In the current society where there’s so much concern with sustainability and the smart use of resources, upcycling has risen to take the ‘green ‘consuming concept to the use of old clothes. Possibly one of the most satisfying and stylish upcycles that any girl can try is perhaps converting a dress that is old to a printed linen dress. Linen is light, evergreen, and has a universal class appeal that makes it the ideal fabric for changing your wardrobe while opting for sustainable fashion. Taangerine Tiger is here to help you learn on how you can transform an old dress through up cycling to a printed linen dress. No matter if you are a person who loves to initiate his or her projects or a non-machine-dependent new tailor, this blog will help to create something beautiful without waste.
Why Upcycle Your Old Clothes?
Before diving into the steps, let’s explore why upcycling is worth your time and effort:
- Sustainability: The argument that fast fashion negatively impacts the environment holds very much truth. Upcycling allows you to ‘wear’ your garments longer, thus abolishing the need for you to throw them away and buy new ones.
- Cost-Effective: If you don’t want to spend money on purchasing a new dress, you can change the use of the clothes you have at home.
- Personalization: As you use upcycling you can be able to put in your flavor when dressing which makes the wardrobe feel like your own.
- Skill Development: The process improves your creativity as well as sewing skills making you to be more independent and confident.
Step 1: Evaluate Your Printed Linen Dress
While upcycling your dress, the first step would be a dress appraisal. Check for:
- Fabric Quality: There should be no big holes or stains that cannot be embraced or stitched on this fabric.
- Fit: Decide whether you want to keep the original fit or whether you will require a better perfect fit.
- Design Elements: Learn which elements you want to keep: buttons, zippers, or any kind of decoration on the dress.
- Pro Tip: Choose a dress that should balance and also accent on the weight and textile of linen.
Step 2: Plan Your Design
Draw on paper and pen a rough image of the printed linen dress you desire. Consider the following design elements:
- Style: Is it to be a shift dress, A-line dress, or a wrap dress?
- Length: Choose between the reduction of the length, extension of the length, or the addition of linen fabric in the extension of the length.
- Prints: Select a pattern on the body of the fabric like floral, Numeric, dot, strip, etc.
Step 3: Deconstruct the Old Dress
In this case, take your seam ripper, and very gently alter your dress. Pull the sleeves apart from the rest of the bodice and the skirt part. This makes it possible to reuse some specific parts while at the same time regaining others by using linen fabric.
- Pro Tip: Recycle buttons, zippers, and decorative frills for some other project. These can complement the design of your new dress.
Step 4: Cut the Linen Fabric
Take your linen fabric and lay it flat and then overlap the deconstructed pieces of the dress you no longer need. With fabric chalk, draw out the shapes onto the linen and make sure to draw an additional inch around the outline which would be used in the seam allowance.
- If you are having an entirely new bodice or skirt designed for you then make sure to get your measurements taken accurately.
- You might be putting printed patterns and this should be done before cutting because of proper alignment.
Step 5: Create Printed Linen Dress
Include the prints you have chosen in the linen fabric matrix. Here are two popular techniques:
- Block Printing: They should be made of wood and the designs on them should be carved. Then just dip them in fabric paint right and press them straight onto the fabric. This too should be repeated to get a uniform look all over the fence.
- Stenciling: This is done by making sure an appropriate stencil is placed on the fabric and then a sponge is used to apply paint. They are of complex design as this method is used.
Once this is done allow the paint to dry as this is necessary for the next step. To make this design last, use the wrong side of the fabric to heat set it using an iron.
Step 6: Assemble the New Printed Linen Dress
With all your pieces ready, it’s time to sew them together:
- Start with the Bodice: Mark the linen pieces and pin them together and it is nice to stitch them leaving some room for darts or alterations.
- Attach the Skirt: If you’ve used the original skirt, attach it to the linen bodice. For a new skirt, the linen fabric should be folded when wanting a fuller and then sewn onto the bodice.
- Add Sleeves: Depending on the requirement, one can use the original sleeves or choose to sew another one from linen fabric. Fix them correctly so that it is smooth on the surface.
- Finish Edges: Turn up the bottom of the dress, neckline, and the places where sleeves are parted, to make it more elegant.
Wear Sustainable Fashion with Taangerine Tiger
Taangerine Tiger’s journey of fashion is all about sustainable and conscious fashion. Recreating new creations using old clothes is very appealing to us especially due to issues to do with creativity and sustainability. We invite you to play with linen fabrics and prints to create your masterpieces for you and your home. If you get inspired but do not have time or means to create an original dress, take a look at our linen dress selection made with love and thinking about the Earth. For virtually all your occasions, we pride ourselves in giving you trendsetting outfits for evening wear, day wear, and everything in between.
Conclusion
To convert an old dress into a printed linen dress is not only a simple sewing activity, but it is a part of a sustainable world. By following this creative process, not only do you create new clothing, but the world becomes a better place! So get your implements, free your creativity, and create a new dress from the old one. To buy yours today, visit Taangerine Tiger!
