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!
Explain your process for selecting the item from our store. What drew you to it?
When I went to Goodwill this month, I decided to focus on finding jeans that I could upcycle into a bucket hat. I knew I wanted to use 2 different pairs of jeans to create a patchwork design, so I searched through the women’s denim area for one jean in a dark colorway and one in a lighter colorway.
While searching through the racks, I found a cute pair with distressed detailing and gemstones on it. This jean had a nice medium blue wash, and I believed it could bring interesting elements to the hat I’m making. As I continued my search, I eventually found a pair of Levi Jeans in a nice dark blue wash. The jeans were still in good quality and contrasted well with the pair I had found earlier.
Tell us about your process in editing / altering items.
1. After washing both pairs of jeans, I turned each one inside out to determine where I would like to cut out my pieces using a bucket hat pattern I found on Pinterest.
2. Since I wanted to do a patchwork design, I decided not to cut the pieces for the brim and crown on the fold. This allowed me to cut two pieces of the bucket hat from both pairs of jeans.
For the Levi’s, I had to seam rip part of the legs’ outseam and inseam in order to find more denim fabric to cut the pieces. But once everything was cut out, I laid out the crown pieces from both pants into a line in a patchwork design.
3. To form the crown, I pinned and sewed the side pieces of the crown together. Then sewed the end pieces of the crown together to form a circle near the top of the hat.
4. For the top, I turned over the piece I already cut for the top part of the hat and made sure the fashion/outer side was showing. While inside out, I pinned the top edge part of the crown to it and sewed along the edge.
I also made little slits about an inch apart along the seam I just created. This helps the bucket hat sit correctly while wearing it.
5. Time for the brim! I laid out the brim pieces to create a pattern similar to the crown and then sewed the end pieces of the brim together, lined it up with the rest of the hat. I wanted to make sure the right colors lined up with each other. With fashion sides together, I pinned and sewed the brim to the crown.
After sewing on the brim, I cut little slits near the edge of the seam again, just like I did for the top part of the hat.
I also did topstitching on the edge of the brim, to prevent the bucket hat from fraying too much!
What was your inspiration for the finished piece? Any current trends, pieces of art or designers that are catching your eye?
I’ve been wanting to create my own bucket hat for a while now! And when I saw bucket hats were trending again, I thought this would be the perfect time to make one. Denim and the patchwork design are being implemented in a lot of looks this year, so I was inspired to do the same for this month’s Stitched Up Project.
Any parting thoughts or quotes for readers this month?
Here’s a Few Extra Tips on Practicing Sustainable Fashion!
– Don’t be afraid to clothing swap with friends & family.
– Be knowledgeable on sustainable clothing brands when you go to shop.
– Look for re-wearable outfits from what’s already in your closet.
– Learn more about upcycling and mending your clothes.
– Advocate for change in the fast-fashion industry and for holding companies accountable.
– When you’re done with an item of clothing, don’t forget to donate!