Experiments with zero waste recycled clothing – Design 6: SKIRT

Using two shirts buttoned together to form the side seams (and openings). The top three buttons were fastened each side, the next buttonholes were skipped, to ruche up the skirt and the very last button was left unfastened. Outward box pleats were added at the original shirt shoulders, to remove excess fabric and add shape. Again the sleeves were fed inside the skirt to use as tape, to anchor the skirt in asymmetric gathers. The back of the skirt was gathered more to create a bustle effect.

 

Experiments with zero waste recycled clothing – Design 5: TOP

I used two shirts for this top, the right way up. Both the shirts were partially buttoned together on the centre front and centre back. The sleeves were wrapped around the body to draw in some of the fullness. (The sleeves would need additional button and buttonholes on the front and back, to keep the sleeves in place). The gathered fullness at the shoulder was created by ruching up the back of the shirt, these would require small bar tacks to anchor the ruching in place.

 

Experiments with zero waste recycled clothing – Design 4: TOP

This design, using just one shirt, was draped on the stand and held in place solely by the shirt’s existing fastenings (no pins at all).

 

Experiments with zero waste recycled clothing – Design 3: TOP

For this design, I draped the shirts around the body using the collar of one of the shirts and the sleeves of some of the others to create the straps. The remaining sleeves I used to twist around the body to draw the waist in. These were just fastened in loose knots.

 

Experiments with zero waste recycled clothing – Design 2: TOP

This design uses three shirts, all upside down. Four of the sleeves form the front and back (fastened together at the shoulders using the cuffs). The sleeves are also used to draw in the waste. Again, the shirt centre fronts were partially buttoned together.

 

Experiments with zero waste recycled clothing – Design 1: skirt

For this experiment, I wanted to play around with creating garments on the stand without cutting or unpicking any of the original garments. So that, in theory, these designs could be unpicked and the original garments would remain fully intact, albeit with some stitching holes!

For these experiments I worked with between one and three men’s shirts.

This design uses three shirts, partially buttoned together, and all upside down. The design was pleated at the waist (except for around the front, which I wanted to keep relatively flat). The shirt sleeves were fed inside the shirt, and used like a tape to anchor the skirt gathers to create volume and shape.