Hi there! My weekend was filled with congratulations and high fives from people who had followed along with the Sewvivor competition. It was fun. I felt a little sheepish, but so loved, and that feels good. I spent a little time browsing all of the sponsors shops to get ideas about what I’d like to claim with the prize credits I won. Shopping for free is pretty cool, right?!
Here’s a way you ALL can get a chance to shop for free, and you won’t even have to MAKE anything with what you take home: A Clothing Swap!! If you’ve been reading this blog for a little while, you’ll remember that I hosted a fall clothing swap back last year. Everyone loved it so much, I decided to pull together another one. The change of seasons is a perfect time to go through and weed out those unwanted, unworn clothes and trade them for things you will actually wear!
Hosting is really simple. I sent an email to a few good friends, inviting them to bring unwanted, clean clothes on hangers. Pants, shorts, shoes and jewelry end up on the floor. Having the tops and dresses on hangers just makes it much easier to look through. It is nice if everyone is similar sizes, but part of why people get rid of clothes is because they are too big or too small, so it can work with a variety of sizes as well. Once everyone is there, and the clothes are all arranged, the swap begins. I discuss the details in this post, but I’ll do a quick review:
1. Cut several colors of yarn or string into 6″ pieces, give each person 10 of one color
2. Browse for 5-10 minutes, tying a string onto the pieces that you want
3. At the end of the time, go through giving out the pieces. If there is more than one string on something, put the two strings into a bowl and draw for the winner
4. Repeat, repeat, repeat, until everyone is satisfied
5. Take the piles (and piles, and piles) of leftover clothes to donate
Here’s some of the ladies in their finds. Check out those sweet polka dot platforms!
I hosted this swap in our apartment’s storage room, because my living room is just a tad small for all of the people and their clothes. It worked out great, in a garage or back yard would work wonderfully as well.
I think Maren made out pretty well with this chartreuse silk skirt and navy patterned top. Someone’s trash became her super stylish outfit!
I used old fabric bolt rods, tied to the pipes with twine, as hanging rods. They worked just fine:) I also brought down a full-length mirror so we could see how we looked in the duds. Sometimes, how the items fit became the tipping point for who got to take them home.
Even my two pregnant friends found some things that they loved, both for now and later. I took home a couple sweet pairs of well-fitting jeans (so hard to shop for, yet these were delivered right to me!), these patent leather peep toe platforms, and two great tops. And I got rid of several bags of unworn clothes. We decided to send our leftover clothing to the Young Women in our church before it went to Goodwill. They got to sort through and pick out whatever they liked. How awesome would that have been as a teenager!
A clothing swap could be a perfect place to gather items to refashion. I have plenty of that on my own, so I was just looking for things I loved and would wear often. That’s just what I found! I promise it’s not hard to put a quick clothing swap together. Your friends (and your closet) will love you for it!
