Let's talk about upcycling!
Recycling is great, but...have you tried upcycling?!
Upcycling is the process of taking unwanted or discarded materials (in this case a couple of boring old sweaters that have been in my wardrobe forever!) and reworking them into higher value items - turning them into something you'll actually wear!
For this upcycling mash up, I wanted to create my own #StartTheWave sweater, but you can stencil or paint anything you like - the name of your favourite band or perhaps a positive message you'd like to share with the world. Your imagination is the only limit here.
To start with, I created the text stencil on my iPad, printing and cutting it out with a craft knife. I then mixed up some acrylic paint with equal parts fabric medium and used a sponge to dab the paint onto the sweater - drying between layers with a hairdryer.
I then laid the sweatshirts together and cut a wave shape. (ideally the green sweater would have been blue, but that's the thing about upcycling...you use what you have - green wave it is!!
Finally, I turned the sweatshirts inside out, pinned them together and finished with the Serger.
(Note - there is no waste here, as I'll use the sweater 'offcuts' to create another brand new sweater!)
It doesn't have to be that complicated though - you can still customise your existing clothing without any sewing skills at all!
Maybe you have a t-shirt that you no longer wear? And if it already has something printed on the front, just turn it inside out and stencil on the inside. You can just wear it this way, with the seams showing (I do this all the time and think it looks pretty cool! đ)
Just remember to fix the paint with an iron before washing! And don't worry about it looking 'homemade' - that's the point! đ
Go make a mess.
Happy eco-creating, friends!