I found a skirt at a clothes swap back in February and although the fit and elastic waist weren't really to my taste, the material was right up my street, and it had pockets!

I brought it home and hatched a plan to alter it in time for my spring capsule wardrobe (better late than never).

I wanted to add a zip and waistband, and make it more fitted around the waist. I needed to mend my paisley dress too, so I borrowed my Mum's sewing machine and set about both projects.

Altering the skirt was trickier than I first anticipated. My sewing skills are a little rusty. I found gathering the skirt really awkward, and the waistband could be much tidier, as could the buttonhole, but I used a nifty tutorial I found via Pinterest (where else?) that helped me sew the neatest zip ever sewn (or rather the neatest zip I've ever sewn).


The skirt was rather unflattering before (above) .....

But now I love it! I finished it, photographed it, and wore it out to dinner. I think I'm going to enjoy styling this in different ways.


I see the skirt as being free because I picked it up at a clothes swap but I spent £6.58 on the waistband material, interfacing, thread and a zip, I used a button from my stash. Which is not a bad price for a skirt and will undoubtedly be worn countless times over the spring and summer.

Do you alter clothes, or do you do what I normally do and let them sit in a mend pile for several months before giving them to charity?

I organised a clothes swap at the weekend and came home with three lovely dresses. Two I love, the other I like but I’m not sure about. The beauty of a clothes swap is that if I don’t like it, I can take it to another swap. Or sell it on ebay. Or donate it. Either way I'm not really losing anything.

The first dress I found was a Louche Jena dress in red and grey, this is my favourite. I think this will be lovely to wear all year round and could be worn for meetings or just casually. It’s pretty versatile.

Then I picked up a cute red party dress by Union Boutique, not a brand I've heard of before but it looks well made, with boning to the bodice and full lining. It’s a lovely fabric with a bit of a sheen to it, it also has a bit of a petticoat going on. In my opinion this dress could only be improved with the addition of pockets. My feeling is that it'll be perfect for Christmas, but I could also wear it to a wedding next summer.

Lastly, I was rather taken by the art nouveau fabric of this Atmosphere dress, I have a feeling it’s too young for me - a little short, a bit too flared - but I’m going to style it up and see how it feels. Expect a post soon, where I’ll appreciate your honest opinion on it's age appropriateness.

Clothes swaps can be a bit hit and miss, you never know what people are going to turn up with. Sometimes you find very little but other times it’s like going on the best shopping spree ever, made so by the fact that you’re not spending a single penny.

Have you ever been to a clothes swap? I love them! Just beware of 'The Snatcher', there is one lurking at every swap.

Day 10 of Blogging Every Day In November with Rosalilium

Today I popped on a dress that I found at a clothes swap earlier this year. I had every intention of removing the frill around the bottom but having put it on today I decided that I quite like it.


It's originally from Next and 3 sizes bigger than I normally wear but it has a tie to the back so I can nip it in a bit and I like a loose fitting dress anyway - I can't be doing with tight clothing in this weather.


It has some lovely details - sparkly buttons, frill to the neckline, ruched sleeves (which I have decided are my new favourite thing) and pintucks across the shoulders at the back. You'd think all of these things put together would look dreadful but it all works. The creases just all out of it too so this has the potential to become a firm favourite.


It was lovely in the garden today, my honeysuckle is flowering for the second time this year and the bees just love it. It smells divine.

I spent some time with a friend's daughter today. She has just completed her GCSE's (are they still called that?) and is about to start 6th form. She wanted to come and talk to me about what my job as a graphic designer entails. I was impressed with her eagerness to learn, she asked so many pertinent questions, which illustrated that not only was she listening (I did waffle a bit) but she understood too. I've had far less enthusiastic responses from students on work experience who were studying design!

She doesn't know what she wants to do yet but wanted to get an idea of the industry. I guess it is difficult to know what you want to do when you don't know much about what a job actually involves. I hope to put her in touch with a few other people to chat about web development and marketing to give her insight into other careers too.

When she asked how I became a graphic designer I realised that my journey has been a pretty easy one. I've been very fortunate and it dawned on me that it must be so much harder for youngsters to decide on a career, there seems to be so much pressure. My eldest nephew is almost 13 so he has all of this to come and I worry that being expected to make a career choice at 16 is too young. Some people have a passion for what they do, they know from a very young age what they want to 'be when they grow up'. Others don't, it's as simple as that.

Even when I started college at 16 I didn't have a clear idea and it took the following six years of study for me to work it out. So, as I sat there today with a 16 year old, who has yet to even start her further education, who seems almost desperate to find out what she wants to be, I felt very sad for the school leavers of today and tomorrow.

I'll never forget a lecturer telling me that the most interesting people he has ever met didn't know what they wanted to be, and they led varied and interesting lives as a result. It seems to me that that isn't an option for youngsters anymore.

Hello, how are you? I can't believe that it's Friday again already!! The days are zipping by at the moment. I'm full steam ahead with setting myself up as a freelance Graphic Designer and honestly, I can't tell you what I do all day but I'm sure as eggs doing something! It does feel great to have a purpose again, to have real, genuine, enthusiasm for something.


Dear Alex, You made me think about notebooks (loving your new blog design btw).

Dear Salisbury's, You had a 50% off sale on notebooks (I stopped myself at two but could easily have bought more). Thanks.


