One of the best ways to ensure that our wardrobe is ethical is to make use of what we already have as much as possible. That means wearing what we own until they’re severely broken to the point of no return. But, sometimes, our taste could change or our style could evolve and our clothes don’t match our liking anymore. When that happens, there is something we can do instead of tossing said clothes to wherever we see fit—there are ways to do that without contributing to landfills, by the way—and that is to DIY the hell out of our clothes. You probably realise that I’m not an expert on this subject, so, for all those DIY noobs out there, here are five easy ways to DIY your clothes.
Sometimes all it takes to change the way we feel about an item is to change the colour. Back in 2012, when ombré was huge, I used this DIY from Wit & Whistle to inject a bit of flair into a regular plain white T. It was really simple and didn’t take up a lot of my time—minus the time to let it dry in the end. At the time, I was just using any clothing dye I could find, but if you want to make it toxic-free, you could always try out some of these dye-varieties straight from nature. You could also obviously take it a step further and try out various ways to dip dye, such as tie-dye or wax resist-dye.
We could always personalise our clothing items to match our liking better—and this is one of the easiest ways. For a few years now, patches have started to climb its way back up the trend ladder—being previously owned only by boys’ and girls’ scouts—so you can find numerous patches online. Etsy is a great place to start. Independent designers, like Stay Home Club, also have some great selections. Personally, I also lust after Annika’s patches.
Fit and silhouette can be factors that determine how we feel about our clothes. When an item is too big on us—and not in a chic way—it could drown us and, in effect, our self-esteem. Modifying our items to fit us better or giving it a makeover to create a more likeable cut for us can work magic for how we feel towards the piece. I always find that Katie of Skunkboy does this best. There are also some great ideas you can check out on A Beautiful Mess.
If you don’t want to make a permanent change, there is always this way of sprucing up your clothes. You can go from pins, studs, buttons—anything you can basically rip out without leaving a significant mark. The easiest option, without the need for any needles and thread, is obviously the pins—which is the option I went for. Not unlike patches, there are various selections to choose from, starting with button pins, enamels, anything—follow any illustrator and you’d be sure to find one. But if you want to use studs, this DIY from Elizabeth might help you.
Okay, maybe this one isn’t exactly upcycling—unlike the rest of the tips on this list—but this is another way you can DIY your clothes. There are tons of things you can knit: scarves, jumpers, socks, mittens—you name it. It’s actually rather simple and once you get going, it’s quite easy to finish—although for your first item, I would recommend a scarf before anything else. When I knitted my first ones, this post from Park & Cube helped me a lot. If you want more, for all things knitting, One Social Girl is the girl to see.
As I’ve mentioned above—and countless times on this blog before—I’m not exactly DIY-savvy. These are obviously just a tip of the iceberg of the crafting world. If you want to try out other DIYs out there, A Beautiful Mess is my favourite go-to option. Other than that, The Brave Life (formerly Delightfully Tacky), A Robot Heart and Kittenhood are also my favourites. Let us support slow fashion and make the most of what we have!
If you want some DIY tutorials from me (however few there may be), you can read them here!
One of the best ways to ensure that our wardrobe is ethical is to make use of what we already have as much as possible. That means wearing what we own until they’re severely broken to the point of no return. But, sometimes, our taste could change or our style could evolve and our clothes don’t match our liking anymore. When that happens, there is something we can do instead of tossing said clothes to wherever we see fit—there are ways to do that without contributing to landfills, by the way—and that is to DIY the hell out of our clothes. You probably realise that I’m not an expert on this subject, so, for all those DIY noobs out there, here are five easy ways to DIY your clothes.
Sometimes all it takes to change the way we feel about an item is to change the colour. Back in 2012, when ombré was huge, I used this DIY from Wit & Whistle to inject a bit of flair into a regular plain white T. It was really simple and didn’t take up a lot of my time—minus the time to let it dry in the end. At the time, I was just using any clothing dye I could find, but if you want to make it toxic-free, you could always try out some of these dye-varieties straight from nature. You could also obviously take it a step further and try out various ways to dip dye, such as tie-dye or wax resist-dye.
We could always personalise our clothing items to match our liking better—and this is one of the easiest ways. For a few years now, patches have started to climb its way back up the trend ladder—being previously owned only by boys’ and girls’ scouts—so you can find numerous patches online. Etsy is a great place to start. Independent designers, like Stay Home Club, also have some great selections. Personally, I also lust after Annika’s patches.
Fit and silhouette can be factors that determine how we feel about our clothes. When an item is too big on us—and not in a chic way—it could drown us and, in effect, our self-esteem. Modifying our items to fit us better or giving it a makeover to create a more likeable cut for us can work magic for how we feel towards the piece. I always find that Katie of Skunkboy does this best. There are also some great ideas you can check out on A Beautiful Mess.
If you don’t want to make a permanent change, there is always this way of sprucing up your clothes. You can go from pins, studs, buttons—anything you can basically rip out without leaving a significant mark. The easiest option, without the need for any needles and thread, is obviously the pins—which is the option I went for. Not unlike patches, there are various selections to choose from, starting with button pins, enamels, anything—follow any illustrator and you’d be sure to find one. But if you want to use studs, this DIY from Elizabeth might help you.
Okay, maybe this one isn’t exactly upcycling—unlike the rest of the tips on this list—but this is another way you can DIY your clothes. There are tons of things you can knit: scarves, jumpers, socks, mittens—you name it. It’s actually rather simple and once you get going, it’s quite easy to finish—although for your first item, I would recommend a scarf before anything else. When I knitted my first ones, this post from Park & Cube helped me a lot. If you want more, for all things knitting, One Social Girl is the girl to see.
As I’ve mentioned above—and countless times on this blog before—I’m not exactly DIY-savvy. These are obviously just a tip of the iceberg of the crafting world. If you want to try out other DIYs out there, A Beautiful Mess is my favourite go-to option. Other than that, The Brave Life (formerly Delightfully Tacky), A Robot Heart and Kittenhood are also my favourites. Let us support slow fashion and make the most of what we have!
If you want some DIY tutorials from me (however few there may be), you can read them here!