Clothes from pre-loved fabric

Since returning to UK I have joined the local Freecycle group, which I think is just amazing! Having returned with just a suitcase, a toddler and a 30 week bump it was a lifesaver in terms of being able to get things we needed until the shipping arrived and then once we had unpacked we could offer all those things we had duplicated or realised we didn’t really need anymore. When we moved into our new house last year the previous owners just walked out and so there was loads of things left – again Freecycle was great – I offered the items on the Friday afternoon and by Sunday everything had gone.

One thing I’m always on the lookout for is fabric, either dress fabric, curtains, bedlinen, in fact any! A couple of months ago some curtains were offered and when I collected them I was delighted to see that they were made from old Laura Ashley material (in fact the same as we had in one of our houses!). Once taken apart, washed and ironed, I then had to decide what to make with them. I plumped for a trouser and top set for my little daughter, however I now tend to think they look a bit like pyjamas! Wonder what you think?! I think I’ll need to make another pair of trousers and top in plain fabric to balance them out – work in progress!

Another find was this green and daisy fabric this time at a local charity shop. Again it had been made into curtains but I thought it was ideal for a little summer dress.

The other night I also wanted a ‘pretty’ summer dress and so decided to mess around with some fabric and see what I could come up with. I didn’t know if it would come to anything so I thought I had better use up a sheet to practice on. However, when it was finished I liked the look of it, and so did Maia, so I thought I would add to it: buttons from Freecycle, green trim of a dress which was in a bag of material bits received from Freecycle. The brown ribbon I bought along with the elastic for the chest area. In all it cost 80p – not a bad effort I thought!