People who use their imagination and can do a bit of sewing can create designer type clothes for a very modest cost. You don’t have to make an item from scratch – you can modify existing items to have beautiful, one of a kind items. If you don’t do much sewing there are still minor things you can do to customize items. A friend used to do this and people who didn’t know her well thought she must be rich and shop at some exclusive stores.

This lady was always on the lookout for items being sold cheaply because of flaws or damage, maybe a missing button or a ripped seam for example. At the time, satin jackets were the rage. She’d take an inexpensive solid color jacket, buy a small amount of satin fabric in a complimenting color. She may, for example, replace the collar and cuffs with the new fabric, cover the buttons,add pockets, etc. The things she replaced would be saved to used on another project.

Even if you can’t sew well enough to change collars and cuffs, there are minor things you can do to customize items. Changing buttons or adding lace or other trim to collars and cuffs can make an item unique. You see lots of t-shirts with glitter designs on them – take a plain drab old t-shirt and create your own. If you have old ratty clothes too shabby to donate to a thrift store, look at them before you toss them into the wastebasket. Is there anything you can salvage to use on something later? Buttons? Areas where the fabric is still in good shape?
Are the sleeves on that sweatshirt too tight or short? Remove them, have a sleevless shirt for warmer weather. Turn long pants into shorts.

Children grow so fast, it’s hard to keep them in clothes. Length is usually the first problem – sometimes I think kids can grow an inch overnight sometimes. Think about adding something decorative to the hem to add a little length. If all else fails, turn them into shorts.

You get the picture. Let your imagination run wild and the sky is the limit. If you need ideas to get you started, run some Google searches on various wordings for recycling clothes, new clothes from old, etc. You can have fun, create some nice items and save money all at once. Happy creating!