Even More Gingham — An Upcycled Vintage Skirt

Hello again friends! Hope we’re all good?

It’s Saturday (honestly, I’m mostly reminding myself these days) and that means it’s time for another one of my posts! And this week I’ve been back at my sewing table making this upcycled vintage skirt!

So first up — have you heard the phrase upcycling? Also called refashioning, it’s using otherwise unwanted or unwearable clothes to make usable clothing. Upcycling is a sore point amongst a lot of vintage-lovers that believe vintage should be left as-is. And I agree, actually! Too many 40’s wedding dresses have been lost to halloween costumes, RIP. But sometimes something happens to a garment that means it’s not wearable in its original condition. And that’s the sad fate of the following dress;

Gorgeous, isn’t it? I picked 80s-does-50s shirtwaister in a charity shop many years ago for cheap (possibly under £5). It’s literally my ideal dress — gingham, shirtwaist and a pleated skirt. I loved it, but unfortunately its fate was sealed by two things. One, I split the back of it open. Straight up, right down the back, no seam sort of rip. Nightmare. Two; I tried to wash it for some reason. Completely trashed. Melted bits, holes… honestly it was tragic. So it went in my “alterations” box and stayed there for about five years.

Upcycled Vintage Skirt

That was until lockdown, obviously! With my sewing mojo back, I decided to reinvigorate the leftover fabric scraps to something that was actually wearable. Originally I’d wanted to salvage it into a skirt, but with the holes and stains (where did they come from?) it ended up shorter and shorter. And so I went with my new-found love for 60’s style and made this adorable mini skirt. It’s a fairly slapdash sort of project, a rough circle skirt made around fabric flaws. And I love it for all of that!

I was really excited that I got to hold on to some of the original button placket for the opening. It skewed the gingham at the front of the skirt, but it doesn’t bother me too much any more. In the end, it was a quick project (literally a few hours in a day) that made a ruined dress into a wearable garment again. That’s pretty cool, right?

I also got to debut some bangles I was kindly gifted by Splendette! I literally adore Splendette, and have been buying their bangles since their first collection a few years back. There will be a full post on Splendette soon enough with more information about them and their awesome jewellery. Go check out what they have to offer, although the site’s currently closed. The Duchess sizes are literally perfect for allowing me to stack up my big forearms, which unleashes more bangle stacks for me!

So what do you guys think about upcycling vintage clothing?

And can you help me decide if it’s blue or black gingham? Seriously, I can’t tell half the time. I think it’s black? This is getting a bit like The Dress meme…

Top; Old Primark
Bow and Skirt; Handmade
Shoes; Swedish Hasbeens
Bag; Sunjellies with Vendula London pouch inside