Repurposed Clothing

My sister used to work for a scrapbooking supply place that put out a magazine called "Altered Couture."  She got me a gift subscription, and...

Okay, let me be clear:  writing is my artistic niche.  Redesigning clothing?  Not so much.  Plus my own sense of style is usually very simple, casual, and structured; beads and bows and decorations just don't do a lot for me, pretty as they are.  I'm too practical, so when I have a fabric rosette pinned to my bust, I just look like I'm trying too hard.

But at one point in one of the magazines, they showed a pair of jeans that had been intricately painted to look right up my alley...with a bleach pen.

I tried it.  I bought a cheapy pair of jeans from Goodwill and let rip, and what I came up with rocked my world.  You see, I have this "thing" for Celtic crosses...the really pretty embellished ones.  And Celtic knots, too.  And my jeans looked awesome.  To me.  Which is what mattered.

Anyway, I began to wonder what else I could repurpose.  I'm waiting for the cover artist to finish up the text placement, so I haven't had much else to do, and realized that my husband and I each had a shirt that needed to hit the trash, and I had a pair of jeans too ripped to be modest...so it was time.  And I got to work.

Hubby's work shirt lost its collar (now a mandarin) and sleeves and side seams and became a sleeveless dress for my four year-old.  The pockets on my destroyed jeans - plus a bit of fabric - became on over-the-shoulder four year-old purse, and some of the remaining fabric because a jeans wallet for a six year-old.  I transformed my shirt into a cap-sleeved v-neck dress for that same four year-old, and used the long sleeves to make matching leg-warmers.  My kids couldn't be more thrilled, and I'm relieved that they're still young enough to not mind homemade clothing.

Makes me want to run to Goodwill again to pick up some clothes on the cheap for repurposing!  I'm interested to hear about any repurposing YOU'VE done...fire away!