sewing 2 fabrics together

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I wanted to practice more so I found a tutorial on how to sew 2 fabrics together, something pretty simple and basic. I managed to sew them together and the right side looks good but the wrong side still had some extra fabric and I didn't know what to do with it. I tried following the tutorial and used a zig-zag stitch on the back like it showed in Source #15: Open plain seam tutorial but my sewing machine jammed so I decided to give it a rest for now and will look for ways to fix the back part. I will more in depth on how to do this seam online, however if I am at a dead end, I will ask a someone who's a professional at sewing.

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attempt at sewing 2 fabrics together (1)

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Sewing tools I bought after looking at sources

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Sewing tools I bought after looking at sources

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After reviewing my sources, I found that I need some sewing tools so I decided to buy some in any store near me. I didn't want to buy too much because I'm still a beginner so I just bought some of the necessary things. Some of the things that my source suggested to have are fabric scissors, threads, a seam ripper, pins, cutting board, ruler, measuring tape, bobbin pins, clips, etc. I already had the pins and measuring tape, so I decided to just buy fabric scissors, threads, and a seam ripper because I felt that those were the most necessary. I was stuck on whether I should buy from Lincraft or Daiso because Lincraft has more diverse options for sewing tools but Daiso offers more affordable prices. I decided to check out Daiso first and I found fabric scissors, a seam ripper, and a pack of threads. I didn't pay too much attention to the brand or details of the product because they had limited options and I just needed a few things to get me started on my sewing journey.

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I was going to Glenelg with my host family and decided to go to the Salvos nearby to check out the clothes they have. I wasn't going to buy anything at first, however I thought that there might not be another chance I'd go here so I decided to use this opportunity to buy the clothes I wanted to upcycle. Because I'm still in my phase of learning how to use the sewing machine, I just bought clothes that has an interesting pattern and decide later how to upcycle them. I also considered the type of material the clothes have and looked for clothes that didn't have a stretchy material or were too thick.

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This was the first clothing item I chose from my trip to Salvos. I chose this one because I liked the pattern and the material is relatively easy to sew on but a bit thin. I also bought it at a cheap price which was $7. I have yet decided what to upcycle it into but will look for ideas and inspirations online.

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This was the second clothing item I bought from Salvos. Again, I bought it because of the interesting pattern. The material is a bit thin but it's somewhat similar to the scrap fabric that I practiced with earlier so I can experiment with that first then upcycle this one. I also haven't decided what to upcycle this into but I'm researching some ideas and inspirations from other people online.

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This was when we were at Salvos and I needed a second opinion on the material of the clothing item I chose. I decided to ask Zia, who has some knowledge about fabrics, and she gave me some feedback.

After listening to her feedback, I've decided to look into more thin threads that's suitable for this type of material.

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After receiving helpful feedback from Ms. Maree, who is an experienced seamstress, I've decided to look into the magnetic thing that Ms. Maree suggested to keep my seams straight and learn more about my sewing machine. I also want to try what she suggested about my issue of the ends of the fabric fraying, which is to do the zig-zag stitch first then sew the two fabrics together.

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One of the things on my to-do list is to go to Lincraft to check for sewing patterns and fabrics, which I did. I couldn't find any good sewing patterns, however I did find some fabrics and even threads. I know I'll need some good threads in the future when I start upcycling so I'll definitely consider buying from here when I need them.

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I tend to forget the things I need to do or get overwhelmed by how many things I need to do, hence why I've created a to-do list to organize all the things I need to do to practice sewing. I was on the edge about whether I should create the to-do list on Notion or on my notes app. However, after using Notion for some time and it not working effectively, I decided to make the to-do lists on my notes app in my phone instead.

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Attempt #2 at an open seam (after feedback from Ms. Maree)

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Attempt #2 at an open seam (after feedback from Ms. Maree)

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Initially, I sewed the two pieces together with an open seam and then did the zig-zag stitch after. However, I decided to switch my strategy after getting feedback from Ms. Maree which. She suggested to use a zig-zag stitch on the edges first and then sew them together because doing them the other way around, which was how I initially did it, could be the reason that the machine jams. This had an excellent impact on my learning because the new strategy worked much better and I successfully managed to do an open plain seam and using this strategy will help me get closer to achieving my goal of upcycling my clothes because I can use it when sewing the back and front panels together.

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Evidence of zig-zag stitch first then sew together

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Evidence of zig-zag stitch first then sew together

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After watching the video on how to hem the edge of a fabric, I decided to try it out. The top image is my first attempt at trying to hem and it's clearly not straight. I tried again, as seen in the bottom image, and I managed to get it more straight.

