What have you done to revive a garment? - YouLookFab Forum

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What have you done to revive a garment?

rabbit

Veteran

I was thinking about this topic after reading how Shannon used a fishing line weight to help a blouse hang correctly.

I've been doing a fair bit of clothes doctoring lately. I don't currently have a sewing machine but admire those posters who can do their own alterations. But there are a number of low-tech things I've done to try to bring orphaned or potential purge clothes back into happy wardrobe contributors for a bit longer with varying degrees of success.

Scissor Happy (no sewing required):
-Jeans become rolled cut off shorts, but so do cargo pants with worn out knees.
-Leggings with stirrup feet (why did I buy them?) become cropped leggings for wear under short skirts with sandals and ankle straps A pair of Spanx with laddered hose attached, become just a pair of Spanx.
-Crew neck tee shirts become boat-neck, and rolling the sleeves gives them a nice angle and length. A knit dress with wonky long sleeves, becomes a elbow-length sleeve dress (I actually did end up hand hemming this)

Shave and a Style:
-a new safety razor takes the pills off of sweaters, but also off a loved knit shirt (a thicker knit), and the sleeves of sweat-shirts and mixed media jackets.
-cat brushes (run through the dishwasher first) restore the nap of a wool-blend coat and a couple of very fuzzy sweaters.

A new paint job and wax:
-very faded but loved black jeans are dyed in a pot on the stove (not entirely successful, I don't think I used enough dye, but now they are a nice charcoal).
-an old pair of black and white Diesel leather sneakers is run through the washer, has it's rubber bits scrubbed with a magic eraser, it's white bits polished with shoe whitener, and it's black suede bits are about to be touched up too.

What have you done to 'doctor' a garment? Any tips? Any miraculous saves? Any 'why didn't I just retire it and buy a new one that was a lot of hassle' stories?

Dressing

38 replies

Latest reply was from DonnaF

cciele

Veteran

Cool thread! I like reviving clothes if possible.

I cut off the tiny cap sleeves (caplets) of a vest -- they looked so goofy! All better now, with some RATE edges around the armhole. Hm, the vest would go well with the punky plaid pants

I've also removed the crew neck of tees as well as the sleeves, then gathered up the top of the shoulder area (safety pins or ribbons) to give a tank-like effect.

My older daughter took apart a pair of trousers that were too small for me, and sewed a black tuxedo stripe on the outside of each leg. That was pretty cool

Diana

Veteran

Don't forget the magic of the sharpie!

kellygirl

Veteran

As a matter of fact, I cut the sleeves off an oversized long sleeve linen tee to make it cap sleeve. I cut it leaving the seam intact to prevent the fabric from fraying. It looks good--we'll see what happens after a wash

rabbit

Veteran

Ooh cool tank idea cciele, and the tuxedo pant stripe save is pretty awesome.

Diana -- good point! I forgot, I used acetone to get bling I didn't like off some black jeans, and then a sharpie to cover the tiny bit of glue residue you could still see.

kelly - yeah the wash is the moment of truth, but some knits really don't fray I've noticed

Caro in Oz

Veteran

I've just dyed three summer garments - a beautiful cotton summer coat, a silk oversized top & a dress. They were all white/cream & I didn't wear them much last summer. The first two are fantastic & I will wear them now for sure. The dress e is very sad & patchy. I only attack things I'm not happy with, so ruining something is no big deal I've ordered some metallic leather paint for some shoes that are looking a little tired too

rabbit

Veteran

caro - yeah, I want to do the metallic retouch on a pair of shoes too, they are metallic but they seem to be oxidizing on the heel. Did you dye the clothes black?

columbine(erin)

Veteran

I have an ankle length linen lavender dress with buttons down the back. I've dyed it blue and hacked the length. Now contemplating where to hem it. Another dress with black and white checks had some tiny holes in the bodice. I put a piece of black tape behind the holes. It didn't show. Hehe. I just couldn't afford another dress at the time and I'm not skillful at darning holes.

shedev

Veteran

Turned a jeans jacket into a vest, it became a work horse.

I make longer shorts out of jeans because I can never find the length I want.

E

Veteran

I do hand sewn hems on some of the full skirts I buy; if they fit at my natural waist, they're likely from a different era and are way too long! I've done it on a couple dresses too. Other skirts I buy are the right length but too big in the waist, so if the styling allows it, I'll sew some tucks into the waist band to shrink them up (otherwise I just always wear them gathered under a belt).

I've done this to trouser waistbands too and nearly all of my shorts (I prefer baggier shorts so usually buy a size or two up). Until I get around to doing the shorts, I use big safety pins on either side. (Luckily I always wear my tops untucked, so no one else has to see that sloppiness, hehe.) I've also tapered legs on a pair that was almost perfect (by hand, because I still need to learn how to use a sewing machine), and once turned a pair of big flares that fit me really well in the waist & seat into fitted pedal pushers with a judicious cut & roll.

