Combinations | Made of Rags

Do we really need to buy new clothes for Christmas?

…or is it possible to DIY?

Of course it´s fun to run to a mall or the next boutique and buy something nice mass-produced, made under exploitative conditions…..But it´s much more fun to sew it yourself and you could never be really proud of the piece you bought in a store. And don´t forget: Some other women around the world would have the same clothing…And maybe the unpleasant person next door, you really don´t like, is among them….. But your own creation is unique! (And perhaps you could make that unpleasant person a little bit jealous!)

If the answer is: “But I CAN´T sew!”, ask a creative friend or a member of your family, to sew something for you. And if it´s impossible, buy your cloth from a eco-friendly company, buy second-hand or look for some artisan-or recycling cloth. Etsy and Dawanda are good sources for such things. Or look through your wardrobe….Is there really nothing suitable you could upcicle?

I had some short vintage scraps left after my M-Project.

They didn´t match, because they have the color of old ivory and for the project I needed off-white.

I thought for a while, what to do with them….I confess, I don´t really need another evening gown….But at least I decided to sew a short, sleeveless tunic with an unusual back, I can wear for some different occasions in summer and winter.

I didn´t plan the pattern that way. The task was to use the bits as they came and not to cut- Only if it´s really necessary.

that meant some obstacles and limitations. But I found, at least the tunic created itself.

Some of the scraps where remainings from long forgotten vintage lingerie with unusual shapes and holes. The centerpiece of the back was made from some scraps, original belonging to a piece of lingerie or an evening gown from the 1930s. (This kind of fabric was used for both)

Someone long ago cut up the original gown and recycled it. I had only the remaining scraps to work with, but it was enough for my purpose.

Another lace-scrap at the front came from a 1930s slip and had a black silk-border. I thought about removing, but decided to keep it and add on some more vintage satin-ribbon in black. It makes a good accent to the shades of old ivory.

And this time I was a bit smarter and made a matching bag from the deposits.

So don´t wait any longer, if you don´t have your clothing for the feast ready now.

Take what ever material or clothing you have, be creative and design your own dream. It can´t really go wrong and you will shine at Christmas in a unique piece of art!

Autumn Ensemble

Once there was a small tunic, that didn´t fit anymore….

I cut it up in the middle of the front, add a collar in the same color on, embellished with a precious piece of vintage velvet-ribbon and removed the sleeves. It looks much better now.

Then I sewed a matching trouser from antique sacking.

The button on the front is something special:

I bought it from an elderly lady, which is a gifted wood turner. She also makes buttons from wood, afflicted by wood worms. After the worms had turned into beetles and flown out, she cuts the wood and fills their remaining channels with metal.

The worm-patterns are fantastic.

I think, the wood worms would be astonished, if they knew, they´re artists now!

A real “scrapy” thing!

This three-piece-ensemble I made from a pile of scraps. Some of them came from former projects, some from a rag-box in a second-hand-store. Most of them needed a new color. But it´s solid linen, wool-embroidery and machine-embroidered cotton, so dyeing was no problem.

For such a tunic-trouser-vest-ensemble you can use every kind of bigger scraps or old clothing. Just let your scissors fly!

To go on

Over the last two days I thought about what I´m doing with my blog. It didn´t seem to make sense, chatting about vintage rags and recycling clothes, after what happened in Paris. But at least, I decided to go on.

Maybe it makes sense after all. Only time will tell.

Today´s rag-ensemble is a really weird one. It´s made of an old tunic and some scraps I had left from former projects. I sewed a simple trouser, an overskirt and a tunic and embellished the hem with metal rings, key fobs and other little items, I had collected over the years. Of cause, they can be removed for washing. I connected them to the fabric with key rings.

Every shade of lilac

To many lilac scraps in my basket…..and no idea, what to do with them….Until I decided to make a short vest for my violet tunic and a matching skirt, made from a vintage bed-cover.

The vest is warm and cosy and it´s an eyecatcher too. The colors brighten up dark and gloomy autumn days and my basket is not so overfull anymore….

Patchwork-Combination

Three-piece-combination: Dress, jacket and bag.

The dress is predominantly made from self-dyed napkins, which someone homemade from an art déco fabric centurys ago, combined with vintage and new lace. For the jacket I used some scraps and bits of former projects and for the lower part I added four no longer needed chair-covers with their cords on. The remainings made a little matching patchwork-bag.