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I was initially struggling to sew in a straight line, however I came up with the idea to draw a straight line with a pen and follow that line as I sew. As seen in this image, it works really well and I can finally sew in a straight line but still with the help of drawing a line with a pen.

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I was a bit hesitant to learn how to use pins because it looked hard but it was actually fairly easy. I tried using pins on this new fabric, as well to experiment on different fabrics, to ensure the edges align with each other throughout my sewing them and it worked well. This strategy really progressed my learning because it makes sewing two fabrics together much easier and I won't have to worry or spend too much time trying to keep the fabric aligned while sewing.

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Here I'm attempting to use the pins to keep the two fabrics aligned together and I'm using the horizontal placement technique that I learned from Source #6: Sewing Advice #2 from my sources.

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I saw a tutorial online on how to nicely sew 2 fabrics together without a serger or overlocker and wanted to give it a try because I don't have either. I followed the tutorial, however it seems that I made a mistake at the end because the edges can be seen on the right side. I'm determined to get it right so I will try again tomorrow. In my second attempt, I will try to not leave too much space between the edge and the line I'm sewing to ensure the edges aren't visible on the right side. It's important that I can do this correctly to make the seam not visible, so that I can use this technique for when I upcycle clothes and even future sewing projects.

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On this weekend, I had planned on upcycling my old T-shirt as practice. I noticed that creating a lettuce hem was part of the tutorial I was following, so I decided to practice making a lettuce hem first. However, I got stuck into a cycle of practicing lettuce for 2 days as I couldn't get it consistently right. I tried 2 methods of doing it, one by folding the edges like a usual hem and the other way by just doing a zig-zag stitch right away on the edges. I found that both methods work well, however the second one worked better. I had issues stretching the material consistently to create a wavy edge, so I ended up spending a lot of time practicing it and the plan of upcycling my T-shirt got pushed back. However, I think it's a good idea to practice my lettuce hem first to minimize making mistakes when I actually upcycle clothes.

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Due to the previous failure of trying to do a French seam, I decided to try it again but make the second seam a bit further away from the edges of the previous seam. Thankfully, it worked this time and the edges couldn't be seen on the right side. After trying this out and seeing the results, I prefer this way of sewing 2 fabrics together rather than the plain seam I tried previously and I've decided to use this for my potential upcycling. Mastering this technique has improved my sewing skills and progressed me closer to my learning goal as I can use this technique during my upcycle projects.

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I decided to experiment on more types of fabrics as Ms. Maree gave me more material to practice with. I experimented with the tension suitable for different fabrics. I also took this opportunity to work on my hemming skills as well as my French seams but on different materials. I had a variety of fabrics given to me that I could choose to experiment with, such as white and navy cotton fabric, stretchy fabric in pink, peach, and red, two satin fabric, and this green fabric. I chose to only experiment on the peach stretchy fabric and the green fabric because I wanted to use them for my upcycle projects and I wanted to practice on fabric beside cotton.

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A while ago, I had bought a pack of colorful threads from Daiso for an affordable price. I was suspicious with this low price thread. I decided to test it out because many people say that cheap thread is usually low-quality and not long lasting for sewing projects. When I wound my bobbin pin, I noticed that there was only a bit of thread left on the spool and ended up running out of thread for the top stitch. The thread also frayed very easily which made it difficult to insert into the needle and made some of my stitches a bit messy. Due to this experiment, I've decided into invest some money into more high-quality and expensive thread at Lincraft as I saw some good threads in my last visit.

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I created another to-do list to organize all of the things I had to do to progress my learning such as checking Lincraft for sewing patterns and fabric, figure out how to hem, learn how to sew an open seam, try out different fabrics, do more research on how to upcycle my clothes, learn how to sew in a straight line, learn how to use pins, and test the threads I bought. Using my notes app was very helpful because I could easily check the list on my phone and tick the check boxes on the ones I've completed.

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Throughout my sewing progress, I've noticed that if I don't hold the top and bottom thread before sewing, I will lose the top thread and it will exit the needle. Even when I do hold the top and bottom threads at the back, it still tends to suddenly leave. This isn't a huge issue but it can be inconvenient and annoying at times because I have to keep inserting the thread back into the needle and start over with the seam.

