Snowpants: an up-cycling story

We plan to host a pandemic safe clothing swap in the Spring (you can find out more about those plans and how you can be involved here) There are so many benefits to a clothing swap: community building, saves money, keeps clothing in use, out of the landfill, but also, some good stories and funny connections.

My son got these snowpants when he was six. It was the year of the ice storm and the natural ice rink at June Rowlands Park. He is now 13 and taller than his mother; he outgrew these snowpants 5 or 6 years ago and swapped up for a bigger size. This week his well used pants (name still on them) returned in a trade with a neighbour- they have been through many hands in between.  The plan was to swap another pair of outgrown pants for these, so I could do an up-cycle experiment. It was a surprise to see them again.

The pants are good sturdy pants, and once I saw them, it seemed a shame to cut them up (plus the side zippers wouldn't work for my experiment) so they became an experiment in mending instead. We usually seek out natural fabrics to up-cycle but also have accumulated some funky acrylic indoor/outdoor fabric samples. These are all indoor/outdoor swatches that can last for 15,000 double rubs! (I don't know what that means but seems durable.)  NOTE: These fabric samples accumulate with designers and furniture shops, and get tossed, so you can ask your local upholsterer or designer if they have any.

True up-cycling- this is an improvement on the original.  The traveling pants are modeled here by the original owner -much too big for them- as we pass them on back again, with a bonus patch if needed to get them through to Spring and their next story.