If something has a high wool content & almost fits me, I'll run it through the washer & drier in an attempt to shrink it a bit. This has worked really well twice: the other time the arm holes ended up too small. And I've definitely used the razor as a de-piller, with successful results!

I'll replace the buttons on something if the current buttons don't have the vibe I want/look cheap.

I tried dyeing things with Rit dye a couple of times when I was younger, but I have to do it on the stove top, and the fumes made me too concerned to keep doing it, even though I had good results.

And of course minor mending on thrifted treasures: darning, stain removal, resewing loose buttons, catching up a dropped hem, etc.

Oh and last month I got a shoe care kit from Otter Wax that has revived all of my leather shoes! They look beautiful & the process is enjoyable, because it has safe ingredients that smell like lemons & remind me of how you'd moisturise your hands, instead of scary regular shoe polish.

My mom & sister are going to give me some sewing machine lessons & then in addition to making some simple garments, I plan to try hemming a couple tops I have that I've realised are longer than ideal. I'd also like to attempt a sweater surgery like I've seen tutorials on, where you take in the side seams/adjust the arm holes to make a too-big sweater fit you. But that idea also scares me, so I'll probably practice on a sweater from my holding zone first!

ironkurtin

Veteran

- New buttons
- Dying
- Cutting
- Bleaching
- Tailoring
- Opening seams (I have muscular legs and arms, so if a garment has triepl-e enforced seams, I may use a seam ripper to create more space)
- Mending mending mending
- Chanin Alabama-style reverse embroidery

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

I have just doctored a boring cashmere cardigan into a much more gamine-worthy style. Scissors and bias binding. I like it so much I'm thinking about adding this kind of trim to other garments.

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JAileen

Veteran

If I'm buying something retail, I usually don't do anything to it. But if it's something I've thrifted, I've done a lot:

Change buttons
Dyed
Reshaped collar (this was major surgery, not for the faint of heart)
Shortened hem
Remove extraneous decoration
Mend
Depill
Cut a dress down to a skirt

A la Mason Dixon Knitting ladies I bought a cotton sweater and splashed it with bleach - this came out beautifully.

Some of you are tired of hearing about vintage Coach bags. But when I buy them they often look quite sad. I wash them in dish soap and water, rinse over and over and over, and as they dry I start applying leather conditioner. I've had to take them to my shoe repair for various repairs I'm unable to make myself. It's worth it to me because I think they're beautiful.

Janet

(website)

Veteran

Wow, some great ideas here. I've changed buttons and cut off sleeves, and of course cut jeans off into shorts, but I'm not terribly crafty. I tried to dye a pair of secondhand boots a while back, but I didn't like the results. I may try it again someday -- I put them in a cabinet in my office just in case I get a wild notion to make another attempt.

Melaine

(website)

Super fun thread! I have done a few pairs of cut-offs, a couple of jackets to vests (love how these turn out...easiest refashion ever! taken in shirts to make them slimmer. Today my favorite thrift store had a sale and I bought two items that need work. I loved both and both fit perceived "holes" in my closet but I am not sure if I am up for the alterations. I will keep you posted! Oh, also took the top of a shirt and sewed it to a tiered skirt to make a maxi dress. I love it and have worn it tons!

Mary Beth (formerly LBD)

(website)

Veteran

At my dance studio, we take scissors to oversized unisex or thrifted tees and cut a long slit up the center, either front or back, and knot the "tails" it creates. Same with the sleeves. And cut out the crew neck into a ballet or v-neck. Very Flashdance, LOL

Greyscale

Veteran

This thread has such good ideas.

I had a jean jacket, faded black, with yellow stitching. The yellow thread drove me nuts so I sharpied over every seam. Huge improvement.

I often think I'll replace buttons but I rarely get around to it.

E

Veteran

Jaileen, you reminded me that I also occasionally perform a 'deruffling' operation via seam rippers: I go super slowly & use bright light so I don't pull any threads on the garment underneath, and it works well.

Melaine, I tried to turn a long sleeve dress into a sleeveless one once, but when I removed the sleeves, the remaining shoulder shape was too awkward to work. I'm glad you had better luck at turning jackets into vests!

Aziraphale

Veteran

I love this question! I've done a lot of the things already mentioned by others. I'm not a seamstress, but I take things in to have them altered quite often. Usually it's just a tweak to make it fit, but sometimes it's a garment overhaul that changes the whole look, like when I've hemmed (well, had a professional hem) an ankle length skirt to just-below-knee length to make it wearable, or had a pair of bootcuts turned into straight legs. With do-it-yourself stuff, I'm pretty scissor-happy. I've cut off many pairs of jeans to make jean shorts (I'm sure I do this once a year), cut out the neck hole of a too-small crew neck, and cut the sleeves off tee shirts. I've also shaved sweaters and filled in tiny bleach spots on black clothing with a sharpie. I have also tried bleaching and dyeing garments, and have never, ever been happy with the results. The colour is always worse than what it started as.

