Upcycling, SCA style

Before I do anymore posting about my sewing and accessories projects in particular, I felt I should do a posting about upcycling. This is a topic near and dear to my heart, and hope that maybe some other folks might think its a good idea and give it a try.

Ok, so upcycling....what the heck is upcycling?

Well, the idea here is to make something neat out of something that already exists, ie. from materials that are not virgin or brand new. To give you an idea of what I mean, I bought a cranberry-colored jacquard table cloth from Thrift Town (across from Bowie High School....*awesome* finds to be had there!) for around $2. My intention is to use it to make sleeves, a collar, and edgings for one of my Burgundian gowns for the fall. See where Im going with this?

So a while ago, I made a silent promise to myself that whenever possible, I was going to upcycle to create my SCA garb and accessories. The reason for doing this is two-fold:

1) This is Texas. It's damned hot and lotsa humid, so just about every article of clothing I had from the old days isn't going to work here because it's all lined cotton. For Ansteorra, linen is in order (and lightweight wools) simlpy to have garb that won't try to kill you.

2) Linen is damned expensive. Something like $14 a yard when it's not on sale, and since I'm not nearly along at the salon as I'd like to be, thats going to be a tough order to fill. I either have to wait for insanely good sales (even 50% off doesnt help....more like $3 a yard is what Im looking for!) OR Im going to have to find some other way to do this.

The answer to both of these options is simple......UPCYCLING.

A linen tablecloth or garment is as inexpensive as $2 at most places, and the garment can provide already created sleeves, and the solid back of the garment is usually more than enough to do a collar and trim if I am careful. The large tablecloths to be had can provide an entire kirtle if I watch my layouts. Both of these are also dyable, so if that bone cream color or whatever isnt working for me, all I have to do is throw some dye and salt into one of the washers here at the complex and add 4 quarters, and blammo.......insta colored fabric in my color choice.

Now, accessories take a bit more McGuyvering. I'm a huge fan of anything filigree, and luckily for me, those gold, silver, and brassy looking filigree vanity sets are almost always discarded and offered for insanely cheap. I'm talkimg around $1, so the price is definitely right. To that, add wirecutters and a buff husband, and voila.....filigree peices to hotglue together to create faboo headdresses. However, to be perfectly clear, I did *not* make the first headdress in this way.....the credit must go to Dame Angele Plaisance, OL now of Atenveldt. She taught me the whole headdress thing, and Ive simply taken her original idea and ran with it. I still need to take some pictures to send to her.....

So, that is upcycling, SCA style. Now back to my postings.....