From Charity-Shop Jeans to Something Different: Madeleine’s First Upcycling Experiments

Our regular charity-shop adventures often turn up something with potential. On one of those trips, Madeleine came home with a collection of good-quality jeans and decided it was time to try something she had wanted to do for a while: upcycling clothes.

She had an idea of how she wanted them to look. The next step was to get stuck in and work out how to achieve it.

Blue denim with wide paisley side panels, modelled by Madeleine’s daughter.

Starting with what was already there

The jeans came from charity shops. For the additions, Madeleine turned to her scrap boxes, choosing from the fabric and lace she already had.

That gave her different colours, patterns and textures to work with. The finished pairs take different directions: blue denim with broad paisley side panels, patchwork edged with lace, and grey denim combined with floral fabric and contrasting pockets.

The original jeans remain recognisable, while the added panels change their shape and appearance.

Floral patchwork, contrasting pockets and lace on the grey pair.

Finding her own way

Madeleine approached these as experiments. She knew what she wanted to achieve, then found her own way through the making.

These are the stages of workshop life that do not always appear on a product page: trying an idea, working out how to make it and deciding what still needs attention.

The photographs show Madeleine’s daughter modelling the finished pairs. Front, side and back views reveal how the panels change the outline of the legs and how the patchwork and lace carry through each design.

Denim and brown patchwork panels outlined with pale lace.

Still developing

The jeans are not currently for sale, and we are not taking commissions for them. Madeleine wants to work through the remaining kinks before producing any for sale.

For now, she is giving herself room to explore upcycled clothing and refine her approach. These first pairs show where that exploration has taken her so far.

You can see more of her fabric work on our Made by Madeleine page.