10 things I wished I'd known before I began upcycling clothing!

Many clothes these days are made with cheap and poor quality fabrics, some with spandex or other elastics that bag out, develop holes or just wear out quickly. If you are going to put a lot of time into something, it’s better to choose fabrics and garments that are worth fixing. If not, expect to revisit that garment over and over to fix it repeatedly. Learned this the hard way.

Look for the colour in the print which is the least prominent. That's the detail that makes that print look most interesting. Use the least prominent colour as your base.

I have a tip about colour matching. If you have an item of clothing, say olive trousers, and you need a top to go with it, we all know that you can't remember colours exactly so any time you're at a DIY store take a whole bunch of those little shade cards they use for mixing paint colours for you. When you go out with something specific in mind just match the garment to one of the shade cards and carry that around. Nobody wants to haul a pair of trousers everywhere they go and chances are the one time you think you've found a good match or contrast will be when you don't have them with you. You can slip the shade card into a wallet or purse (handbag in the UK) and it won't take up any room at all, in fact you can have several.

For the presser foot thing, a stack of post it notes makes a "customize to any thickness" option.

For anyone struggling with matching colours, the long solution is to learn some colour theory. The short solution is taking me at my word that everything within a colour season will match each other. I printed out medium autumn colour swatches on photo card at a print shop. I carry it with me and hold it up to fabrics. If the fabric blends in with card, then I know it will match the colours. If the fabric stands out as different (e.g. duller colour, more vibrant colour, more cool toned, more warm toned), then I know the fabric won’t match my colour scheme. This is also useful for those of us who want a very streamlined wardrobe to cut down the headache of putting together outfits for the day. I want to be able to pull out any random top and bottom during the dark winter mornings and know they will match.

My father kept factor sewing machines working in factories. There were many sewing machines sitting around the house (and out in his work shop). My sister and I were learning to sew on sewing machines at home, when we were still in Elementary School. We started out making our own doll clothes. Our fabric came from the rag bag; and, our thread and pins came from the floor of the factory. We helped Daddy at the factory on Saturday mornings. Mom didn't want to give us her good scraps (she used them in making her quilts). So, you could say that I have been upcycling almost all my life. However, what you are doing is new to me.

A running joke with my sister and I is "not my sewing scissors"! Our Mother was always telling us the sewing scissors are for fabric only. Very very true!

Tip #8 - This is also a great tip for beginning sewists (seamstresses, or whatever you call yourself). Let it be known, especially to older women, that you are beginning to sew and are looking for fabric. You will most likely get more than you can use! Older women who have stopped sewing love to give their stashes to younger women to use up. I was able to make Halloween and Nativity costumes for years with all that I was given, not to mention curtains, clothing and even quilts.

So many good pointers here, thank you!! I upcycled a pair of striped curtains into a pair of "Elephant leg hip hugger" pants [anyone remember those?] 50+ years ago. Because we didn't have the $$ for my teen fashion cravings and I could create better than my mom, lol! It's my favorite way to sew still, as patterns and yardage seem almost boring in its way. Having sewn tailored coats, napped fabrics, mediaeval and wedding gowns, I still enjoy upcycling pieces more! 😃

Thank you for sharing this video. Coming from a household of all girls and whose parents were raised on the prairies during the Depression, my mother sewed most of our school clothing. And she repurposed clothing (like adult coats) to fit us. Back then fabrics were less expensive and a sewing machine was a fixture in every household. I smiled when you held up the razor - that is how my mother took seams apart. (and also used it to cut our hair). And as you might expect, I sew and try to recycle clothing for myself and appreciate your helpful tips - Much success with your ventures!

I have been sewing since High School class and can hardly believe no other teachers shared the tip of easier sewing of thick jean! Thank you so much for the wonderful tips!! A new subscriber

A sewing friend has a card holder, a 'wallet' with several clear plastic pages for holding credit cards, etc. (Now that so many of these are digital, it's easy to find a card holder at the thrift shops.) She keeps swatches of all her garment WIPs and fabrics in these. I think it's brilliant.

A lot of times fabric will have the colors separated on the selvage as color spots. That helps in color matching. These are all great tips for people, not everyone knows this stuff. My mom was great at putting together outfits and I learned from her without realizing it. I will never forget when I was working in a store as a teen and a grown woman asked me if a pair of pants matched a top. They didn't even come close. You could see a lightbulb moment when I explained that usually you chose a color in the print and matched that. We picked a color and found pants for her. It was a learning experience for me too because I always assumed if I knew it, everyone knew it.

I relate to the point about having everything ready so that you don't break your flow. It's tough to continue sometimes and remain motivated.

I have had my Gingher scissors since the early 1970s. My children were threatened with dire consequences (no desserts for a month) if they touched my Ginghers! I also made sure there were regular scissors in every room, so they didn’t have to go into my sewing boxes! The scissors have been sharpened only twice, simply because I never cut anything but tissue paper (patterns) and fabric with them. Love my Ginghers!

As far as carrying swatches, I purchased a small notebook with plastic sleeves for photos at one point. Each pocket held a swatch of fabric and how much yardage I had. Regarding hint #4 and sewing over thicker denim hems - I cut OFF the hem, attach seam binding and then sew the seam binding down. Instead of folding that heavy fabric, the thin seam binding which gives a smoother, more professional finish - and it makes no difference what color the binding is. I buy bags of ass't bindings at the thrift stores - often 20+ packs for $5 or less. Or I make my own from leftover fabrics - and it doesn't have to bias, but can be cut on the straight grain, the edges turned in and ironed flat. Easy-peasy.

I have decorated entire houses based on colors in my favorite paintings.

You come across so relatable and kind it's a pleasure to watch your videos. Thank you for your top eleven tips. The one about raising the foot of the machine to meet thick fabric was my favourite! God bless you too, Sherry.

I watched so many sewing tips videos and NO ONE gave this trick for thick fabric at 7:30. What a game changer! It was a pleasure to listen to you share your experience. Thank you!

A lot of great tips! I actually don’t up cycle clothing, but make clothing out of Thrifted fabrics, including blankets and quilts and curtains. Each one of my items is one of a kind so I make sure that they’re very special. I have found that people will pay more for a one-of-a-kind garment that has finished seams such as French or Japanese instead of serged. In fact, I’m pretty sure my grandmother would aunt bee from the grave yes, I didn’t finish seems the old-fashioned way.