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Feedback from Grandma (professional seamstress)

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Feedback from Grandma (professional seamstress)

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I was really struggling to make the lettuce hem, so I asked my grandmother, who has a lot of knowledge about sewing, on what I should do or what technique I should use to make the lettuce hem. I took several things from her feedback. The first one was to pull the front and the back and not just one side. The second was pay to attention to the fabric of the T-shirt I was going to use because it was slightly different to the fabric that I was experimenting with, so it might have a different result. The fabric of the T-shirt has different flexibility to the pink fabric I was using so I might I have to pull more or less depending on the fabric. This had a significant impact on my progress because I managed to correctly make the lettuce hem and apply this strategy to my first upcycle project, a T-shirt.

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Last week, I bought some threads from Lincraft and bought the pack of 3 for $5. However, my mistake was not checking the quality of it first. Thus, when I tried out the thread, it was frizzing and low-quality compared to the black one I had used previously which was a good quality one (Glitterman). This was unfortunate but a learning lesson for me to be more careful when buying thread.

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Despite finding out that the thread I bought was low-quality, I didn't want to waste it, so I've decided to use it just for practicing my seams and hems.

Thankfully after several failed attempts, I've managed to create a nice lettuce hem. It's not perfect but considering that this was the first time I'm tried it, I'll consider it a success. I used the strategy of pulling the fabric in the back and holding down the fabric in the front so it stays stretched.

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After succeeding in making a lettuce hem with low-quality thread, I wanted to try again but with better quality thread. Afterwards, I tried comparing the fabric with the low-quality thread and the fabric with the good quality thread by stretching them and it's very clear that the seams with the good quality thread hold and feel much better than the low-quality one.

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For my first upcycle project, I wanted to practice with something simple first, so I decided to upcycle an old T-shirt because I almost never wear this shirt and wanted to put it to good use. First, I sewed and cut the sides of the T-shirt to make it fit better on me. I didn't have any chalk to draw on the fabric to mark where I should sew and how much to cut off, so I had to use what I had available which were markers and pins, but I didn't know which one is more effective. Initially, I used a red marker to mark the line, but it wasn't very visible. Therefore, I ended up marking with my pins so I used a red marker to sketch the shape then lined it with pins using the horizontal pin technique that I had learned before from my source "Sewing Advice #2". Then, I just used a straight stitch down the line and cut the extra fabric. Starting my first upcycle project progressed me closer to my learning goal as I've done one out of three upcycle projects.

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After cutting the sides of the T-shirt, I needed to make some more adjustments. I wasn't satisfied with the way it fit so I sewed and cut off a bit of the waist area, cut some of the bottom of the shirt then hemmed it with a normal hem, and lastly sewed and cut off a bit of the arm pit area to fit better. This is the final adjustments of this T-shirt and I like the way it looks already, but I still want to follow the tutorial all the way till the end and make it look nicer.

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Asking for feedback from a friend (Casey)

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Asking for feedback from a friend (Casey)

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I asked for her feedback on if I should continue upcycling this T-shirt or keep it as is. I trust her judgement in terms of style because she has interest and knowledge in fashion, so I can ask her for ideas for future upcycle projects and feedback on current upcycle projects.

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I was initially stuck on whether I should leave this top as it is or continue altering it even more by following the tutorial, so I asked for her opinion and she suggested I should continue because the cut/shape in the tutorial I was following was very nice. Furthermore, I believe if I continue upcycling it and add a lettuce hem to the collar and sleeves, like the tutorial did, I could improve my sewing skills even more. I've already spent 2 days practicing my lettuce hem, thus I wanted to put it to good use by applying it to this upcycled T-shirt.

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Because I was struggling to mark a a clear line on my T-shirt when I first started this project, I decided to buy tailor's chalk from Lincraft and use it to mark lines and shapes when I have a sewing project. The chalk I bought came in a pack of 4 with various color options which is suitable for different colored fabrics. Between the four colors, white, yellow, red, and blue, I decided to use white to mark this T-shirt because it's black and white chalk will be more visible. This made my learning progress much easier and faster as I could easily draw on the fabric and speed up my sewing process, which led me closer to my learning goal.

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Using the tailor's chalk and making the lettuce hems

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Using the tailor's chalk and making the lettuce hems

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Using the tailor's chalk to mark shapes on the fabric impacted my progress because it made it so much easier to know where to sew and how much fabric to cut off.

After this, I also decided to do the lettuce hems that I previously practiced on the collar of the top and the sleeves.

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This is the final result of my first upcycling project.

I did a lettuce hem on the collar and the end of the sleeves, however due to it being black, it wasn't that visible. That is something I will definitely consider in future sewing projects. I did the collars first, then the sleeves, which I regretted because I just got the hang of the lettuce hems during the sleeve parts so the sleeve ended up looking better than the collar. I also had to re-do the hem on a section of the collar because it was messy and I think I succeeded in making it more tidy. I also used the extra fabric from the sleeve I cut off to make bows for the sleeve so I didn't waste too much fabric. Overall, the quality of the upcycled top was okay, if you look at it up close, it's very clear that it's handmade. But for my first upcycled project, I think I did okay.

