If you are following The Great British Sewing Bee on BBC this year, you will know that one of the challenges that the contestants are set every week is to turn an item of clothing they are given into something new. This is commonly called ‘up-cycling’ by sewing enthusiasts all around the world, and can be a great - and money-saving - way to breathe life into an old garment that would otherwise be destined for the charity shop or the garbage. This week’s up-cycling challenge on GBSB especially appealed to me, because I make costumes for a hobby that I wear to conventions all around the country (and, beginning this year, internationally!). The contestants had to take an old tracksuit, consisting of a red sweater and blue jogging bottoms, and re-make them into a fancy dress costume for a child. Every contestant came up with something different, and the final results included a fairy princess, a ladybird and even a dinosaur, whereas the winner was a cute pirate outfit that, in my opinion, definitely earned its winning position as the wincer of the sewing challenge. While sewing elaborate and detailed costumes can sometimes be more expensive than I would like, I often find that I can up-cycle parts of costumes that I no longer wear – for example, recently I turned a plain T-shirt I had made years ago into a vest top for a new costume. Past projects have included turning the sleeves of a jumper into arm warmers, and cutting up two plain shirts to make a new shirt with wide stripes. Going through old garments and left-over pieces of fabric that I have in my collection has definitely helped me save a lot of money over the years - after all, what is the point of spending more money on sewing something that I already have? Up-cycling can also be applied to regular clothing as well. It doesn’t have to be anywhere near as fancy as the garments that the Great British Sewing Bee contestants come up with, either; it can be something as simple as turning a dress into a skirt, or a pair of jeans with holes in the knees into a pair of denim shorts. Of course, if embellishment is your thing, then perhaps take a look at our haberdashery section of our website for inspiration. With everything from ribbons and acrylic jewels in every colour imaginable to buttons, studs and satin flowers, we strive to sell something to suit everyone’s needs. One of the products well sell that we would recommend for up-cycling projects are our fabric bundles - these are available at different prices, and they consist of different pieces of fabric chosen at random. You never know what you'll receive! We of course sell all of our fabrics by the metre too, in all kinds of different colours and patterns, so if you are looking for a specific piece of something for your sewing project, whether it’s to match or to contrast, our website showcases what we have available to you. If you need any advice, our friendly sales team would be all too happy to help; you can contact them by email at sales@calicolaine.co.uk, or by telephone on 0151 336 3939. Have you ever up-cycled any of your old clothes or sewing projects? Take a photo and let us know what you did to revamp it on our Facebook page – we love to see what our customers can come up with!