Upcycling

Background
Upcycling is a HUGE trend right now that is making its way to the fashion industry. Starting in crafts circles, upcyling has made its way onto blogs, Twitter, and Pinterest. So what is upcycling? Upcycling is the process of converting old, waste, or unusable materials into something new and usable. Think about the how upcycling relates to sustainability. Usually the product of upcycling, when executed well, is met with great enthusiasm by non-artists, ie a "wow factor." Just take a look at the photos below to see how you can turn unusable products into new and exciting things. 

Assignment
Your assignment is to turn a men's dress shirt into something wearable. Don't confine yourself to clothing; think about accessories, shoes, jewelry, headpieces, etc. 

Steps

• Do some research. Google upcycling to get some ideas. 
• Sketch out what you want to make.
• Take a photograph of the BEFORE
• Bring in your shirt and start creating!
• Take a photograph of the AFTER 
• Download PICSTITCH on the iPad and put the Before and After pictures together

Things to consider

• Take a look at a male relative's closet. What shirt doesn't he wear anymore? Ask him if you can have it to create something new and exciting! Go to a local goodwill. Find a men's shirt. They should only be a dollar or two! 
  
• What parts of the shirt can you use? You don't have to use the entire shirt! Do you want to use two shirts sewed together?
• Look online! There are plenty of ways to alter dress shirts. Find a few ideas and change the design to suit your own needs.
• You can use any other material of your choice in addition to the dress shirt. The dress shirt should be the majority of the material OR it must be apparent that you've used a dress shirt (ie, only use the collars).

Grading Criteria

• Creativity
• Innovativeness
• Technical Quality
• Participation

Resources

• http://upcycle-fashion.blogspot.com/
  
• http://refashionista.net/
  
• http://jembellish.blogspot.com/p/clothes-upcycling-projects.html
  

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