Crafty Mom Turns Second Hand Clothes Into Fabulous Pieces

By
Chris L
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Image by @sarahtyau / Instagram

After you learn just how much is the fashion industry harmful to the environment, it’s difficult to continue shopping casually as you did before. It is officially the second largest polluter (after oil) and anything you can do to lower the damage is appreciated.

This crafty mom of three, Sarah Tyau, is a great example of how you – and your kids – can be fashionable without spending a fortune and polluting the planet. Instead of going to the ‘fast fashion’ stores, she recycles old clothes and shops at second-hand stores.

Her daughters love the process and will probably do what their mom is doing. “I have been meaning to teach them how to sew, we are supposed to start a sewing series on YouTube together where I teach them how to refashion, but they’re also so busy in their own lives, we haven’t gotten a chance to yet,” Sarah says. “But they have a strong sense of fashion in their young age and have very good taste so I think they’ll take over what I do one day and be better than me!”

The stunning before & after photos are below, enjoy!

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Size medium coat to a bib skirt. I wished I could make it into a cropped, straight-leg overalls but there was only enough fabric to make it into a knee-length skirt.😕 A full video tutorial link in bio! _____________________________________________________________ I have a favor to ask of you. I would love your input on the following question, please be honest. If I were to write a book, would you read it? And if you were to read it, what would that book look like for you? I was contacted by an amazing literary agent 1.5 years ago and she has never given up on me since. And I keep getting a feeling that the time is now. But writing a sewing book overwhelms me so much! I’m not a skilled seamstress(I really am not, it’s my vision that makes up for my basic skills), it would take so much time and I want to enjoy my last 1.5 years with my youngest before he goes to school full day. So would you read it if it only had a little bit of sewing in it and mostly just words? What would you want to read personally if I were to write a book? What do you think is missing in all the books that are available that you would find helpful/inspiring?

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My favorite “pink” refashion I’ve done. It was for Refashion Runway, a sewing competition I entered where it was due on Friday and I started it the day before on Thursday at 6 p.m.😅 I frantically had my husband take a before photo before it got dark, dyed it to blush pink, then cut out the sleeves from the jacket to add to the sleeveless dress, cut the dress in half to separate the top bodice and the skirt, sewed it back together, added darts, a new zipper, cut it shorter, made it form fitting, then used the extra fabric from the jacket to add the floral details. . . The theme was “Asymmetrical”, hence the different sized florals on each side. I got done as the sun was setting down, so if you see an after photo of me wearing it, the photo looks super grainy due to a lot of lightening to the photo. But I got it done! And it won that week’s challenge! Do you think it was worth all the anxiety, stress and staying up all night?

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Refashioned a men’s shirt into a crop top + skirt set for my girl in The Refashion Runway gingham challenge. After competing in that competition in 2015, I told myself that it would be the last competition I’d ever enter, I strongly dislike them! I like celebrating everyone’s unique talents, not comparing and critiquing others to my own, which was what I found myself doing, being the worst critique of my own work but also nit-picking other contestants’ work. I also found out how competitive I could be.😅 . . Do any of you feel the same with competitions? Everyone’s at such a different stage in learning, or had different opportunities and so many other factors, it seems so unfair to be competing with others to measure who is better than the other. Or do you love competitions? I can see why some would, it definitely pushes you and challenges you to be better than ever before! So which one are you?

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You know how you look at old photos of yourself and think, what was I thinking with that haircut/clothes? Well, that’s what I think when looking at this DIY refashion I did back in 2010.😬😳🙈 Do any of you remember this one? If you do, comment below, you are one of my oldest followers and I need to give you a virtual high five and a hug! ✋🏼 🤗 But yes, I am not super proud of this one guys, I cringe a little on the inside even showing you this. But we all start somewhere, right?😅 It has potential but I think where I went wrong was if you look at the original on the left, the neckline was too low for me so I was trying to make the front not as low cut so I had to do two twist knots instead of just one. It would look so much cuter with just one twist knot. But maybe it’s not as bad as I think it is? You know how you’re always your own worst critique? What do you think on a scale from 1-10, 1 being ugly and 10 being super cute. I give it a 3.5. Be honest, I can take it!

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I am itching to sew again! (This XXL men’s shirt into a bell sleeve girls’ dress DIY tutorial is on my blog, link in bio or on my story) But school is starting soon and it’s been so busy trying to get everything done before it starts, where has Summer gone? Did it fly by for you too? Holy cow! I still haven’t taken their “Last day of school” photo yet, at this rate I’ll just take it along with their first day of school photo.😅 . . I probably shouldn’t be THIS excited that school is starting soon, but I am. A teensy part of me is sad but I’m mostly excited.😆 Because I’ll be sending my son to a private preschool 2 days a week for all day! 7 hours of alone time 2 days a week, I have not had this much free time in 11 years! Woo hoo, freedom, party time!!! I’ll get so much done. And more sewing. Yay!!! I feel guilty at the amount of excitement I have about this. Jk, I really don’t.😂 . . But how about you? Are you excited or sad about school starting soon?

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One of my new friends I gained today(Hello to all my new lovely friends I’ve gained lately and to my old friends!) told me this was her favorite transformation of mine and I have to agree! Mostly because I wish I had this in my size.🙂 I turned a size medium jacket I bought from my friend’s yard sale for $3, into a cute and sophisticated jacket/dress for my daughter. The bow is removable and can also be worn on the hair. A full video tutorial link in bio or swipe up on my story. . . p.s. We are breaking ground tomorrow for our new house! I always debate whether to post the updates on our house from now on via stories on this feed or my @dreamhomecometrue feed. Where do you think I should post it? Mainly on my home account and just post one story here saying check out my stories on the other account? Help this sista out by answering this not-that-important question!😆

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