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After my first upcycled project, I decided to ask for some feedback from Casey, who has an interest and knowledge in fashion, about good things about the top I made and things I can improve.

After receiving this feedback, I've decided that my next upcycle projects should involve more colors to avoid the plain black of this one. Additionally, I've considered her suggestion of drawstrings for the side of the top for future upcycle projects.

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My initial plan was to turn this blouse into a summer top and follow the tutorial of my source, "Upcycle idea #6". However, after some consideration, I figured that it's not something I'd wear in my life and would just be a waste of clothes. I was also in need of appropriate clothes to wear to formal situations, which this upcycle idea wasn't suitable for. I wasn't 100% certain that I should make it, thus, I decided to create something else. In this video, I'm trying out the blouse for myself while thinking of ways I can upcycle it. I was torn between keeping it a top but shaped in a different way or turning it into a skirt. I decided to upcycle it into a skirt and use the sleeves as pockets because it's innovative and challenging yet still stylish and beginner-friendly. This also solved my issue of whether I would actually wear it or not because this skirt could actually be worn for formal events. Therefore, I decided to make this into a flowy skirt instead of a summer top.

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So, as I said in my voice recording, my initial plan was to add lining to my skirt, however, it might clash with my plan to add pockets. Although it's possible, there are some disadvantages such as making the sewing process longer and potentially ruin the flow of the skirt that the original blouse already had.

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This strategy wasn't quite planned, but more from my personal habit. I have a habit of listening to music whenever I do homework, chores, or any type of work. Thus, throughout my learning progress, I found myself listening to music whenever I was sewing. This helped calm my emotions and controlled my mood because I tend to get frustrated or stressed whenever I sew. This strategy helped me get closer to my learning goal because it kept the flow of my process and ensured I didn't quit mid-sewing due to frustration.

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listening to music while sewing strategy

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I bought 8 meters of elastic band to make my elastic waistband as I need a few extra meters to practice with. I also bought new fabric scissors because I started using my fabric scissors for other things outside of cutting fabric which which made them blunt and unable to cut through fabric as smoothly. I also learned this from my source, "Source #10: Sewing advice #4".

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Before I started my second upcycle project, I had to change the needle first because I had been using the same one for almost 2 months. I learned from my source, Source #38: Changing the needle, that I should change my needle after using it for a long period of time because after using the needle for a long period of time, it can get dull and make the stitches messy or ruin the fabric.

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First trial attempt at making an elastic waistband

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First trial attempt at making an elastic waistband

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As I had never tried making an elastic waistband before, I wanted to practice doing it properly on other fabrics to avoid/minimize mistakes when I make an elastic waistband for my skirt. To do this, I followed the various tutorials of how to make an elastic waistband from my sources. For my first attempt, the length of the fabric and the length of the elastic band were too close to each other, thus it was hard to stretch out the elastic band when sewing it to the fabric because it couldn't stretch that much and the stretch of the elastic depends on the fabric. The length of the fabric was 40cm meanwhile the length of the elastic band was 37cm, which isn't a good enough gap between the elastic and fabric for the elastic to fully stretch.

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first trial attempt at elastic waistband

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Second upcycle project: cutting off the sleeves

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Second upcycle project: cutting off the sleeves

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Because I came up with this idea and plan on my own, I had no tutorial to follow and had to arrange the steps on my own. For the first step, I considered various ways to begin transforming the blouse, and I decided to cut off the sleeves of the blouse, which will later be used to make the pockets.

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Second upcycle project: Sewing the side seams

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Second upcycle project: Sewing the side seams

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After removing the sleeves, I used my chalk to draw how much more fabric to cut off in order for it to take the shape of a skirt. This took a couple of attempts as I had to keep drawing the line, sewing the sides, and cutting the extra fabric. But in the end, I managed to make it look more like a skirt.

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In the middle of sewing my skirt, it seems that the needle accidentally hit the pin I had attached on to the skirt which lead to the needle bending. This had never happened to me before, so it was a unique experience. I took out the needle and changed it with another new one then continued on with my sewing. After this incident, I'm more careful when sewing with pins and making sure to take them out in time.

