One Old Duvet, Three Dresses After | Upcycling is Hot!

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile
I have a confession.

I am addicted to upcycling and I don’t need therapy, coz this kind of addiction is making me feel good and my closet more colorful.

For someone like me who knows basic stitching, who needs to spend money on fast fashion items that will only last after one laundry. 



Welcome to another upcycling project, where I managed to create three (3) dresses using one (1) old cotton duvet. I felt so thrilled when I found this material just stored in our laundry room. And since it does not fit anymore to any of our beds, with its too festive color it would be embarrassing to just turn it into another pillowcase.

Yeah, upcycling is hot! 

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile
Just look at this print. Does it remind you of the festive Easter egg season?!

Australians spend an average of 23kgs of textiles in landfills per person, each year, according to figures from the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS). More than 500,000 tonnes (or 88 percent) of leather and textiles were sent to landfills in 2009-10 as these waste types are considered to be too costly or difficult to recover. If we don’t do something at home to minimize textile waste, it will continue to grow these figures, which truly hurts our environment.

You can watch my vlog on YouTube.



slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

I had so much fun cutting, sewing, unstitching again, sewing it back, a bit of trial and errors, which leads me longer than expected to finish but I have no deadlines to catch.

After weeks of on and off sewing, here are the dresses that were born out of a duvet cover, and surprisingly I love the vibe they gave me whenever I wear them on.

I also love the fact that I took care and time on creating these pieces, and not spending money on new dresses. How cool is that?!

For design inspiration, Pinterest is a great source to snoop for easy DIY design, and also browsing the latest runway photos from Vogue.





Dress #1 – Festive Midi Dress

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

This dress is so cute for this country-inspired photography. Living in Gippsland inspires me a lot to be more mindful and savvier, hence, upcycling and op-shopping are two of the best fashion activities I genuinely enjoyed. It is like hitting two birds in one shot!




Dress #2 – Coordinates for Mix and Match

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

Making the coordinate dress is quite a challenge, especially the top part. This outfit is nice for day wear or an afternoon tea with friends. The good thing about coordinates is that you can mix and match them with other clothing pieces.

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

I realized that using this printed fabric looks great in this dress pattern. Maybe I should make another one using other textiles I have.




Dress #3 – Another dress but make it bold

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

slow fashion, sustainable fashion, upcycling textile

And the final dress.

I almost run out of fabric to finish this dress. Luckily, there is some extra custard-colored cotton fabric left from my other upcycling project, and seems it works well. 

If I don’t have my sewing machine, my work will take a lot longer. Playing with these textiles makes me appreciate the value of caring for my clothes. These pieces are now treated as bespoke!

Hope I made you inspire to do your own upcycling project! With a little patience and time to learn basic sewing over YouTube, you can also make your own little piece that give a huge impact to save our environment.


Until the next upcycling project! Purrr…


 


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49 comments :

  1. infairness madami dami ka nagawa sa duvet! pinaka bet ko yung first dress!! pero torn ako sa 3rd as well.. as always you nailed it!! napakagaling!

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  2. My favourite would have to be the third one - the one with bold yellow across the skirt. Ang ganda! I don't think I can pull of the second one. I think you need to be a certain height to look good in it (or you have to be petite somehow)

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    1. I added the yellow-fabric to give a pop! Hahaha, I'm glad it worked well. Fashion is fun!

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  3. Yay!!! Ang cute lahat!!! Perfect dahil malapit na mag-summer. Sana all may talent sa paggawa ng mga ganyan para tipid na pag-oonline shopping! LOL

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    1. Thank you Karla! Yeah I save a lot from not buying online. Except for my skincare!
      For my clothes, 90% of them are from my upcycling projects and from buying second-hand from many op-shops here in Australia. The rest of 10% is from generous brands who sent items as gifts :)

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  4. Impressive work Miss. I admire your resourcefulness and creativity. This is a nice hobby and I want to try it someday. I also love doing crafts and arts and this is a unique idea. The best way to spend time at home especially during this pandemic. I should've discovered upcycling sooner. Thanks for sharing! I'll wait for your next project.

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  5. I love Dress #3! It's youthful, colorful, and stylish! I wish I know how to make my own clothes, too.

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    1. Thanks dear! Another way of promoting sustainable fashion is to invest on good quality fabric, and make sure to wear them often.

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  6. I like how the coordinates can also be used with other pieces of clothing. The one you made seems to go well with that pretty trouser! The patterns of both creations look fab! :)

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  7. Perfect for this summer ang mga nagawa mo! I like the last one, very chic. Kailan na ang launching ng mga collections mo? Dami mo na nagawa pwede ka na magfashion show!

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    1. Hahaha yes I did so many na! Hope I got time to film a vlog for all the dresses I made during isolation.

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  8. I love your duvet cover and it still looks great with all the colors still intact. Guess I should learn stitching from now on so I can upcycle our used bedsheets too. That's a great skill you have there.

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  9. I love the first one, although the rest are lovely too. Gusto ko na rin matuto manahi... I can only do so much with my bare hands. :)))

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    1. I used to make dresses using my bare hand, and I like it! Though I got stabbed my fingers many times with needles, and will take the process longer.

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  10. Omg your are so talented! We have an electric sewing machine and my mom haven’t had the chance to teach me how to use it! Would love to make something like this too!

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    1. Yay that it great! Using an electric sewing machine is so easy :) You can do it!

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  11. I can't believe you took an old duvet and turned it into something so adorable! I love the top!

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  12. I absolutely love your creativity! The dresses you make from sheets and the like are always so pretty!

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  13. You have such a creative mind! I love the way you can transform a bed covering into an absolutely beautiful article of clothing!

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    1. a duvet made from cotton fabric is always a lovely material for dresses. There are duvet made from soft fabric such as flannel which is not ideal.

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  14. These pieces are so amazing! I can't believe what you were able to do with a duvet cover and a little creativity!

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    1. Thanks, Kuntala! it makes me happy and also my savings, lol.

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  15. Wow, this is just amazing! What a talent you have! Love all 3, such a wonderful job done

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  16. I wish I was this crafty! They all look amazing. Or at least that I could dig through your closet haha.

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    1. Hahaha
      90% of my clothes are from op-shops and charity stores and upcycling projects. The remaining 10% is from fashion brands that generously gifted me free clothes.. and I also upcycle them when it doesn't fit me anymore.

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  17. Yyyaaaayyyyyyyyyyyyy! Saying that I am proud of you Blair, is an understatement! You have won my heart today, on the upcycling! It is something so many of us need to do....without even knowing it!

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  18. You did an amazing job. All of these are so gorgeous.

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  19. This is great way to recycle our old clothes. I wish I could do the same but no talent in creation.

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    1. There is also another way to recycle your clothes. You can donate it to the available charity shops near you.

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  20. I love it! You are so creative!!

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  21. Those your creativity!! This reminds me of my daughter, she used to love making dresses out of pillow cases.

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  22. I love it when people recycle and get creative. All those outfits you made are looking absolutely gorgeous and definitely like the 3rd dress.

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  23. Wow you are so clever and the dresses which you have created looks amazing. Love the colours and the fit x

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  24. Indeed you have a very creative hands my dear! I hope I have the same talent too! I so love the outcomes of it! It suits well with you too! The colors creates positivity and good vibes.

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    1. Thank you Anosa! Very festive color which is cool. I could wear these in many festivals as well!

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  25. WOW That is truly incredible. So creative and so good for the environment!

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  26. Great designs! I like the top version. It's perfect with jeans! Dami mo nang creations!

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