Upcycling Will Be A Thing Of The Past And Here’s Why.
My needle just freaking broke this is the denim jacket I’m going to be upcycling today i’m very into loose baggy denim this is my youtube next up jacket and when i first got it i said oh it can’t say blueprint diy without being diy that makes no sense if you know me you know how much i love sewing and how much i love a good diy project so today i’m gonna take this massive denim parka apart this is my jacket i’ve had this jacket for a number of years.
I don’t really wear it i am an upcycle at heart i already have like a million different ideas i want to do to this bad boy [Music] i feel like this while it is sort of blase has a lot of potential i like that the jack is oversized I just don’t like that it’s kind of boxy there’s so much space at the back i can do so much to make this unique and really special quite old the collar especially has like this stain i could change it into something that i actually love and want to wear by upcycling it now i just got to figure out what i wanna do with it [Music] i really like the white because i think i wanna tie-dye this i pulled out my tie-dye box so with your wet item of clothing if you want to do a scrunch kind of tie-dye you can kind of bunch it up.
Then rubber band it and you can start dying these bottles are just grill sauce bottles got it at walmart for like 50 cents so let’s test this out i kind of like that i don’t want to get it too much in there because i do kind of want a lot more white to show through i don’t love it i don’t hate it i think we will go back to the drawing board and kind of see what other colors i can use on it i think it’s getting there i think i’m going to put a little bit more black in it and then we’ll rinse it out and dry it i think i don’t like the white stitching on it maybe paint on it and do some floral work and stuff like that i was thinking just cut it in half flip it inside out.
Just attach it back on the edge frame right there that would be amazing i like to collect the chains off of purses that are just completely trash i have my jacket laid out and i grabbed a ruler and i measured across just to make sure i get a straight line there’s no turning back after this once i cut it it’s cut i have to take this and i have a date with some bleach it’s not really tata i just wanted to splotch it i have a mixture of about a half bleach and half water so let’s see how this goes everything is washed this is how the bleach effect came out i really really like it this is exactly what i wanted i used my sliver of soap to mark off right where the buttons were and then i just kind of laid out these eyelets to see how far i wanted them apart all i need to do is cut a circle right on the x that is as big as the circle here then put this through and what it does is it flays the edge of the little piece with the knob i’m going to go ahead and add some chain.
If you’re like me the first time you did this you put the eyelet a little bit further from the edge of the denim now just make a little snip in the denim and you’ll be able to get the ring on there i’d love to turn this into a statement piece using like a color block sort of patchwork technique i have the metallic thread in the machine now and i’m starting with a zigzag stitch i’m going to go over some of the stitching i already made in more metallic thread i’m sewing onto the pocket right now a little piece of turquoise spandex fabric and it was actually the remnant from a vintage swimsuit i tried to be as zero waste as possible in my design we’re just really looking forward to using up as many scraps as possible so after doing a bunch of the stitching i got this like random idea that i was like hmm i kind of want to add touches of paint to it i think it’ll just make it a little more artsy and eclectic and i’ve already taped right here i didn’t have the proper tape but i’m using what i have on hand so it’s gonna have to work i’m hoping that this kind of gives it more of a geometric overall vibe i already have like random shapes that i’ve used i’m about to sew this one next.
Then i have more strips that i’m adding momentarily so piece by piece this jacket can’t remain a jacket this puppy has gotta make a huge glow up final form type transformation it’s final poke evolution it’s gotta become something completely different and to do that what i think i have to do is i’ve gotta seam rip the heck out of it so i can see how much fabric i’ve even got to work with also it’ll give me enough time to think up something because i’ve got no idea so here we go so that’s done pieces that i think are workable are definitely the back is my largest piece that’s where i have the most area to work with and the sleeves i think also have a pretty good amount of space to work with what i’m gonna do is a bucket hat uh i’ve always wanted a bucket hat i’ve never gotten one because i don’t know and there was some like weird stigma about it and it was basic but look at me i’m basic and i’m fine with that everything’s cut it’s time to bring in the big guns i have a brand called zero waste daniel where everything is upcycled it’s all unisex and gender-free so anyone can participate i’m going to make a little galaxy these are some of the colors i’m going to use from this jar i’m here at my sewing machine with all of my fabrics behind me i keep my special applique fabric sorted by color in different jars and this allows me to think almost more like a painter than a designer so i can pick the little pieces.
Little accents that i need to make my jacket amazing for this particular piece i’m going to add a pair of my creation hands which are inspired by michelangelo’s creation of adam from the sistine chapel and it’s going to be about the idea of creating waste why are we creating waste why are we the only species that creates waste in the world but it’s a conversation piece and a conversation starter so it should be beautiful and interesting and i’m going to make little galaxies and mosaics and put them all over this jacket the last element in this design is going to be some little handmade abstract solar flares the fabric is beautiful there’s a lot of it to work with and i really think it can make such a stunning little dress why not reinvent the jacket and make it into something completely different that’s what i do the first thing i needed to do was get rid of the lining so that i could actually get to the denim and see what i was working with i then used my seam ripper to carefully open up all of the seams so that i could get all the pattern pieces laid out flat.
