tales from the mending basket: Metamorphics #1

An oft-quoted adage in sustainable fashion is that the most sustainable thing you can do is wear the clothing you already own.  This concept is further bolstered by the #30wears campaign.

To truly get the most out of clothing, whether it is RTW or handmade, I think it is essential to cultivate a relationship with each garment, taking time to check in and see how they're doing on a regular basis.  I like to do this after each wash. As I am folding or ironing each piece, I look at the seams and hems, checking for any spots that need care.  On knits or fragile woven pieces, I often hold them up to light to better spot small holes or thin spots in the fabric - the sooner things are caught, the easier they are to fix & the more quality wears I can get out of each beloved garment through simple mends.

As such, I have a continually overflowing mending basket.  Some things merely need a quick fix, such as a button sewn back on or a seam restitched.  Others require significant reinforcement, alteration or refashioning. Those are the items that tend to percolate for longer in the basket until inspiration strikes and a vision becomes clear for how to breathe new life back into them. 

Recently, I've been thrilled to bring a few things I really missed out of the mending basket and back into my wardrobe. Both fixes I'll share today are variations of my favorite dress pattern the Metamorphic Dress by Sew Liberated Patterns. I now have 6 versions in my wardrobe. I've come to depend on the jumper style in winter as one of my favorite layering pieces.  My linen and cotton versions also transition smoothly into spring or fall layering and work beautifully as sundresses in the hottest of summer days.  Not many garments have such versatility - but, operating as wardrobe staples all year round is hard on these treasures. They are washed and worn hard, so they need more upkeep.  I have three Metamorphic mending stories to share & I'll start with two today in my first chapter of "Tales from The Mending Basket".

First is a simple fix, but it had me stumped for a long time.  Here are both sides of the my 5th Metamorphic in their original state, made in early 2019.

I've really come to love the gray ikat side as a wardrobe workhorse, but I rarely wore the pink side. This fall, when I started layering up again, I noticed the bust was snug & the neckline never looked crisp, no matter how much I pressed it.  I thought that was my body changing at first, but realized upon closer inspection that the pink fabric (rayon, I think - I thrifted it & burn test results were inconclusive)  shrank significantly and was pulling the gray side out of sorts. 

Problem identified - by what to do?!  I thought about various ways to alter the pink side to give some more space so the gray side would hang right again.  I also contemplated completely deconstructing the dress and adding new layer to pair with the gray ikat, but I really didn't want to have to take apart the ikat layer - it's perfect to me as it is.  Finally, I let go of the notion that it had to be a reversible dress with two layers & the solution emerged.

I decided to unpick the armholes and neckline to separate the two dress halves and use a bias binding to finish off the edges of the gray ikat.

I didn't have extra ikat, so I made a contrast binding.  This gray and white stripe fabric is also the pocket lining and I got both fabrics as a 40th Birthday present at Fabric Temptations in Arcata, CA.

I'm very happy to have the gray ikat dress back in my wardrobe to layer up for winter.  It's so cozy and versatile.

I'm not sure what I'll do with the shrunken pink side, but I am definitely putting those pockets back onto something in the future.  I love that moon phase fabric!

My second Metamorphic mend was a complete refashion and pattern mashup.  The root of the garment I made in 2016. It's on my short list of favorite things I've ever made. It's a 9oz burgundy brushed bull denim Megan Neilsen Brumby skirt with a broken zipper that had been in my mending basket since 2017.  After the zipper broke, I moved to a new city, started a new job, and took a sewing hiatus while settling into a new life. 

By the time the dust settled and I was sewing again, my body changed, so it became a more complicated fix.  I had gotten so far as removing the waistband and was planning to cut a new one and reassemble, but I'd stopped wanting to make and wear clothes with zippers, so I was highly unmotivated. 

Nevertheless, since it was one of my all-time favorite makes, I wanted to find a way to bring it back to my wardrobe. The pockets are so good and the fabric is so soft and thick, as good broken-in denim is wont to be. 

After finishing my refashion on the gray ikat with bias binding, I realized with a spark of inspiration that I had enough offcut denim to do a pattern mashup by attaching single layer Metamorphic bodice with bias binding to the original Brumby skirt. I'm pretty sure this is my favorite pattern mashup of all time... the MetaBrumby. 

Also - I got to use one of my delightful "This is the Back" labels by Kylie and the Machine. How cute are they!?
​