Giving Old Clothes New Life

Here at Retrovert we love to upcycle and reuse old things. I try to buy as much as I can second hand, but sometimes it's harder to find exactly what you want.

Recently, I bought a couple of items of clothing at car boot sales that were well made and my size, but the colours weren't right for me.

Finally, an excuse to spend the day dyeing in the garden! I used Procion MX dyes, which work well on vegetable fibres like cotton, as well as silk. Here is how my two experiments turned out:

Before

After

I love the block print pattern of this vintage Anokhi two piece so I tried not to dye it too dark, so you can still see the design. I like how the buttons and a bit of darning are still yellow; two little touches that add to the quirkiness of the garment.

I think it turned out just right - turquoise and rush green are colours I love to wear and it will be a perfect outfit for the summer that has finally arrived!

For my second experiment I transformed this white silk dress. It was pretty, but you can probably tell by now that I have a propensity for bright and colourful! I used a mix of royal blue and magenta to give a heathery purple and for a mottled effect I loosely bound the dress before I dyed it.

I love the way it has turned out, it's amazing that a simple change in colour can give a dress new life.

Before

After

So there you have it! I now have two lovely outfits for the summer that are completely unique (and cost me less than £3!)

Do you make or upcycle clothes? I'd love to hear about any projects and tips you'd like to share!