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Second trial attempt at making an elastic waistband

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Second trial attempt at making an elastic waistband

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After learning from my previous attempt, I decided to make the length of the elastic band much more shorter than the length of the fabric. This time, I had the fabric at a length of 40cm and the elastic band at 35cm. This allowed the elastic band to stretch more when sewing it to the fabric. After this adjustment, the elastic waistband prototype worked quite well. This had a meaningful impact on my learning because I learned the importance of measurements in sewing garments and how a few centimeters can make a huge difference in how a garment turns out.

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second trial attempt at elastic waistband

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Second upcycle project: the skirt with an elastic waistband

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Second upcycle project: the skirt with an elastic waistband

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After my two elastic waistband trials, I decided to try my strategy on the skirt. I followed the same strategy as my trials, however just going a bit further this time and folding in my sewn in elastic band then creating a type pf casing for the waistband to hide the elastic band. During this step, I made a small mistake of accidentally overlapping a bit of the fabric when sewing the casing, which lead to an overlap/fold in the skirt. However, this mistake ended up enhancing the style of my skirt. The skirt had an overlap/slight fold in the middle which looked nice and intentional, thus I didn't try to fix it. However, there is a bit of bunched up fabric at the waistband where the fabric overlapped, therefore I needed to decide whether I should just fold it into the waistband to hide it or cover with with a handmade fabric flower.

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Second upcycle project: making the pocket pattern

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Second upcycle project: making the pocket pattern

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Following the tutorial video on how to sew pockets into a skirt/dress from source #33: Sewing pockets into a skirt/dress tutorial #3, I started by making my pocket pattern first by measuring the width of my palm and drawing around my hand plus some extra space for the size of the pocket. Then, I cut out my pattern.

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Second upcycle project: cutting the pocket sides

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Second upcycle project: cutting the pocket sides

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I placed my pocket pattern on top of my scrap fabric from the sleeves of the blouse and traced the pattern. I left a seam allowance of 1 cm to comfortably sew the pocket sides onto the skirt and to sew them together.

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Second upcycle project: attatching the opening of the pocket sides

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Second upcycle project: attatching the opening of the pocket sides

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I ripped open the seams of the skirt where I wanted to insert the pocket with a seam ripper and sewed the opening of the pocket to the skirt with the right side of the pocket facing the right side of the skirt, which I learned from Source #33: Sewing pockets into a skirt/dress tutorial #3 from my sources.

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attatching the opening of the pocket to the skirt

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Second upcycle project: sewing the two pocket sides together

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Second upcycle project: sewing the two pocket sides together

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I sewed the two pocket sides together at the line I drew, then zig-zag stitched the edges to avoid the fabric fraying.

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Second upcycle project: pocket opening too small

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Second upcycle project: pocket opening too small

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Although the pocket space itself was a suitable size, the opening of the pocket was too small and I could barely fit my hand in it. This had a significant impact on my progress as I was once again reminded of the importance of sizing while sewing. I improved this by making the other pocket bigger.

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Second upcycle project: making the pocket opening wider

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Second upcycle project: making the pocket opening wider

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When making the pocket for the other side, I wanted to make the opening a bit wider, so I re-made the pocket pattern and added a few centimeters to the opening. Then, I repeated the same making process of the previous pocket.

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Second upcycle project: the skirt with pockets on both sides

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Second upcycle project: the skirt with pockets on both sides

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This is the final result of the skirt with pockets. Both pockets ended up being a bit too small, but it's not too significant of an issue. Instead, this has become a learning lesson for me for future projects involving pockets and what to do and what to avoid when making them.

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This is the final result of my second upcycled project, where I turned a floral blouse into a floral skirt. I learned many new techniques in this process such as how to make an elastic waistband, how to rip seams with a seam ripper, and how to make pockets for a skirt. The major thing I learned from this project is the importance of accurate measurement and sizing when creating garments.

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For my third and final upcycle project, I struggled to find ideas and a tutorial on how I could upcycle it. I really want to keep the neckline of the blouse, thus I had to find a way to work around that. I tried to put on the blouse to inspire some ideas. I also wanted to incorporate another fabric into this upcycle project so that I can experiment with multiple kinds of fabric at the same time. Eventually, I came up with the idea to turn the blouse into a dress and replace the middle section of the dress with the alternate fabric that was given to me by Ms. Maree. I also considered feedback from Casey about adding drawstrings on the sides from my first upcycle project. I plan on adding side laces to the side of the dress at the waist for a better fit.

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Third upcycle project: re-sizing the blouse

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Third upcycle project: re-sizing the blouse

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The first step I took in upcycling this blouse is by re-sizing it and changing its shape. I sewed the sides of the blouse to make it fit more snug and re-shaped the sleeves to turn it into bell sleeves.

