See the items that people brought to or found at the event to be fixed, altered or refashioned.
This is a really fun event with the goal of keeping clothes out of the trash and extending their usefulness. You can bring clothes that need minor fixes or adjustments, drop off items for someone else to find, or have fun re-styling pieces into something new. There are endless opportunities because you’ll never know what you’ll find.
I got to meet so many great people at the event, and work on some fun projects. Below you can see some of what we do at the event.
Adding a Patch to Bag
My friend Edmo was also at the event, giving out and making silk-screened patches. This is one of his patches, a skull screened on to denim, that I sewed on to a canvas bag.
Fixing a Hole in a Pair of Jeans
This pair of jeans had a few areas where it was wearing thin and holes were starting to develop.
I quickly repaired them to reinforce and prevent them from getting worse.
Fixing a Shirt Strap
This shirt simply needed a quick stitch and it was good as new.
Hand Stitching a Hole in a T-Shirt
This is a t-shirt that had a small hole. It was too delicate to fix on my sewing machine, so I quickly hand stitched it closed to prevent the hole from getting larger.
Separating a Garment Into Two New Pieces
The original piece is this tank top with an elastic waste and denim skirt, all as one piece.
I separated the tank top, and now the young lady who found this at the event has two new pieces for her wardrobe.
T-Shirt Paired with a Knit Skirt
One of the most unique requests, attaching a t-shirt to a knit skirt – both found at the event – to make them all one piece.
Altering a Denim Shirt
This is a denim shirt brought to the event specifically to be altered. The goal was to remove the curved hem and change it to a straight hem.
After cutting off the bottom to make it straight across, I applied a nice hem to finish it off.
Don’t forget to trim your threads! 🙂
Repairing Tear in a Bag
This bag was in great condition, but a tear had developed near the handle.
A quick stitch to fix the tear and reinforce the area means this bag can continue to be used for a long time.
Replacing Jean Pocket
This pair of jeans had significant holes in the back pocket.
I first removed the pocket with my handy seam ripper.
Then the goal was to replace the pocket with a denim, silk-screened patch.
The patch and jean denim were almost identical, and I attached leaving the raw edge showing.
Adding Flare to a Pair of Jeans
This is one of my favorite projects from the evening because I used to do this to my jeans too.
These creative kids found a jacket at the event, cut it up to create the pieces for the flare, and cut the side seam. Then I added material to the bottom of the pant legs to turn them into bell bottoms.
Then I overlaid new pockets using the same fabric.
Amazing and really fun to make.
Follow me on Facebook and Instagram to learn when I’ll be at these events. And be sure to check out everything Reduce Reuse Remake has going on.
Custom Sewing
We only have a short time to make very quick fixes and alterations at the swap event, so if you’re looking for help with more complex and detailed projects, check out my custom sewing services.