This year I decided to join in on Candice Ayala’s Upcycling Challenge. As part of being an official contestant, I was able to purchase a box full of sewing supplies from the amazing sponsor and I’ll be eligible to participate for the grand price. There was not a theme this year so I didn’t have to make anything specific, but we had to share our upcycling journey from start to finish. So here we go!
Right before I accepted this challenge, my husband did some spring cleaning and I decided to keep a few of his garments. In the back of my mind, I’ve always wanted to do an upcycle and then the perfect opportunity came along!
As you can see, I decided to upcycle an old Run DMC T-shirt and an old pair of Rocawear jean shorts. Do you even remember Run DMC and Rocawear? OK, real quick. So, Run DMC was one of the most influential acts in the history of hip hop and were very popular during the 1980s. Rocawear was a clothing line started in 1999 by the founders of Roc-A-Fella Records co-founders Damon “Dame” Dash and Shawn “JAY-Z” Carter. And this concludes my hip hop history lesson for the day.
Once I decided on what garments I was going to use for my upcycle, I started to think of what patterns I was going to use to make my refashion a success. I wanted to keep the T-Shirt and shorts as is, I just wanted to make them fit my son. I started looking on YouTube, and I came across Mimi G’s Copy Your Favorite T-Shirt Tutorial. Just like ALL of her tutorials, it was amazing and you can follow along HERE. She teaches you how to make a pattern using your body measurements to make a perfect fitting T-Shirt. Mimi also has an online sewing academy which you can sign up for HERE using my link. (affiliate link)
For the shorts, I decided to not complicate things and use McCall’s 7379 view D. I made a pair of shorts using this pattern for a fashion show I participated in this summer. You can read all about it HERE. I placed the pattern pant leg at the hem of the pants so I could use the existing hem. I also omitted the side pockets included in the pattern from my version of the shorts. This pattern is very easy to make and would suggest it to anyone needing a pair of shorts for their child.
You can see all of the official submissions for the upcycling challenge HERE. You can also see all the posts that used the hash tag #CAUpcyclingChallenge2019 on Instagram.
I want to thank Candice for creating this amazing challenge and to all of the sponsors. Some of the sponsors include baby lock, Windham Fabrics and Nancy’s Notions. For a complete list of sponsors please click HERE.
What do you think of my upcycle? I love it, but I’m a bit biased. I think I’ve caught the upcuycling bug because my next blog post MIGHT be another one.