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Third upcycle project: cut the blouse/dress into 2 parts (top and bottom)

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Third upcycle project: cut the blouse/dress into 2 parts (top and bottom)

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Because I wanted to replace the middle section with an alternate fabric, I cut the dress/blouse into 2 parts, top and bottom.

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Third upcycle project: cutting the alternate fabric

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Third upcycle project: cutting the alternate fabric

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I cut this fabric intro two rectangles, one for the front panel and one for the back panel, so that I would have a side seam for the side of the dress. I learned from my previous upcycle project that measurement is crucial, thus I made the width of the rectangle 15 cm (I wanted the middle section to be 13 cm and added 1 cm for seam allowance on each side) and length of 40 cm (I measured the length of the top front panel which was 38 cm and added 1 cm seam allowance on each side).

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Third upcycle project: attaching the new middle section to the top section

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Third upcycle project: attaching the new middle section to the top section

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After creating the middle section, I pinned and sewed the top of the middle section to the bottom of the top section. I had cut off a couple centimeters from the top section to later on use as the side laces/drawstrings. I used the same strategy I learned for the elastic waistband in my previous project, which was wrapping around the fabric around the fabric I want to attach it on and pinning it place. This strategy had a wonderful impact on my learning because now I automatically use it to attach two already made fabrics together (with similar opening shapes) and will continue to do so for future projects.

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This is the top section with the added middle section from alternate fabric. At this point of upcycling this blouse, I faced a major obstacle which was the top not fitting. Before I attached the skirt to the rest of the dress, I tried it on first. However, I couldn't get the top to make it past my shoulders. Thus, I had to find a way to loosen the dress to ensure I could wear it.

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Third upcycle project: the dress shape + zipper idea

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Third upcycle project: the dress shape + zipper idea

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Despite the dress not fitting me, I still attached the bottom section/skirt to the rest of the dress. This sizing issue had a significant impact on my progress because I couldn't exactly follow my original plan and had to do more research on ways to loosen the dress but still make it fit will on me. Then, I found a solution to make the dress fit which was by adding a zipper in the back. I've been advised to avoid using zippers in my sewing projects because it's quite difficult, however it was my last option to salvage this dress.

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I was reminded again of the importance of measurements when looking for zippers because I accidently bought a zipper that's too short. The day after, I decided to measure the length between the neckline and the bottom of the middle section, where I wanted to insert the zipper, and it turned out to be 40 cm, meanwhile the zipper I bought was only 15 cm.

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Third upcycle project: cutting the back 

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Third upcycle project: cutting the back 

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Because I didn't have a seam in the back of my dress to insert a zipper, I had to cut a straight line down the back of the dress along 40 cm where I wanted to insert the zipper. Afterwards, I hemmed the edges of the cut before sewing the zipper.

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Here, I used the right sized zipper which was 40 cm long. Following the zipper tutorial from my Source #46: Zipper tutorial #4, I pinned one side of the right side of the zipper to the right side of the cut and ensured the edges lined up perfectly with the zipper. As I didn't have a zipper foot and had to use a normal zipper foot, this was extremely challenging as I had to be very careful when sewing the zipper to the side to make sure the needle gets close enough to the zipper for a clean finish but ensure the needle didn't go on the zipper. I then repeated the same process on the other side.

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Before inserting the zipper into the dress, I wanted to do a trial run and practice sewing the zipper first. I used the first zipper I bought, which was the wrong size, for my trial and followed zipper tutorial #1 and zipper tutorial #2 from my sources. After my first trial, I didn't like how messy the seams ended up. I also realized how hard it is to sew a zipper without a zipper foot and that the zipper tutorials I was following weren't suitable for my issue because the people in the videos had a zipper foot meanwhile I didn't. Thus I ended up using a different zipper tutorial, which was zipper tutorial #3 from my sources.

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Third upcycle project: the dress with a zipper

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Third upcycle project: the dress with a zipper

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After inserting the zipper in the back of the dress, I tested it to ensure it worked and thankfully it did. The seams where I sewed the zipper into the dress was also quite clean and not too visible.

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After adding the zipper to the dress, I tried on the dress and it fit very nicely. It was still a little bit difficult to get on but, it was much easier compared to without the zipper, where I couldn't get the dress on at all.

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Third upcycle project: closing off the edges

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Third upcycle project: closing off the edges

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After I attached the top, middle, and bottom section together, I used a zig-zag stitch on the edge of the seams connecting them together to close it off and ensure it doesn't fray.

