Avid thrift crafter Caitlin Trantham has a knack for transforming her old clothes into fashionable garments. With an innate talent for seeing the transformative possibilities of a garment, she used her sewing machine to make her dreams a reality.
"Last year, I was really into vintage clothing," Trantham said. "The style I wanted was hard to find and expensive. One day I saw this plaid dress from the '80s. Big sleeves, crazy collar—a lot of bad elements that kept people from buying it!" But, all she could think of was The thing is, if she could fix its glaring flaws, it would look great. "This was my first big transformation and ever since then I've been obsessed with finding the potential for transformation in clothing!"
Trantham is no newbie to sewing machines. She admitted: "I started learning to sew 7 years ago, but I only made simple ones and never thought about making clothes! No one would mind a quilt with flaws, but clothes with flaws are not so popular." By taking garments apart, she was able to understand their construction.
If you're interested in transforming secondhand clothes into brand new clothes, Trantham has a simple tip. "Lets get started! Its cheaper to alter clothes than to buy fabric, and it won't be so painful if it doesn't work out!"
Trantham transforms her thrift store clothing finds into trendy dresses.
Some of her "looks" require more work than others...
…but once she worked her magic, every piece looked beautiful.
