Stay Connected

Monday, August 29, 2016

Persistence, tenacity or just plain stubbornness


You remember what your parents recited, when tempted to throw in the towel  -- if at first you don't succeed, try, try again.

My new shorts

About 4 years ago, I turned a pair of worn blue jeans into some summer capris.

The jeans went from this
to this

You can see in the jeans, they were already pretty worn-looking. And really, when was the last time you saw wider-legged jeans? Okay, so rather old jeans. But I could still fit into them, and for the most part they were still in decent-enough shape.

But I was no longer wearing them as jeans (maybe the very out of date wide leg?). So, I turned those jeans into "new" capris. Perfect, right? Everyone loves capris in summer. Everyone, that is, except me. Or maybe it was because they were denim capris, and kinda heavy (AKA warm) for a hot summer day. And you know what? Capris aren't the greatest look on my legs. So in a drawer they sat for 4 years.

In going through my clothing last week, I almost tossed these capris into the giveaway pile. But you know, I just wasn't ready to throw in the towel on these pants, just yet. Surely, I could get a bit more wear out of them.

And that's when I thought to at least try them as shorts. What did I have to lose, right?

One afternoon, I took the leap, and with a pair of scissors, I cut off the bottom few inches of the capris, and I now have shorts. My 2 daughters (my personal fashion experts) convinced me that rolled up hem shorts were indeed "in". After cutting off the lower part of each leg, I rolled up the edge until they hit that sweet spot on a woman's leg, where everything goes in from side to side, and legs seem to look their trimmest.

This might be it. I may have found the way to get much more wear from my very old pair of jeans. I've worn them for the last couple of days, and loved having some summer-worthy clothing. I only wish I had done this at the beginning of summer, and not towards the end. Oh well, I'm now set for next summer, right?

This quick project reminded me of the patched bed sheets of mine, which lasted several years beyond most folks tolerance for "worn out". not only did I patch those repeatedly, but when patching was no longer a viable option, I found a use for the good-condition edges of the sheet -- my daughter's summer sleep shorts. And there's still a lot of good fabric left on that sheet. (another project perhaps?)

Sometimes I think I'm just too stubborn to give up on anything. Have you ever had something that you just wouldn't give up on making useful?

13 comments:

  1. Great way to make those jeans live on, Lili. I am still repairing over and over a pair of knit pj pants that probably need to be turned into rags at this point, but they are my absolute favorite, and so far I haven't let them go :)
    Have a great day!
    Mary

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Mary,
      LOL Yep! I have a pair of pj pants that are in a similar state as your! When they're comfy, it's hard to let them go.

      Delete
  2. I need to do a clothes inventory and evaluation. I have that on my "to do" list. I need more clothes to wear going out, but I don't want to buy anything new for now, since I have lots of clearance clothes in bins. Some need to be altered first, and others, I will just have to get used to the color or style that I feel is not me. I have noticed that once I wear a piece of clothing, I learn to adjust and like it better. So I force myself to not be picky and throw out clothes simply because I don't like it.

    Good job on those jeans, it looks great and can now be worn another 10 years!!

    Have a nice day!!

    YHF

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi YHF,
      Yeah, as long as I can still fit into them 10 years from now! I do really like how they look, on, so I think I will get quite a bit of summer wear out of them.

      I have some clothes that at first weren't my favorite style, but now I do like them. So, I agree, if you just try something, just for a little while, you may find you like it. Much like what my mother would say about certain foods, just try it, you may just like it, and you'll never know, if you don't try.

      Have a great day, YHF!

      Delete
    2. Just as I said I will refrain from buying more clothes, Kmart has a 100% rebate on clearance clothing up to $100 per member, paid in batches of $15 rebate for every $15. The promotion period is until 10/1, however pts are awarded next day and must be spent in 14 days. If I do this, I was hoping to spread out my purchases since I don't have a big ticket item to redeem for.

      YHF

      Delete
  3. Yup, I agree with your daughters, cuffed denim shorts are "in"--of course I agree, that's what I'm wearing today! Ha!

    I have also found that denim capris can be hot. I like them when the weather is in the upper 60s/low 70s with low humidity--but during warmer weather, a cotton/poly blend is more comfortable for me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kris,
      Oh great! I'm in style, for once! I think I agree, I might like capris more if the fabric was lightweight, and not denim.

      Delete
  4. Before capris became widespread and I got used to seeing them on everyone (including myself), the only person I thought they looked good on was Laura Petrie from the Dick Van Dyke show. Of course, she looked good in everything.

    Good save on the pants. If something is comfortable and looks decent, I say hold onto it as long as possible.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi live and learn,
      Oh, yeah -- definitely, Laura Petrie. I hadn't thought about the Dick Van Dyke show in years.
      I'm just glad to have found a way to wear these!

      Delete
  5. I LOVE jeans shorts. My problem is that once they get to the point that I'm ready to sacrifice a pair of jeans to make into shorts, the fabric itself is generally near it's end - so the shorts only last a very short while before they start to disintegrate in the butt. Sigh.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Cat,
      That could lead to an oops sort of moment! Maybe buy a pair of jeans at Goodwill, specifically to make shorts? That's what one of my daughters did last summer. She really wanted jeans shorts, but didn't want to cut any of her jeans pants, so she bought a pair of jeans at Goodwill or Value Village just for making shorts.

      Delete
  6. Great save! I make my own out of pants because they are
    Too short in the store. I love to reinvent clothing.
    Patti

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks, Patti.
      Now that makes perfect sense. It's so satisfying to find something new "hiding" in something old.

      Delete

Thank you for joining the discussion today. Here at creative savv, we strive to maintain a respectful community centered around frugal living. Creative savv would like to continue to be a welcoming and safe place for discussion, and as such reserves the right to remove comments that are inappropriate for the conversation.

FOLLOW CREATIVE SAVV ON BLOGLOVIN'

Follow
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Be a voice that helps someone else on their frugal living journey

Are you interested in writing for creative savv?
What's your frugal story?

Do you have a favorite frugal recipe, special insight, DIY project, or tips that could make frugal living more do-able for someone else?

Creative savv is seeking new voices.


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

share this post