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Third upcycle project: making side laces with leftover fabric

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Third upcycle project: making side laces with leftover fabric

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I had some leftover fabric from previously cutting some of the blouse off when re-sizing it, which I ended up using to make the strings for the side laces of the dress because I wanted to minimize the waste when sewing.

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Third upcycle project: cutting the leftover fabric into strips

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Third upcycle project: cutting the leftover fabric into strips

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Following the side laces tutorial from my sources, Source #42: How to make side lace on dress, I started by cutting my leftover fabric into strips like this. I matched the width of the strips to the tutorial video which was 1 and 1/8 inch and let the length be however long the fabric was.

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Third upcycle project: different thread colors

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Third upcycle project: different thread colors

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Because I was inserting the zipper from the neckline of the dress to the bottom of the middle section, which involved two different colored fabric, I wanted to use two different colored threads to hide the seams as much as I could. Therefore, I had these two different green colored threads on rotation, each with a bobbin already prepared so I could easily replace the thread when sewing the zipper.

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Third upcycle project: sewing all the strips together

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Third upcycle project: sewing all the strips together

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I sewed all of the short strips together to create one long strip to make the strings of the side lace. Then, I ironed the seams between the strips for a clean look and to easily fold the strips in later to make the strings.

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Third upcycle project: folding the strip to make the strings

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Third upcycle project: folding the strip to make the strings

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This was the most time-consuming and excruciating part of making this dress, which was folding in the thick strip to make it into a thinner strip for the strings of the side lace. It took a very long time because the strip was very long. This had a very meaningful impact on my learning because it took up a lot of my sewing time and taught me a lot about patience when sewing garments.

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Third upcycle project: the side lace strings

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Third upcycle project: the side lace strings

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This is the final result of the strings for the side lace. I ended up cutting off some of the end of the strip because it was longer than I needed and I didn't want to waste more time. Unlike the tutorial video, I plan on using this only for the strings and making the loops with another fabric.

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Third upcycle project: creating the loops for the side lace

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Third upcycle project: creating the loops for the side lace

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Because the middle section was made of a different kind of fabric, I decided to use that same fabric to make the loops of the side lace. I repeated the same process for the strings but this time made it shorter. The tutorial video said that the loops are 2.5 inches long, and since I'm making 6 loops on each side, I had to cut two strips each with a width of 1 and 1/8 inches and length of 15 inches.

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Third upcycle project: making the loops for the side lace

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Third upcycle project: making the loops for the side lace

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I cut the previous long strip of fabric into 12 2-inch strips to make the loops to put in the strings of the side lace. Then, I bent the strips to create a loop shape and sewed over it and zig-zag stitch the edges to minimise fraying.

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Third upcycle project: pinning the loops to the side of the dress

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Third upcycle project: pinning the loops to the side of the dress

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I decided to add 2 more loops on each side for a more cohesive and neat looking lace. Then, I pinned the loops I already made onto the side of the dress. I used a ruler and measuring tape to align the left and right loops.

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Third upcycle project: first side lace fail

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Third upcycle project: first side lace fail

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After sewing the loops to the side of the dress and inserting the strings into each loop to create a lace-appearance, it ended up gathering and not looking like how I intended it to. A possible reason for this could be that the loops are too close to each other, hence when they're pulled with the strings, it all just gathers into one spot instead of creating a neat side lace-look. After this, I ended up taking out the loops and I plan to move the loops further apart.

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I decided to ask for feedback from Ms. Maree, an experienced seamstress, about ways I could do the side lace because she has some knowledge about sewing and has given me feedback on my work before. The main things I took from her feedback were always iron before sewing things together (so the garment sits better), bend the ends of the loops then iron it, only do two first to see if it works, hand sew the loops in, sew the loops further apart, sew it doubled over, use new needle that hasn't been used, and put one big stitch to see if the loops work.

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Third upcycle project: Folding and ironing the loops

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Third upcycle project: Folding and ironing the loops

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After receiving feedback from Ms. Maree on strategies to sew on the loops, I decided use her strategy of folding the ends of the loops and ironing them to they stay in place. This was a very effective strategy because not only did it keep the loops folded in place when they were attached to the dress, but it also helped me know where on the loop I should sew on the dress.

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Third upcycle project: Sewing the loops by hand

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Third upcycle project: Sewing the loops by hand

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Taking more notes of Ms. Maree's feedback, I decided to try sewing 4 loops first with one big stitch over them to test if the placement is correct. I also placed the loops further apart than I did previously. This worked wonderfully because it allowed me to move the loops around and replace them without ruining the fabric.

