Denim, Denim, I’ve got a crush on you: love song to a classic cloth
In the world of preloved shopping, some days are good and some days are not. Guest blogger Sandra Stafford had a good day recently with a great denim haul, keeping her relationship intact with this versatile and hard-wearing fabric.
I had gone into a nearby charity shop to investigate a rail marked ‘Everything Half Price’. In charity shop parlance, ‘half price’ is very likely to be a bargain beyond expectations. That said, and as my mother would caution, a bargain is only a bargain if it’s something you want. Well, I found something I wanted: a denim pinafore dress with a good label, probably costing in excess of £50 new. I went through my normal preloved checklist: size (tick); dress length (tick); pockets free of fluff and spent tissues (tick); care labels new and shiny (you can tell how much something has been worn and washed by the condition of these) (tick); price £3. That’s £3. Big tick.
That said, I know myself of old! I will, no doubt, wear this frock often to begin with. Then I’ll notice it hasn’t been out of my wardrobe for a while, at which point I will have a think:
Will I wash it, then deliver it back to a charity shop?
Will I alter it in some way?
Or will I harvest the fabric and use it for something else?
One thing I definitely won’t be doing is sending it to landfill – and should you need to know more about the downsides of that option, then read the lovely Jane’s recent blog here.
Returning to a preloved rail
Sometimes, it just seems criminal to neglect or take a beautifully made garment to pieces when someone else down the line could enjoy it, and a charity shop could continue to accrue valuable funds from it. I’ll be honest: that will be the likely outcome of my lovely pinafore. But I’ll be sure to take good care of it while it’s in my possession. What’s more, denim is fantastically hard-wearing and the fabric likely to last for decades. So setting it free again makes sense.
Altering an underused item
But … what if I decide to alter it? What could I do with a denim pinafore?
Well, my first option is to consider simple embellishment such as hand stitching round necklines, armholes, hem and waist. It’s surprising what an uplifting effect the humble running stitch in a bright colour can have. In fact, it can take an item almost to haute couture levels. I’m not kidding. Try it. I was once gifted a wonderful thick cashmere jumper, but the style just didn’t suit me. So, I chopped off a few inches from the bottom, cut in a slash neckline and reduced the sleeves to three-quarter length. Then I quickly rolled over the raw edges and visibly stitched around them with a thick cotton thread in a bright colour. That jumper, despite having started its life in the 1950s, still gets amazing comments. But, let’s get back to the denim in hand.
My second option would be to see what else I could make from it. I could, for example, detatch the top section of the pinafore from the bottom. The item has a waistband, so I would cut beneath that to try to fashion a shirt tail curve back and front. There’s also a metal centre-back zip to negotiate, so I would need to tackle that with the right kind of scissors – I have a range of these each labelled with instructions for others such as ‘NEVER EVER EVER touch these!!!’ to ‘These are fine to cut paper, sticky tape, rubber tubing, cheese cubes or anything else’ – and quickly secure the end of the zip. And then I’d hem the top, visibly, with running stitch. That leaves me with the bottom half. Now, I could add some more fabric to it, find another zip in my ‘reuse’ box, and turn it into a skirt. Maybe I could dig out some netting or voile and gather it in to the hem. Maybe I could make decorated patch pockets and attach those. Or maybe I could use that part of the fabric to create something else entirely, which leads us to …
Utilising harvested denim
Oh my goodness. Where to start. Here’s just some of the things I have actually created from too-good-to-chuck denim:
A bucket hat, embellished however you like. Hats are surprisingly easy to make, and if you sew by hand easier still because you can often manipulate the fabric more easily than when it’s trapped between the plate and foot of a sewing machine. YouTube, as ever, will throw up a host of suggestions (as it will for the items below, too).
A heavy-duty art apron, which was a combination of an old skirt and a thick canvas blind.
Bags. Loads of them. From basic totes to fancier stuff utilising jeans pockets, jacket pockets, waistbands and studs.
Washbags – oh, yes! A simple rectangle with a drawstring top. If you’re worried about waterproofing, pop your toothbrush, toothpaste, whatever in a bio-degradable plastic bag inside.
Wallets. Cut the width slightly bigger than a credit card, cut the length long enough to create the pocket and flap, secure with a fastener of our choice, and hey presto. I generally line my wallets with leftover fabric from other projects, and I always hand sew them.
Larger pouches using the same principle.
Pockets. Creating and adding these to other items of clothing.
Jewellery. Use the denim to create pendants, or turn long strips of it into cord to create a ‘chain’ of any length. Sew in discarded beads, bits of lace … whatever you have lying around.
Patches. I found a bargain rucksack recently, but wanted to disguise a stained area. I stitched all over the denim to give it some texture, then glued it over the stain. Job done.
The list is as long as your imagination. At this moment, for example, I’m in the process of making and embellishing a journal cover from thrifted denim. Even if I say so myself, it’s looking good!!!!! And these items all make great gifts, which will be much appreciated by the receiver.
So … lovely Trash Chic types … there you have it. No need to consign denim to landfill. Every reason to make it work for you in some other way. Plus, it’s fun. My skill levels are average. But my determination to keep denim and any other cloth out of landfill is off the scale.
Sandra Stafford is an author, editor and long-time Trash Chic customer.
To view TC’s range of preloved/vintage/retro clothing, return to the Shop and take a look at all the fabulous items on offer or get along to one of her exciting pop-up events. And do watch out for details of mending, patching and embellishing events led by the wonderful Jane.
Additionally, catch up with her at the Re-Fashion Denim event at the Grand Arcade in Cambridge on Saturday 28 and Sunday 29 September where she is collaborating with Andy Boothman of DressCode and Cosmin Diaconu of RetroGusto (see BLOG).
