i created this ensamble made of crisp packets for an 'anything but clothes' party my friend wanted to hold for her birthday. the theme is self explanitory - the outfit can be comprised of anything but actual clothing.
i had a lot of crisp packets lying around from my whole household as i used to take them to work to be recycled, but they stopped the scheme a couple months before the covid lockdowns. and then...i just sort of kept them in my room, one day hoping id be able to travel to a terracycle crisp packet recycling point near me to recycle them.
for this outfit, id created a top, skirt, and a jacket. id originally intended for it to be a complete dress, but i quickly realised i wouldnt be able to move around at all in it so thought it best to split it into two at the waist. i also wanted to make some bow accessories to make the outfit more cute, but i didnt get around to it.
first of all, i spent lots of time washing the crisp packets and preparing them to be used as theyre greasy and sometimes full of bits inside.
the crisp packets are rigid and will not move or stretch like fabric, so it was important i get the top to fit me snuggly. i did this by creating a mould of my bust. to do that, i used a method seen in cosplay a lot. i wrapped myself in cling film, and taped over this with parcel tape, and simply cut down the side to get the mould.
i pinned packets to the mould to help plot the gradient i wanted, and then sewed it all together. i quickly learnt that i needed to use a zigzag stitch, as a straight stitch just ended up ripping the plastic apart. its not pictured but i used velco on the side to get it on and off.
for the skirt, i had to think about how i could make something i could move and dance in. i decided to make the skirt pleated, so it could expand slightly if i sat or crouched, for example. it is difficult to explain how i did this. for these packets, i cut them down the middle of the back panel. so when you laid it out flat, you'd see half the back panel, then the front panel, then the other half of the back. using these back halves, i folded the ones of the right behind and sewed them to their neighbouring packet's left half of the back panel. this created the pleat, and so if gently pulled the garment could widen or shrink. i did three rows of these for length.
i sewed a zip into the side so that it was easy to get in and out, and i also repurposed the sheet from my corpse bride halloween costume for the lining of the skirt, as it was very abbrassive without. for the top, i didnt need to do this as i was wearing a bra beneath.
for the jacket, i decided to go for a cropped puffer style. it was multilayered - the inside was scrap fabric, with a layer of thin bubblewrap ontop, and on the outside the layer of inside out crisp packets. the most difficult part of this was trying to sew the arms to the jacket. i think at some point i gave up and starting stapling things together.
when the party arrived, T made an outfit from fake 50 pound notes, M made hers out of newspaper, and C made hers from an ikea bag. we kept them all a surprise from each other, but its funny how we all chose to make a top and a skirt! another friend, H, just put on an oversized blanket for her outfit. SMH
we probably wore our outfits for a couple hours. my top ended up falling apart, it was freezing out, and we burnt the paper outfits for warmth lol