Joy

Veteran

This is a great thread. In addition to several things already mentioned, I have cut the string ties off a wraparound knit top to make it into a cascading cardi, and have rolled and hand sewn the sleeves of a silk short sleeved tee to make them more of a diagonal angle on the arm.

rabbit

Veteran

You guys are clever. Thanks for sharing your tips!

columbine - I like the black tape solution, sometimes when I darn a hole it becomes MORE noticeable due to gathers even if I'm trying to avoid them and use a tiny stitch or two.

shedev - I don't buy shorts but just do cutoffs also for the same reason.

E- I need to try the waist tuck trick. I'm kind of at a loss with bottoms that are now too big at the waist. Your shoe care kit sounds lovely! I also want to try cutting the turtleneck out of a sweater, I haven't tried any sweater surgery before, but right now it's only being used as a cat bed liner so I figure no harm done if it fails.

IK - reverse style embroidery for decorative purposes? pretty cool. Inner seam loosening is a good one.

Alexandra - wow! That is an awesome transformation. Did you hand or machine sew on the new trim?

JAileen - Did the sweater you did come out with an abstract/organic design? I've thought about something like that using a spray bottle. (I did it to jeans as a teenager and liked it). I need to try something similar to your Coach bag restoration. Can you get out ink spots or just general dirt/wear?

Janet - yeah my attempts to dye haven't been stellar either.

Melanie - your new maxi dress looks very cool. Let us know how the other alterations go.

La Belle - I love it! I'm tempted lol. That's also a way to make a cropped length top with a defined waist, hmmm

Greyscale - I have removed and painted buttons (white shell painted with pewter all surface craft paint) and then sewn them back. I like button sewing because it's hard to mess up :D. Also I can listen to podcasts or audiobooks.

E - I've removed decorative stitching from jeans pockets in the same way. In hindsight, maybe a sharpie would have been better, because I could never get the bits of stitching stuck in the seams out all the way.

Aziraphale - yeah, so far my dying record hasn't been great. Good that the professional tailoring has worked out for you so nicely.

Joy - it's awesome when you can update the style of something in such a simple way, I agree!

Alassë

Veteran

A lot of these - de-ruffling, cutting off sleeves, hems galore, narrowing trouser legs, skirt-waist alterations, reversing a dress (making walking slit, sewing up old walking slit, putting in zipper), tons of shirts narrowed at the side seams, tons of shirts taken up at the shoulders, a dress made out of cropped top + skirt, changing a neckline's drape. I've also tried removing the dye & dying items, but none of those came out the appropriate colour.

I've had done the following: elastic added to skirt or shorts at the waist to take in the waist, adding a button-hole & moving the corresponding button so it wouldn't be too high- or low-necked when completely buttoned, replacing a zipper.

DonnaF

Veteran

I took an ancient plain all-cotton crew neck pullover sweatshirt and made it into a 3/4 sleeve jacket: Removed ribbing at neck, slit down the front, played around with neckline and length. The sleeves are *finished* by rolling, and sweatshirt fabric doesn't ravel.

unfrumped

Veteran

Ha--love Diana's sharpie. Has saved black items with a tiny stain or bleach mark.
Also painstakingly remove belt loops from jackets so the belt can ride lower, for my long waist, or not belt. Sharpie or colored marker to the rescue because sometimes the stitch removal area is lighter in color.

Alexandra

(website)

Veteran

rabbit, thank you for the compliment! I sewed on the trim by machine. I basted it first.

JAileen

Veteran

Rabbit, ink is very tough to get out. I avoid bags that have big ugly ink spots. Usually the bags I buy are just dirty and dried out. It's amazing how much better they look with a little TLC.

The sweater that I put bleach on ended up with an abstract design. I used a couple of techniques - flinging the bleach on which made dots and lines of dots, and I also used a carrot dipped in bleach that made bubble looking spots. It came out really cool looking. The Mason-Dixon Knitting ladies were referring to another knitting book that used Rowan denim yarn. I wanted to try out the technique before I invested in the yarn which was pretty expensive. I ended up never knitting a denim sweater. I think Rowan discontinued some if not all of that line. I got rid of my sweater a couple months ago or I'd post a picture. Eventually the main color looked kind of faded.

Angie

(website)

Fashion Stylist

What Diana said. Sharpie pen all the way. I'm also quite hack happy in Summer. I MUST cut up a pair of old jeans. Summer isn't the same unless I do.

Nice thread, Rabbit.

Sal

Veteran

Wow some fab ideas here.

My list is - change buttons, hem, cut trousers into shorts, remove embellishments.

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Lyn D.

Veteran

How did you turn a crew neck into a boat-neck Rabbit?

I recently cut and hemmed a long tunic-style knit into a asymmetrical hem-line by hand.
Then noticed a hole right at chest level at the front

Mellllls

Veteran

This was such an interesting read! I'd love to be more do it yourself and to fix my old clothes but in the end I often do just buy a new one. It's more of a time thing for me.

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