Upcycling Stories: Denim
Upcycling - the conversion of waste materials to something useful or valuable - is a key strategy within the circular economy to ensure products are given additional lifecycles and avoid landfill. In contrast to downcycling, which strips complex materials down to base materials in order to recover them but destroys most of the invested labour, upcycling increases the quality and economic value of a material or product.
At Myriad, we’re introducing #UpcyclingStories to get you inspired. The first of the series sees us turn to collaborator and creative Melisa Gooding.
Melisa Gooding
A fellow Exeter alumna and chief collaborator on our #ChooseToReuse campaign, Mel has been exploring upcycling and conscious choices for years. From turning old club t-shirts into reusable make-up pads, worn-out shorts into gift bags, and most recently turning used fabrics into face coverings, Mel thrives on giving a new lease of life to materials. Although upcycling requires a level of creativity and the skills to work with a material, the best way to simply resist the urge to throw a worn-out item away and experiment with it.
We caught up with Mel to guide us through her experiences when upcycling denim.
Collaborator and upcycling expert, Melisa Gooding
Giving clothes a new lease of life is something to celebrate, every stitch that is sewn is a mark of their journey and a story to tell.
I have recently been working on a few denim up-cycling projects using fabric ‘waste’ to repair and restyle.
One of the simplest ways we can stand against fast fashion and the negative environmental cost that it has is to keep the clothing we have in use for as long as possible. This means looking after it well, repairing it where necessary and up-cycling it if we want a new look.
Denim Jacket
Denim is great as it is very durable. I bought my denim jacket from Ebay seven years ago. Despite seven years of wear, it was in excellent condition apart from the collar which had started fraying. It was time for a collar up-cycle and this is what I did...
Before:
Step 1: Identify the worn part and make a pattern on newspaper - for me this was the collar. Draw around the piece, leaving excess for the seam around an inch.
Step 2: Pin the desired material, I went for a cotton fabric, to the pattern and cut out. This can take a few goes, you want to make sure that there will be enough to reach around the collar.
Step 3: Pin the cut out material onto the denim and start sewing around the edge - if the denim is thick. In this instance only the back of the collar was frayed so I pinned it on at the front.
Step 4: Sew the new material on making sure to secure it by back stitching on the ends.
Ta-dah.
After: The jacket revived
Denim Jeans
My jeans were originally holey jeans but over the years they had worn and widened. I decided to stitch up some of the holes and make patchworks to cover others. You can also add patchworks to normal jeans to re-design them. Patchworks are the perfect project for using up small scraps of fabric cut offs from other projects.
Before:
Making the Patchworks:
Step 1: Making the patchworks - Measure the size of the holes to cut out the patch, layer the materials how you like and sew (with a zig-zag stitch if you have access to a sewing machine) or go around the outside to secure the layers.
Step 2: Pin the patches on the desired areas and sew around a few times to secure.
After
We’ve launched #UpcyclingStories to inspire you to keep products and materials in use for as long as possible. But we’ve also launched it because we want to hear your stories and experiments - big or small!
Share your upcycling experiences with us by using the hashtag #UpcyclingStories on social media.
And for more upcycling inspiration follow @sustain.create on Instagram.