As I was in my usual zone of organizing my closet, I found my old Uniqlo dress from 2012, when I was still living in the Philippines. This dress served me well – I wore it to many bloggers’ events back in the day and a few weekend dates with my then-boyfriend, and I brought it here in Australia. The textile is a very comforting, stretchy fabric, yet durable, and after several wear and washing, the fabric gets older – not to mention that I also gained curves that eventually didn’t fit to this dress.
I have many good memories of this dress. I bought it when UNIQLO just arrived in the Philippines and became good friends with their people, including Mr. Kubota (who was the COO of UNIQLO Philippines). The blogging days in the city were flourishing, and I had so much excitement attending several events here and there.
I was a skinny ass bitch! This was during the launch of Uniqlo’s UNIQSTYLE in the Philippines in 2012.
I was one of the few who got the confidence to wear salmon-colored dress, including the tangerine-range color (still my favorite!)
The salmon maxi-dress was part of the early 2012 UNIQLO Collection in collaboration with designer Velvet. This dress used to be Php990.00.
Since ancient times, the Japanese have believed that a life force resides in every creation; hence, living a sustainable, zero-waste life is part of their lifestyle. As I am also on this journey, I often consider the hidden potential of each item before I give up and send it to the recycling bin.
Just like this dress, with which I have many happy memories. I decided to turn it into a handbag using simple crochet stitching for simplicity yet focus on its durability.
The stretchy cotton textile was cut into strips of fabric to prepare for the crocheting. For more durability, I decided to crochet it along with another velvety-cotton yarn, giving it a softer texture.
I kept the original care tag and used the rest of the fabric to decorate the handbag and added this pearl brooch for a little lady touch.
Watch my TikTok video here:
@blair.villanueva How I make a crochet handbag using my old dress from Uniqlo. #crochet#upcycling#ideas#upcycledfashion#uniqlo#australianfashion#handmadewithlove#underconsumption♬ He's Got All I Want - Alyssa Fjords
I had so much fun crocheting this bag while bingeing for Netflix’s Apple Cider Vider, and I ended up gathering my old t-shirts and making a couple more handbags!
For more upcycling blog posts, you can check out our previous stories here or follow me on TikTok!
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