Customising Clothes

Dee2

Hi everyone. I have been thinking about customising clothes bought from the charity shop to funk them up a bit but not sure where to start. Does anyone on here do this and what do you do? I have been coveting some beautiful stylish clothes in a boutique near me but there's a little nagging thought that with a bit of ingenuity I could replicate the look myself! Any thoughts and ideas welcome!
Btw, I am not great at sewing but could manage some embellishments!

piratefairy

I saw this post on a blog i follow the other day and thought just how simple it was..
This season seems to be throwing up all sorts of lace embellishments, so adding a little lace collar detail to a caridgan or some lace elbow patches onto an otherwise boring jumper would be both easy and inkeeping with the trends of the season if that;s what you're aiming for..

Hermia

There are a lot of books about this out there (e.g. 101 Ways to Customise Your Clothes) so may be worth while looking in the library. Also just look around shops and in catalogues for ideas. My friend saw this stunning designer cardigan in a boutique that had a row of buttons down the front. She just bought a packet of mother of pearl style buttons and sewed them onto an old cardie. She had people stopping her in the street and asking her where she go it! I would say less is more when it comes to customising things otherwise it can look a tad trashy or childish. Just something like a beautiful ribbon sewn onto the neck of a top or the hem of a skirt can look lovely. I would avoid buying cheap trimmings as they can look tacky and might not last well in the wash.

piratefairy

Oh yes, Hermia - i'd forgotten about buttons! I have a lovelye khaki green winter coat from Next a few years ago, which I plan to update for this winter with some trashy gold buttons for this military style which seems to be about..

Hermia

My local TK Maxx has a fabulous crafts section and I have bought some amazing trimmings from them. It's well worth having a rummage in there. I got a couple of packs of really good quality ribbons for a few quid and I noticed they were selling a huge bag of assorted buttons as well.

piratefairy

oh i wish our tk maxx had a section like that - i seem to spend crazy amounts at my local haberdashery instead, and have a mountain of projects to do..

missPinky

I customise my clothes with new funky buttons, plain tee-shirts sew on cheap sequins and beads and on a plain cotton white bag i pin on various different badges i have collected. For more funky stuff i use fabric pens to make the t-shirt totally unique. Other items i might use some funky lace or binding. The best place i have found to buy stuff from is the markets or asian clothes shops especially the ones that sell loose material and they will have lace with gems, crystal etc.

Sallys_Savings

I do the same thing but I buy from car boots and jumble sales.
It makes you look at clothes in a second light....just buying for buttons, a lace collar, frills, labels off jeans, badges, ribbons etc.


You can do it really cheaply this way.

fatspanna

I bought a book by these guys and it's great for customising t-shirts. Some of the designs are no-sew so great for beginners and the instructions are really helpful if you want to try something a bit more complicated. I have been sewing the designs by hand but I'm hoping to get a machine to make things a bit faster!
www dot generation-t dot com
I also change buttons on clothes, it can really make a difference on a plain black cardi and it's totally unique.