Subversive Seamster: Transform Thrift Store Threads into Street Couture

by Melissa Rannels, Hope Meng, Melissa Rannels

It's time to get subversive, again! The downtown divas of "Sew Subversive" are back with another happy helping of straightlaced sewing advice for stylish results every time. Transform tacky bridesmaid gowns and pleated pants into picture-perfect tops, skirts and accessories. The two Melissas and a Hope deliver 30 great projects that are achievable for even the new sewer. "Subversive Seamster" is your secret roadmap to the jewels of thrifting and the ins and outs of refashioning. This book has shortcuts, tips, and secrets to the wide world of inexpensive, individualized fashion. Our clothes make a statement about who we are. What better way to say, "I am an individual!" than to wear one-of-a-kind items made out of other one-of-a-kind items? We derive the most fashionable satisfaction knowing that we are reusing and recycling what already exists in this material world--and looking darn good doing it!

Genres: Sewing, Crafts, Nonfiction, Fashion, How To, Reference

192 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2007

Reviews

[Nikkishell · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was sent a copy of the book Subversive Seamster for review. Subversive Seamster follows Sew Subversive and is published by Taunton Press. It is the creation of The Stitch Lounge Girls: Melissa Alvarado, Hope Meng and Melissa Rannels. The Stitch Lounge is an urban sewing studio in San Francisco, where you can rent time on a sewing machine or take classes.

Subversive Seamster shows you how to refashion your thrift store buys using many simple but effective techniques. It shows you how to take those tired and unwanted clothes and turn them into something funky, wearable and individual!

The first chapter gives you tips and tricks about thrift store shopping. Tips such as planning ahead, carrying a tape measure with you and what to look for in clothing such as stains and smells. It also tells you how to look out for sales and ask for deals. Chapter two shows you simple but effective techniques that are used throughout the book. Techniques include patches, Lettuce edging, ruffles, pin tucks and Darts. There is also a section for how to make your very own Ms. Double Trouble: The Duct Tape Dress Form.

The next three chapters are dedicated to various projects including making mittens from an old sweater (I have a pair of these made for me by a fellow Melbourne blogger ’Onegirl’ and they’re great), making a bolero from a turtleneck sweater using a lettuce edging technique, cuffed city shorts from old men’s pants and a checkbook cover from an old tennis racket cover.

As you may know I run the website Wardrobe Refashion so this book seems very appropriate for me. What do I think of it? Well, I think it is well laid out with great instructions and enough images throughout to help you with the techniques. The techniques themselves are simple enough for those starting out in sewing and refashioning. However I’m not too keen on the actual refashions but this is a personal preference, they aren’t garments I would particularly wear myself. I also feel that from the images in the book that the projects are not quite built to last, the finish of the garments look rushed but this could be overcome in your own creations by taking your time.

[Lana. · Rating 2 out of 5]

The "Street Couture" in the title certainly caught my attention, but I was overall, a little disappointed in the look of the projects (is this what Street Couture is about?)

Pros:
- Includes instructions on how to make Ms. Double Trouble (a personal duct-tape dress form)
- Projects were in the easy and medium level - but they do not yield extradinary results
- Some good techniques (e.g. fitting, rouching, adding ruffles, creating embellishments) that could be transferred to other projects
- Includes projects with men's clothing as the starting point, and the dreaded bridesmaid dress

Cons:
- Projects looked ill-fitted on models, with many rough edges and what looks like loose threads
- Projects did not seem to economize, so while transformations were interesting in some cases, there seemed to be a lot of waste

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay, so I'm not sure how many of the projects I would actually make. Of course, part of that is with the thrift store, it all depends on what you can find. I've already made plans with friends to make duct tape dummies of ourselves, so the book is totally worth a look for that alone. I like that the models, who from what I can tell are often also the authors, are not all the same body type, and that not everyone in the photos is a size 6 or smaller. The styles tend to be a little younger than I think I am comfortable with, but the ideas are great and the instructions are clear. Projects I'd like to make, provided I can find the right ingredients at the thrift store, include the mittens, the mesh bag, the skirt with lace panels, the mumu gathered shirt, and the shorts out of dress pants.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

