Willo’s Wacky Wardrobe – 3


During lockdown my neighbours were clearing their wardrobes and with all charity shops closed they brought the stuff to me for up-cycling, thus saving it from going to landfill. The perfect stuff I put aside for when the charity shops reopened. Some of the clothes I could wear as they stood, but most of them were too big, so along with other projects, I’ve been gradually working my way through the bags and this is what I’ve done thus far:

The coat was inspired by the glorious work of katwise.com though she buys mainly natural products and in this case I just used what I had been given and some leftovers from my stash. There were several pairs of jogging pants which provided the shape of the navy and black panels when used upside down. A turquoise jumper provided the bodice, patterned fabric from my stash and bits of T-shirts from the gifted items. My friend felt the coat wasn’t flattering on me and I had to agree, so remade it into the trousers and jacket.
This started life as a red fleece, with the logo imprinted along the left sleeve, so I covered it with bits of the tartan. The trim around the neck providing the button loop was made by unthreading some of the scraps and plaiting the threads together. The green cuffs and hem came from the jumper featured later.
The addition of a scarf
The hood is made from fabric scraps.
Sleeve and pocket from the original jumper. Cuffs from the red fleece
Hat made from scraps

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willosworld

Born in Liverpool at the end of WW2, but raised in Skelmersdale. I first studied art in Southport from 1960-63 and worked in graphic design till I married. In December 1969 I moved to Zambia with my husband and two young children. There I taught art in the local girls school, illustrated for the National Correspondence College and did all sorts of other artwork, paid and unpaid. In 1978 I divorced and remarried in the summer of 1980. In 1985 I became ill and the following year cancer was diagnosed. There was no treatment available in Zambia and so I had to go to the UK. After recovering from a radium needle implant I went back to Zambia, but 18 months later the cancer recurred and it was off to the UK again for radical surgery. This time I realised I must stay in the UK where treatment was available, so I never returned to Zambia nor my husband. A few months later I applied for a degree course, but two years later the disease metastasised and I spent most of my final year in and out of hospital. It’s been a long hard road, but I’m still plodding on and it is now 30 years since my last cancer treatment. Because of my experience of cancer and surviving against the odds, I try and help others cope with their devastating diagnosis and prognosis.

4 thoughts on “Willo’s Wacky Wardrobe – 3”

  1. I have a large cardboard box in my basement full of fabrics/old clothes that I started collecting in order to recycle into something useful and bright about 400 years ago. It has gone along with me through several moves … getting fuller and fuller …. if you feel like a trip to Switzerland, you could come and play with me!

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      1. I once had a very satisfactory session making costumes for an am-dram production, using clothes and curtains found at a bring-and-buy sale. Great opportunity to let my imagination run riot!

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  2. This takes me back to the time I was involved in am-dram in Zambia. With little fabric or haberdashery available, just about everything was up–cycled. Our wardrobe mistress had been a couture designer in Paris, but was also fantastic at improvising. eg bottle caps for the buttons of the garments for Henry V111. We later had a robbery at the theatre and many of the costumes were stolen, including Henry’s. I rather fancy anyone walking around town in that costume would have been easily identified!

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