Kate Zade

Messing up a sewing project doesn’t mean you’re bad at sewing. Something will probably go wrong on almost every project. A seam gets twisted, the fit is weird, you cut something wrong, or your machine suddenly develops an attitude. You assess what happened, figure out your options, fix what you can, and keep going.

Problem-solving is part of sewing. Just like ironing is part of sewing. And seam ripping is part of sewing. And collecting fabric is part of sewing.

This has to be one of the easiest thrift flips you can do in an afternoon. I started with a thrifted hoodie, some donated tiger print fleece and a Tigger DTF transfer and created a custom hoodie. Such a simple way to take something secondhand and turn it into something unique without needing a huge project.

But, tell me, if someone donated you tiger print fleece, what would YOU have made with it?

Summerween girlies ONLY 💀🎀✨ If you think we’re supposed to wait until October to celebrate Halloween… this video is not for you.

Let me show you this skull tarot print on 4-way stretch nylon spandex from Kiki Textiles!!! I love it so much and I cannot wait to turn it into a fun summer dress.

Comment “LINK” and I’ll DM you the link to the fabric!

Update on the Clothing Printing Remover Spay: it’s works better than I thought it did!! Wash your thrifted clothes, yall! Yesterday, I used this spray to remove an ugly graphic from this otherwise perfect black hoodie and I was a little sad about the residue that was left over. But then I threw it into the wash! And it’s gone! I have a plain black hoodie and my up-cycling just reached a whole new level. The more you learn how to alter clothes, the more good stuff there is at the thrift store. 💕

This $3.50 thrifted hoodie was perfect… except for the graphic. Instead of passing it up, I used a clothing print remover, let it work it sit for a minute, then gently scraped the old design away with a plastic scraper. Now I have a blank hoodie ready for a new DTF print. If you want to link to the spray, just comment “LINK.” (The link is an affiliate link and Amazon will give me a couple cents at no additional cost to you 💕)

Three pieces into a one of a kind sweatshirt! I made this using two thrifted sweatshirts and a tiki style Stitch button-up my friend Nate Little gave me!

Here’s the beginner-friendly breakdown:

1. I used the blue sweatshirt as my base, removed the sleeves, sleeve cuffs, and waistband. I like my sweatshirts cropped, so I cropped it to the fit I wanted.
2. I took the embroidered Stitch graphic from the second sweatshirt and added it to the front using permanent fabric glue. I like Aleene’s Fabric Fusion Glue because it is permanent and washable. You can also stitch it on to make it extra secure.
3. I quilted the Stitch button-up fabric with batting, then layered it over the original sweatshirt sleeves.
4. I sewed everything back together and finished it off by reattaching the cuffs and waistband.

I LOVE projects like this because you don’t have to make a garment completely from scratch and you can use pieces that you are saving from the landfill (or your friend’s closet.)

Save this one if you want to try your first sweatshirt reconstruction!

3 things I wish someone told me before I started sewing. If you are starting your sewing journey, and you need some inspiration and some easy inexpensive projects to start on, I am doing a series where I am a thrift flipping my outfits for my upcoming Disney cruise.

I spent $5 on a thrifted Spider-Man blanket and a red hoodie and wanted to see what would happen if I combined them. The blanket was fleece, and the hoodie had matching ribbing and a drawstring I could reuse, so I didn’t need to buy anything additional for this sewing project. It all came together into this cozy one-of-a-kind hoodie and shorts I made from the scraps.

If you’ve been sitting on a pile of cool blankets wondering what to do with them… this is what I’d do with them. ❤️🕸️