Goodwill Alterations with Chanté Gibbs
Chanté is a local thrift blogger and sustainable designer. She is our inspiration and guide to exploring what can be done with some creative alterations and updates of thrifted finds. Each month she starts with a concept, shops our stores, and reworks her thrift finds into high-fashion pieces. She takes us on a thrift journey from start to finish, and it’s a great ride every month!
When I went to Goodwill, my goal was to find an all-black crew neck sweater that would be easy to bleach. Luckily, what I was looking for is a common item, so it did not take too long to find what I was looking for. I eventually found a nice sweater by Hanesbrands in my size, and it was in excellent condition.
How do I make it?
1. First things first, I grabbed the sweater and threw it in the washing machine. I then set it aside until I was sure it was completely dry.
2. I grabbed my bucket and poured in half a bottle of bleach. I also put some watered down bleach in my spray bottle just in case I needed to add more while I was working with the sweater.
3. Next, I twisted the part of the sweater I want to be bleached to separate it from the section that I wanted to remain black.
4. While wearing gloves, I dipped the twisted part into the bleach bucket. I left that half of the crew neck sitting in the bleach for about 10-20 minutes.
5. After my timer went off, I wrung out as much bleach as I could (still wearing gloves!) and washed it again.
6. Once it was fully dry, I tried it on for a final look.
What was your inspiration?
One of my friends recently asked me to bleach dye a hoodie in a vertical half-and-half design. I really liked how that project turned out and thought it would be a great idea for this month’s Stitched Up blog. To still try something new, I decided to play with an asymmetrical design on a crew neck sweater.
Shopping Tip: Happy Secondhand September! Make a positive impact on fast fashion waste by shopping secondhand. Places like Goodwill are a wonderful way to start.