Dear Tinker, Please stop sitting on my keyboard as I try to type. I love you but it's just not helpful. Although you do make me laugh when you sit on the table and watch the cursor moving across the screen. I'm waiting for the day that you decide to pounce!

Dear Tripod, Sorry I dropped you and snapped your head off.

Dear Self, You're an idiot, why did you drop your tripod and snap it's head off - how are you going to take outfit shots now? Huh? Huh?

Hope you have a fab weekend! I'm off to a clothes swap tomorrow, not one I've organised this time, so I'm hoping for some good finds and to pick up some tips for my next one in early April. I did find a few good bits at the last one I held - I'll try to do a post soon!

On Sunday I have my brother and his family coming for supper. Last time I cooked lasagne and youngest nephew sulked and refused to eat because it wasn't chilli. So I'm cooking chilli. I guess that's a compliment, right?



Love

I missed Friday Letters in a blur of activity, so here are some Monday Letters instead.

Dear Monday, You suck. The only time I like you is when you have 'bank holiday' written in front of you. You always come around too quickly and you spoil Sunday evenings.

Dear Clothes Swappers, You guys rock! You turned out on a rainy Saturday morning, full of gusto and laden with bags of clothes. I did however fear for my friends safety as she carried five ball gowns towards the rails and you mobbed her. Play nicely now.

Dear Christmas, I know that people aren't talking about you yet, but I haven't forgotten that you're coming. I'm stocking up my pantry in preparation (I can't be the only person to have purchased a Christmas pudding in early November). This year will be less frantic. I promise.


Dear NoneSuch Things, I love your site. The tapes I ordered arrived and are already adorning the front of my Christmas cards, with lots more projects planned.




Hope you all have a fab Monday (do the best you can with it, the week will improve). See you tomorrow for Everybody : Everywear, this month the theme is 'boots'. Guess which ones I'll be wearing?

Love

Having mentioned a clothes swap in my last post I've been asked for tips on how to organise one, I'm no expert but I'm more than happy to share my experiences.

The basic idea of a swap is to ask people to bring along good quality clothes to swap. If someone brings 5 items, they can take five items away with them but if they want to take more then five items they pay a set amount for each extra item.

The first clothes swap I went to was held by a friend of mine, it was at her house so it was for friends only. She sent out on invite via Facebook, set up some clothes rails in her dining room and waited for people to arrive. She asked for a £2.00 admission fee, which went to her chosen charity, and also made cakes to sell. She set the extra item price at £2.00.

The two clothes swaps that I have organised have been open to anyone. I'm lucky enough to have a venue with plenty of parking that I can use for free, access to a number of clothes rails and a network that helps me advertise and spread the word, not to mention plenty of willing helpers on the day.

I run these for a local charity so I'm able to put details on it's website, I create a public event on it's facebook page and tweet from it's twitter account. I also make posters and ask everyone I know to put them up at their place of work, in local shops, in their cars. A friend works at the local paper and for the most recent swap we had a mention in the local news.

I ask for £3.00 admission and stipulate a maximum of ten items per person to avoid people turning up with any old tat. A lady makes and donates the most delicious cakes for us to sell and we have the facilities to provide tea and coffee too. A seating area so that people can sit, have a cuppa, a piece of cake and a natter really helps the atmosphere of the swap and encourages people to linger. I set up a makeshift fitting room so people can try things on, often this gets people chatting and complimenting each other.

I found that two hours is long enough, most people will turn up at the beginning and hang around to see what people bring. I ask that people bring items on hangers but very few do, so having extra hangers is essential. If things are clean, ironed and hung nicely people are more likely to want them. I have included shoes and accessories but to be honest no one has ever taken any shoes, bags and scarves seem to do well but jewellery doesn't.

I was lucky enough to have all of the left over items from my friend's clothes swap to use as 'stock' for my first swap, I think it really helps to have some items ready and waiting for when the first swappers arrive.

So, there you have it, I think I've covered everything. I hope this helps!

Love

Hello, it's been a while. I failed to post anything at all last week and missed Inspiration Monday and EBEW, I've been absent from Twitter and have not had a chance to read and comment on my favourite blogs. In short, life has been hectic.

Sadly, this is mostly due to work, but I have been up to some fun stuff too.


On Saturday I ran another clothes swap for a charity I'm involved with. It went really well and plans are already in place for the next one in early November. With the clothes that remained I decided, at the 11th hour, to join some friends that were going to a carboot sale on Sunday. At the end of the day I left with more than I'd arrived with, any clothes that my friends weren't able to sell were given to me for the next clothes swap.

Some items I've decided to sell on eBay as I think I can raise more for the charity that way - other items, like bobbled knitwear and misshapen t shirts and such, are going to be sold via Cash for Clothing. These will be sorted and sent to third world countries or those experiencing situations resulting in extreme poverty. Any items that aren't reusable go for fibre reclamation - I am determined not to let any item that is donated go to waste.

Now, I'd be lying if I said that organising clothes swaps didn't come with a few perks. You've probably already guessed that I pick up a few bargains for myself along the way. Whilst I'm at the swaps I don't have time to browse but when I get everything home and I'm sorting through it, I often find a few gems (post to come). Of course I pay for all of these items - I see it as a win-win, clothes for me, money for charity.

One lady at the carboot sale leant over my table, touched me on the hand and said "There's absolutely no need for anyone to look shabby, when there are so many lovely items like these to be had for next to nothing" A woman after my own heart...

Love