Upcyle your

In this video, I'll show you how to transform your old wedding dress into a gorgeous silver grey two piece.

I’m Caroline Arthur and welcome back to another video to inspire you to repurpose YOUR old wedding dress! Watch to the end to explore how this transformation went and give me a thumbs up if you like the jacket I made from the old dress in this video.

Every wedding dress is different, so if you’d like to repurpose your old dress, but it feels a bit dated, watch to the end and you’ll discover how to harvest the fabric and make something COMPLETELY new.

Start by rifling through the layers and looking at what fabric you’ve got. In this dress, there was a satin interlining under the chiffon top layer,
and then heaps of netting and lining fabric with great potential.

There was also this lovely beaded brooch, that anchored the pleating of the bodice and skirt. It could be used to make some jewellery, or would be perfect glued onto a little box for your dressing table.

Because the dress had a horizontal seam, the first thing I did was to take off the brooch, and look to unpick the bodice from the bottom of the dress. I thought the bottom would be perfect as a skirt, so separated it out and turned the bodice into a clutch bag. There are companies that specialise in doing this – try Unbox The Dress if you’re in the US, or Harlequin if you’re in the UK. Sorry - in the video, I call it "Unboxed". Links below:

https://www.unboxthedress.com
https://www.harlequin-uk.com

The lining of wedding dresses often isn’t great quality, but it’s perfectly sufficient for dyeing and making into bunting. Same with the netting petticoat I dyed this and made it into pompoms – I’ll show you how in another video.

I then set about sketching my idea. I always start by sketching the original dress when I’m going to repurpose it, as this just helps my design process.

I really wanted to make a jacket to go with the skirt I was intending to make from the bottom half of the dress, using the heavy satin from the interlining. I fancied something with a bit of a utilitarian edge to it, dyeing it a darker colour and having features that made it very wearable and quite casual. I just kept adding little details like the pockets and cuffs, the stud buttons and the top stitching until I got the look I was after.

The skirt part was fairly straightforward as I just literally needed to use the bottom half of the dress exactly as it was, but with the train chopped off, adding a waistband and then dyeing it to match the jacket.

So I used the heavy satin interlining for the jacket.

I used the chiffon top layer and some of the lining for the skirt, pretty much exactly as it was on the original dress.

I decided to add top stitching which tends to get used on denim jackets which was the look I was going for

I kept the pleating and sarong effect which is SO flattering across the tummy.

And added the stud button detail which I’ll show you how to do.
I laid all the fabric out on my studio floor to check I hadn’t missed anything and then took the satin through to the kitchen to start dyeing it.
Having used this dye before (Ritmore synthetic), I knew it was a beautiful grey but hadn’t realised it would come out this almost silvery gun-metal colour – it was really gorgeous. I rinsed it and then hung it up to dry. Gave it a quick press and then referred back to my sketch and took it to my sewing room to cut the pattern for the jacket.

Once I’d cut out the fabric, I stitched the panels together and topstitched in white all around every seam – shoulders, sleeves, pockets, waistband, cuffs.

And the final step was to add the stud buttons.
These come in two parts – the little bit has a screw in it which you poke through the hole in the garment, and then the button part with the long shank, which you hammer over the top. You get these stud buttons in most haberdasheries.

My 12 year old, Holly wanted to have a go so after a bit of a health and safety discussion, I let her loose with the hammer so she shows you how to do it! You just need a hammer and a bit of cardboard or something to hammer onto. Happily, no injuries to report.

Then it was off to Burningfold which is a beautiful manor house where I held all the photoshoots for my book Relovable

https://www.burningfold.com
https://www.carolinearthur.com/relovable

Hair and make up for my beautiful model Hannah by Storme Webster

https://www.stormemakeupandhair.co.uk

And then photographer Andrea verenini tried a few locations in the house to get these gorgeous shots.

https://www.andreaverenini.com

Do give me a thumbs up if you enjoyed this video, check out the other videos on my channel with ideas about repurposing your dress and I’ll see you next time.

#bridalgown #weddingdressadvice #repurposing #recycling