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After ensuring that the loops are placed correctly, I permanently sewed them in using the back stitch method of hand sewing that I learned from my sources, particularly Source #51 and #52. This was an incredible strategy because I had more control of where to sew the loops and gained a new skill, hand sewing. Then, I inserted the strings I made into the loops to create a laced appearance on the side of the dress.

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I created another side lace on the right side of the dress, following the exact same strategy as I did previously, to complete this upcycle project. This is the final result of my third upcycled project. This was my hardest and longest sewing project yet, and I gained so much experience and knowledge from it. Mainly, I learned about the importance of measurement and the precision it takes to make a garment or upcycle a second-hand one. The difficult techniques I used for this project were the zippers and side lace as those took the longest and more skill was needed to make them.

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Feedback from Zia on my first upcycle project

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Feedback from Zia on my first upcycle project

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I wanted more feedback from others on my upcycled clothes, thus I decided to ask my Indonesian roommates for their opinions on my upcycled clothes, specifically on the quality of the clothes, style, what I can fix/improve, how I can improve in the future. Zia gave me feedback on two clothes, this one being the first one. She said that it's not bad for a first project and gave some suggestions for future projects. She suggested to make the edge of the collar area more clean because it's quite messy and pointed out how the left sleeve is a bit bigger than the right sleeve so pay more attention to measurements in the future. She also said that using something else to decorate the edges instead of a lettuce hem might be a better idea because a bit of the lettuce hem looks messy.

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Feedback from Jeane on my second upcycle project

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Feedback from Jeane on my second upcycle project

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I also wanted feedback on my second upcycle project, thus I decided to ask my other housemate, Jeane. She complimented the skirt by saying that it can be worn anywhere and the stretchy waistband is a good idea. She also explained how the fabric is a bit too thin for the weather and suggested to try using more thicker fabric in the future. Lastly, she recommended to add an accessory of some sort to the skirt to make it less plain. This feedback was very helpful because I initially had the idea of adding a flower to the skirt, but scrapped it. After receiving her feedback, I decided to make a flower from scrap fabric and add it to the skirt.

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second upcycle project feedback from jeane

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Feedback from Zia on my third upcycle project

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Feedback from Zia on my third upcycle project

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Zia also gave feedback on my third upcycle project. She said that there are some improvements compared to the first upcycle project as the edges and seams of this dress are much better and making the middle a different fabric was a good idea. She suggested for future dresses to insert pockets and built-in shorts because the dress was quite short. Zia also advised me to be more careful not too make the dress too small or tight to avoid the sizing issue I previously had.

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Feedback on my third upcycle project from Lioni

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Feedback on my third upcycle project from Lioni

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Lastly, I asked for more feedback on my third upcycle project from Lioni, another one of my housemates. She praised the floral pattern of the dress and the zipper in the back saying she really liked it. Lioni suggested for alternate fabric in the waist area to be shorter and to insert an elastic band for the waistband. Although this feedback was very valuable for future references, I didn't end up adjusting the dress to her feedback because it had already been finished and it would be more difficult to change it.

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third upcycle project feedback from lioni

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Because I wanted to make the flower accessory on the skirt detachable, I decided to find ways that allow me to take the flower off and attach it onto the skirt whenever I like. I had 2 options; using a brooch pin or a safety pin. However, because I couldn't find a brooch pin in Lincraft, I decided to choose the safety pin option.

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Following the tutorial of Source #41: How to make a fabric flower, I started folding the paper and made a quarter of a circle like in the tutorial. However, instead of using a ruler and marking dotted lines to make the circle, I used this staedtler mars compass that's used to make circles and round lines to make the quarter circle. I then opened the paper and cut out the circle.

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Cutting the pentagon shape on the fabric (1)

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Cutting the pentagon shape on the fabric (1)

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After cutting the circle into a pentagon, I placed the paper pattern on to extra fabric I had from the second upcycle project and traced it. I was stuck on whether I should use chalk or a pen to trace the shape, but I decided to use the black pen because the chalk wasn't visible enough on the fabric for me to cut it cleanly.

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Cutting pentagon shape on the fabric (2)

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Cutting pentagon shape on the fabric (2)

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I repeated the same process for the second material as I did for the first one. This fabric was given to me by Ms. Maree, thus I decided to incorporate it into my upcycled projects.

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I put the two pentagons together with the right sides facing each other, then sewed them together with a sewing machine. I left an opening on one of the sides, just as the tutorial said, so that I can flip it inside out and have the right sides of the pentagon on the outside.

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After flipping the pentagon inside-out, I sewed it very close to the edge and closed the previous opening with a sewing machine.