Hmm. I appreciate the concept: Upcycling is fun, affordable, and environmentally friendly. One of the more useful sections involves making a dress form out of duct tape. Since dress forms are helpful but really expensive, this could be a relevant skill to have. I liked a few of the projects, in particular, earrings made out of an old leather vest. But I found that most of the projects were either not that stylish, or novelty-type pieces that you probably wouldn't wear every day. However, whether or not the individual projects are your style, they might give you inspiration for the types of things you can repurpose, and what sorts of clothes you can make from a given type of material.

Note: The book assumes that you already know basic sewing skills.

[Lois · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just the idea of "Ms. Double Trouble," your personal duct tape dress form, is worth a look. wear a large tshirt that's long over your hips. add plastic wrap to cover your skin or clothes to mid thigh & up to your neck. get a friend to wrap duct tape snugly around you starting at the bottom. leaving a little tshirt or plastic wrap hanging out. below the bust, stop & contour the chest as shown in the book. etc, etc, cut it off center back, close back up with more duct tape, stuff with batting, attach her to an old halogen lamp stand base... you get the picture.


the other projects were less helpful to me, maybe the muumuu to a peasant top is a possibility, or mens button up shirt to coin purse, using the sleeve placket & cutting on diagonal.

[Sarah Kingston · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has some great, great ideas. I don't know if I will use the exact patterns, but just the ideas are enough to open up new worlds of possibilities to people who shop at second-hand stores for clothing. You don't need specific sizes, nor even clothing. They use old purses, tablecloths, all sorts of awesome stuff. My favorite project, though, is the dressmaker's form made of an old T-shirt and duct tape. The most green clothing is the stuff you already own, no matter it's origins, but second hand is a close second.

[Jayme · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was an okay book. The projects in it were for the most part not something I would wear. They really don't look all that nice. The one good thing about these kinds of books though, is that they do give you ideas for projects of your own.

[Jeri Goins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is great! I bought this one early in my sewing adventure. I made the "Ms. Double Trouble: the Duct Tape Dress Form" with my boyfriend, now husband, and nearly had a panic attack getting taped up in a tee shirt! But I loved that dress form! It was cathartic to see yourself as a headless torso of duct tape, not to mention being made aware of how many pillows from the dollar tree it takes to stuff said torso! I'm afraid I tossed her when we moved but I'm hoping she's just de-stuffed and flattened in the attic somewhere.

I bought this one, which only happens with a select few sewing books! (And after I've had it multiple times or for months from the library)

[Elizabeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

Time has not been kind to the styles in this book and the sewing is not good enough or innovative enough to make up for it. The fashion went from funky to just plain funky.

However, not enough good stuff can be said about the "Ms Trouble" body double dress form. Yes, how to make a custom dress firm with out buying one for $200+ !!

[Libby · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think this book is most useful for the tips it give you about thrifting and general smart tricks to make good use of clothes you may find. However, most of the projects they showcase are too immodest for me to wear. Also, I wonder if the time it takes to find things you might want to wear and the time it takes to alter them, would offset the money you save by buying things second hand. (it seems their goal is to save money. It might be worth it if you have other motivations) I must say, though, it would almost be worth buying this book just for the section where they teach you to make your own dress-form. Genious!!

[Ligaya · Rating 3 out of 5]

The authors wrote a very similar book just before this one — this one is minimally better, with more attention to detail and more flattering shaping but that's not saying a lot since I found the first book a hot mess. Reading (ok, really slowly flipping) through this book, I kept wondering if we wore such ugly handmade garments in the mid-2000s and thought we were cute and "subversive." I'm not making anything from this book but it does give me some ideas. Cute projects: Sham on You (p 45), Suburban Pants, Meet City Shorts (p 97), and Hot Muumuu Mama (p 131). I did learn a new trick about using serged edges (p 32).

