Throwback Thursday - RuthAnn's Curtain Gown

Medieval dress, made entirely
from thrifted curtains!

My inaugural Throwback Thursday post is a special Halloween treat. One of my all-time favourite upcycling/creative reuse projects is this medieval gown—made entirely from thrift store curtains.

A few of my friends and I had been invited to a banquet with a medieval theme. We knew we’d need costumes, or “garb,” but none of us had the money for the appropriate rich, heavy fabrics. Almost immediately we turned our attention to thrift stores and charity shops.

Shawl from a recycled tablecloth

People very often donate drapes and other home furnishings when they redecorate, but it isn’t always easy to use those items for their original purpose in your own home. Sometimes they are the wrong size or shape, or it may be that the patterns and colours are just out of date. But they can be absolutely fantastic for other uses, such as costumes.

The teal and gold brocade curtains I found were perfect for my costume. Even the lining was used for the lining of the dress and the sleeves. As my friends and I searched through donated items for the other things we’d need (trims and cording and ribbon), I found two bonus items: The quilted gold piece in the centre of the dress bodice is actually an old armrest cover and the shawl is just a recycled tablecloth.

Centre bodice gold piece used to be an old
armrest cover!

So when you’re planning for dressing up in your fancy or spooky best, don’t forget to reuse!

- RuthAnn (Volunteer)