Personal Project: Giving Clothing A Second Life

Through this project, I aimed to create pieces of clothes using deadstock fabrics and clothing from thrfit stores. This project is meant to promote sustainability and themany options that more sustainable alternatives offer. To do this, I decided to challenge myself by utilizing Youtube to learn how to operate a sewing machine and make wearable pieces of clothing.

My first piece is a patchwork dress made of three different segments to represent a collage of my childhood memories: two flannel shirts and the trim of a skirt. My dad had always worn flannel, and by incorporating it into the dress, I recreated the same comforting feelings of my childhood. I used two different types of flannel to show contrast between the top piece and the bottom piece. I incorporated more patchwork in the back of the dress as a stylized element and to make better use of the remaining scraps of fabric from the shirt. I also added some floral trim at the bottom to resemble the colorful dresses I had worn when I was little.


The second piece features a babydoll silhouette with a Lisa Frank-esque color palette of bright pinks and purples and fabric with blue butterflies and flowers. I sourced the butterfly fabric from a muumuu and the opalescent fabric from a scrap fabric stand in Hong Kong. I knew I wanted to incorporate the butterfly fabric into my piece with my Chinese name being “小蝶”, or “small butterfly”; I wanted this dress to be a more mature version of the princess dresses I would wear when I was little.


My third piece is a cap-sleeve pink top with lacing in the back. I challenged myself to sew a new type of sleeve. I watched several Youtube videos to get an idea of how to make a pattern that would be the right shape. Despite being the piece with the least amount of fabric, I found this piece to be the most challenging because it was unlike the other pieces I had created and I gained further insight into pattern making.