Whether you call it upcycling or repurposing, I’m going to show you how to breathe life back into your basic wardrobe favorites! I’m not affraid to admit that I tend to hold on to some items longer than I should. We all have that one pair of jeans stuffed in the back of the dresser drawer that we don’t wear but refuse to get rid of! What about that one tee shirt that you wish had a little “something, something” to help add some spice to your look? Well, with a little trim and appliques, you can upgrade just about anything! Let’s have some fun with a little DIY project sure to get your creative juices flowing! What basics are you planning to upgrade?
Basic Tee
A basic blank tee shirt can be the perfect canvas for adding trim and appliques. Try to look for inpiration to help guide you through your creative process. Here’s how I took this simple black tee, and made it into a one-of-a-kind exclusive piece.
- After choosing my trim and appliques, I played around with a few different layouts before stitching anything down.
- Once I decided on a layout, I used a fabric marking pen to trace my desgn to indicate where I wanted everything to go.
- I use a little quick dry Tacky glue to hold some of my trim in place until I was able to hand stitch it down.
Purchase Materials Used Below:
- 3 yards of 3/16″ Black Aluminum Metal Chain
- 3 yards of Italian Gunmeta Baguette
- 1pc Black/Gunmetal Beaded Rhinestone Neck applique.
- 1 bottle of Quick Dry Tacky Glue
Distressed Jeans
Distressed jeans have quickly made their way into the wardobe staples category. Everyone should own a good pair of distressed jeans! Jeans can be very pricey depending on the brand. The damaged and distressed look can hike up the price tage even more! Here’s how you can distress your own jeans and look like a rockstark without the hefty designer pricetag!
- First, fold your cardboard and insert it in the pant leg where you would like to make the distressed rips.
- Use your rotary cutter to make small slashings in the jeans.
- Use either a tweezer or straight pin to gently pull threads from the slashed opening to fray the outside edges.
- Keep fraying until your desired distressed look is achieved.
- Hand stitch a stunning mesh trim to the opening of the distressed areas. Include a chain detail for a one-of-a-kind look.
Purchase Materials Used Below:
- 1 Fiskars Rotary Cutter
- 1/2 yard of 2.5″ Black Fancy Beaded Rhinestone Trim
- 1/4 yard of 3/16″ Black Aluminum Metal Chain
Additional items needed:
- Pair of jeans
- Cardboard
- Needle and thread
Solid Backpack
No outfit wouldn’t be complete without a matching bag! Try adding some trim and appliques to your solid backpack or purse to bring your look to the next level! Here are a few quick and easy tips to help you get started.
- Make you you have a clean solid space to work with.
- Plan out your layout before gluing or stitching anything dow.
- Once you have you design maped out, glue trim, appliques, or patches to your bag and let the glue dry.
- After everything has dried, you can now go in and hand stitch your appliques to your bag for a more permanent result.
Purchase Materials Used Below:
Additional items needed:
- Black Backpack
- 1 bottle of Quick Dry Tacky Glue
- Needle and thread
What items are you looking to show some love to? We’d love to hear your ideas on how you use trim and appliques to elevate your look!
Question – isn’t your trim heavy for a tshirt? I like the look but would think the weight would drag the tshirt down.
Hi Nancy! Not at all. Surprisingly, all of the trim is pretty lightweight. The best part of doing a custom shirt like this is that you can embellish it just the way you like 🙂