know exactly how much fabric i had to work with after i’ve drafted my pattern on my dress form i then take my ruler and go in and start perfecting out my pattern and really getting all the math right to make sure that it’s going to fit properly now that i’ve cut all my pattern pieces out i can start assembling this little mini dress pressing your seams nice flat and beautiful is so important to make your project look professional i’m also going to reuse the zipper from the parka jacket and insert it into the waste of the mini dress so that you can unzip it and wear just the top or just the skirt the last step is to add this band that i’m reusing from the parka jacket as a detail on the top of this mini dress i’m kind of new to the diy thing so i don’t really know what i’m doing but i do have a lot of creative phones so we’re gonna see what happens so i’m trying to cut but i don’t know if my scissors are sharp enough i’m gonna have to like really macgyver this i’m just cutting above the pocket because it’s easiest so i’ve cut the jacket i think adding the gold spray paint will give it more of an edge this is a vintage brooch that i thrifted i’m gonna pin them in different areas.
Then i also have like regular buttons my friend kyla made these amazing buttons for black lives matter this uneven hem is kind of distracting me a little bit i’m honest i might just add some cuts to the bottom just adding a bit more texture see i’m gonna spice it up i do want to show a little bit of skin with this baby and we’re gonna make it really creative a little bit more flashy as you can see i kind of just go for it i very rarely actually measure my eyeball game is like on point so why measure as you can see bam two pieces now and this is exactly what i was picturing for the top and leave this as is we don’t need the back of this so the first thing we’re gonna do is cut the back off so let’s crop this bad boy straight across above this button we want to bring this down just a little bit fold that over and pin it in place for now so we want this to be folded over just a little bit to add reinforcement you take this excess materials cut from this side like i said i don’t measure but you can measure we have the strip fold this over.
I’m gonna cut this i’ll take this and i will fold it in half and that’s gonna create the loops this is going to lace it up now all i have to do is head on over to the sewing machine and sew these loops on so this top edge down the tube top is all sewn and all i have to do now is lace it up i’m good to go this is going to be so freaking cute i had the bright idea since winter is around the corner to kind of make this winter-esque winter-esque first thing i’m going to do is double check if i can really use this pattern i made because this is the part i’m most worried i’m going to mess up i don’t want to make the back awkwardly small i just want that curve that’s all a little bit up a little bit this is going to be fine guys i have everything pinned up i’m just going to sew it together and then we can get to the furry parts i am starting off with the back of the jacket just because i want to paint here and i also need it to fully dry before i can do the rest of the jacket so starting from the back i’m going to paint a mini me on the back of this jacket and i’m gonna add a black dress and add some of this trim to the bottom of her dress and i also have this i sew it for my mom so hopefully she doesn’t miss it and then i’m gonna paint on a head and a neck i don’t know video paints arms and legs if i paint legs i can add shoes i painted the queen at the top i’m about to rhinestone them so that they really bling.
Shine this is where we’re at with the back i am so happy i already started jeweling the dress i like to make things sparkly it’s 2 30 a.m i just couldn’t sleep so i figured i might as well the dazzle i am working on her eyes i came up with an idea for the front and i’m so high i took these and broke them into pieces so i can put like a little patch here a little patch here i took a white jean jacket and i dyed it with the green then dyed it with a little bit of emerald green put some gray and black dye in there colored in the stitching cropped the bottom off and painted these little flowers i am so excited with how it turned out did a little bleach tie dye to the bottom threw it in the washing machine to let it fray and then added eyelets and chains upcycling is a way of self-expression and also a way to contribute to saving the planet i look forward to wearing this around town and telling people that oh yeah i actually made that i really like this upcycle because it let me keep a piece that was special to me but transform it into something that i’m gonna wear much more often and i like a heck ton more this is what it looks like after it came out of the wash as you can see it frayed those edges that we left unsewn this is my new upcycled denim jacket it’s a one-of-a-kind piece instead of being a plain boring denim jacket it’s now a one-of-a-kind creation galaxy jacket i am so excited about the way this little mini dress came out it’s hard to believe this cute little thing came from that giant parka this is my finished product i love it i would wear this to the grocery store right now i think they go really well for fall or like with gold jewelry or gold accessories for this upcycling project i knew i wanted to maintain the denim jacket feel.
The long sleeves but i had to have some cutouts and show just a little bit of skin i could also pair this top jacket piece with other bikini tops or bralettes or halters this is my first upcycle and i’m really happy with how it came out i love the sleeves and how soft and fluffy they are i styled it with my red thigh high boots because if you look under the collar you see that peep of red and it matches i love the way the darts kind of brought in the jacket around the waist and i’m definitely looking forward to wearing it painted a character on the back that’s super glamorous and i used two pieces of fabric that i’ve had for a while to add a lot of glitch and glam to her dress then i added pearls around the border to make the picture really pop out and i painted on the queen because that’s what this character is on the front of the jacket i added a lot of the same fabric that i used on the back for the dress i added that as pocket embellishments and painted the same color onto the front of the pocket that i used on the back of the jacket and i put my name viv in crystals because there’s no harm and more sparkle and as the last touch i added lace on the sleeves i absolutely love this jacket i can’t believe how good it came out you.
