Hello! I want to share a quick clothing upcycle project that I recently completed. This project only took a couple of hours and I hope that it might inspire you to make some changes to your own clothes. Currently, I am in the middle of a personal style and closet makeover. My goal is to make a lot of changes without buying new pieces. I am hoping to achieve this by upcycling pieces that I no longer wear.

These photos show the before and after of a tank top that I have had for years. It is just a simple, inexpensive, cotton knit tank top from Old Navy, but one of the shoulders has a detail of flower petals that I find unique. This detail is what draws me to the shirt and made me keep it in rotation. While going through my closet, I realized that I have not worn it in a long time and was thinking of donating it. I added it to the donate pile, but then had second thoughts and got an idea to freshen it up by changing the petals.

The petals and the shirt are the same color of navy, so I feel like they were not very noticeable. My idea was to find fabric in different colors of blue that I could use to create and add additional petals. Thrifting for materials is always where I start and I quickly found two t-shirts that I thought would be perfect for this project. One was a lighter blue than the shirt and the other was darker.

As long as I can remember, I have loved fashion and style. My mom tells stories of how picky I was from a young age and that I insisted on picking my own clothes. When I was in middle school, I got my first sewing machine. I couldn’t afford what I wanted to wear, so I created them by learning to tailor and create my own clothes. Thrifting for pieces that I could use and change to create my own style helped me be more creative and to learn how garments are put together.

To create the additional petals, I made a pattern by tracing the shape of the petals that were already on the shirt. I used this pattern to cut out pieces from both of the thrifted shirts and then hand-tacked them onto the shirt. I started at the top of the shirt and then kept adding until I was happy with how it looked.

This is the final result. I am so happy with how it turned out and now have a one-of-a-kind piece that I cannot wait to wear again. This simple tank top feels unique and more special to me now.

Over the years, as I learned more about the fashion industry. I realized how much waste is created to make new clothing. Seeing all of the clothes in the thrift shops also drives home that so much is thrown out. About 6 years ago, I made a New Year’s resolution to not buy anything new for one year. The intention was that I could get pieces second hand, or sew new pieces from fabric and garments I already had, but not purchase anything brand new.

This commitment was so much easier to keep than I thought it would be! I fell in love with the idea and it inspired me to look at clothing, and my closet, differently. Since then, I have purchased a couple new pieces each year, but I am much more thoughtful about what I buy and purchase a lot less.

Have you tired fashion upcycling and completed any projects like this? If you have, please share them with me in the comments!

Thank you for being here and following along!