In this post I’m sharing some of my favourite upcycled clothing ideas for spring, featuring thrifted pieces that have been given a new life with embroidery and creative styling.
Upcycled Clothing Ideas for Spring
When it comes to creating an embroidery design, nine times out of ten I will choose something floral, I just love them (read why here)! This Spring collection is no different, packed with Sunflowers, Calendula flowers, and bees, you can’t go wrong.
Back in 2020 when I started this brand I began by thrifting and upcycling clothing, bringing them a new lease of life, hand embroidering them with new and fresh designs. As my brand grew I upgraded to using new items of clothing, but that doesn’t mean I ditched thrifting and upcycling!
Upcycling clothing is also a great way to reduce waste and give pre-loved garments a second life instead of buying new items.
Cropped floral cardigan
This sweet cropped cardigan was originally from Boden and is still in great condition! I loved the statement button on the front and the 3/4 length sleeves, and it makes the perfect cover up for Spring when it is a little too chilly to go out with bare arms.
I wanted to design a more statement flower for this cardigan with complimentary colours and that’s when I decided on this flower, inspired by the Calendula flower. The pale two-tone yellow compliments the chocolate brown cardigan perfectly, making this the sweetest statement Spring piece.
This Floral Cropped Cardigan is of course available on my shop. The original tag says it is a size UK 14 (US 10), but it fits more like a UK 10/12 (US 6/8).
Green sunflower cardigan
Next up is the cutest pale green cardigan originally from Monsoon. As soon as I saw this cardigan I knew what I wanted to embroider on it… lots of tiny sunflowers! This button up cardigan was still in great condition, hence I chose to thrift and upcycle it.
This Floral Sunflower Cardigan has 3/4 length sleeves again and is a size UK 14 (US 10). As you can see, I have hand embroidered lots of tiny sunflowers all over the cardigan to give it that pop of yellow which compliments the pale green perfectly!
Embroidered bee jumper
Last up is the cutest fluffy bumble bee jumper. This jumper is originally from Primark but is surprisingly good quality! It is nice and stretchy and very soft which is why I fell in love with it very quickly. The colour immediately struck me as a sweet honeycomb colour, and so the cutest fluffy bumble bee was born (or stitched).
As I was drawing the design for this jumper I knew I wanted a fairly large bumble bee so that it was prominent on the jumper, and I absolutely love how it came out! This Honeycomb jumper is a size Small and available on my shop!
Thrifting and upcycling are a great way to experiment with upcycled clothing ideas while creating a wardrobe that feels unique and sustainable.
If you love sustainable fashion, you might also enjoy reading about embroidery styles that never go out of fashion.