[jess · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book delivers on it's promises. it explains re-fashioning common thrift store crap into more wearable items. the authors provide a variety (although, by no means, exhaustive) of tips and tricks that can bring new life to turn bridesmaids dresses into "corset-style tops" & polyester old-man pants into sort of cute shorts. a lot of the ideas were not my "style," so i would never make them and i have no desire to own the book (thanks, carnegie library system!), but the pretty detailed walk-through of making your own dressform from duct tape was worth the price of admission.

[Rabya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, with easy instructions, photos and tips. Probably have a lot of supplies at home, like old sweaters, socks, and don't need to go to a thrift store. Excited to do the sweater projects- turning into mittens and socks. For sports fans- ideas to use old jerseys and transform into skirts and mini toiletry bag. Also includes a "Sewing 201" tutorial- of going beyond the basics of simple button repair.

[Sara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Neither awful nor fantastic. Full of all the regular fillers found in these sorts of books -- you know, three slightly different leather armbands -- but there were a few good ideas. The skirts section was definitely the best, so if you're looking for tons of new skirts pick this up. One (possibly two) potentially cute tops.
And it's always nice to see outfits that aren't specifically intended for size-0 stick insects.

[Krista · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is one of the best books of the genre. Great background sewing information. Most of the projects are cute (there's always a few that I would never, ever wear) but some of the cutest and most wearable things were not explained (ex. directions to make the skirt, but not the matching shirt). I love the idea of making a dress form, but don't know if that's a project that I'll tackle. I'll have to look around for their other book.

[Megan · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was similar to the other book by the same authors (Sew Subversive: Down & Dirty DIY for the Fabulous Fashionista but it had unique ideas and made me feel just that much more inspired to make my own clothes. I think, eventually, that I will be able to achieve that goal!

[Susie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I had to read this for my teen lit class (decided to pick a non-fiction for once) and I was surprised at how good it was! The guide on making your own form is worth the price alone (or the time it takes to get it in from the library)! Not all of the clothes they create in the book look as great as you like, but the idea is there and even more important to guide on how-to.

[Cynthia Libby · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not likely to make the projects exactly as shown. But I don't think that's the point.

I will be using the techniques described. I've been sewing for many years but mostly from patterns. This book gave me lots of ideas for customizing.

Recommended for people like me that want to be creative but need inspiration and guidance.

[Pam · Rating 4 out of 5]

Taught me how to branch out creatively. How to shop at the thrift store with a broader view of what can be transformed. Cute and doable instructions for a duct-tape dressform. Only critique would be that some of the designs are too young/boho for me.

[Stacey · Rating 5 out of 5]

A friend and I used the instructions in this book to make dress forms by wrapping each other in duct tape. They both turned out great and mine has already proven to be quite useful as I sew clothes for myself.

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

i cannot believe how all of the photographed examples look rushed and poorly finished, if not all-over poorly constructed. The basic instructions are solid, but poor examples coupled with sleek design is a huge turn off.

[Kim · Rating 2 out of 5]

I don't know why I even checked this out. I cannot learn to sew--not by reading about it, not with someone showing me, just not at all. I did read with interest the instructions for making a dressmaker's dummy out of duct tape and plastic wrap.

[Lissa Notreallywolf · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing really appealed to me in this book-I was kind of hoping to find a pattern for recycling jeans into a wrap denim skirt. Didin't find it. I have to say this is a creative book. The instructions on how to make a dressmakers dummy on the cheap makes it great! Good humor as well.

[Teresa]

I know the ladies who put this book out, and I can't wait to see what they've been working on for the last year.

[Erika Mulvenna · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some great ideas in this book, some I really like, some are just not my style. But the book is put together well with nice instructions and great pictures. A fun book to look through!

[Alison · Rating 3 out of 5]

a gift from my boss!

[A.K. Snyder · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great ideas for creating new clothes from Goodwill basics.

[Kricket · Rating 3 out of 5]

some fun projects here for re-making old clothes into new styles. published in 2007, it's already showing its age a little bit, but i found a couple projects to add to my to-do list.

[C · Rating 3 out of 5]

A few cute projects, but I'm glad I got it from the library, rather than bought it.