Clothing Exchange

I invited friends over last night and we held a clothing exchange is our dorm room. This was the first time I have done this with friends and it turned out so well! Our room was transformed by piles of clothes. Everyone went through their closets and sorted out clothing that they no longer wear or want. It was motivating to get rid of stuff because you knew that you could find something really great in return. The rules were that you could pick out however many items you brought. Four example, if one person brought five things, she could pick out five things from what everyone else had brought. This rule was not really necessary for us because no one reached their limit but for a larger exchange it would be helpful. This first exchange was a success, each of us found at least two or more things that we wanted and all the leftovers we donated. For future exchanges I would definitely make it a bigger event because the more people and clothes that their are, the better chance there is for everyone to find new things and for sizes to match up.

If you've never done an exchange like this, try it! It is so easy to plan and a very economical way (Go green!) to get new clothes and pass on some beloved pieces that never looked right on you anyway. Although I was not able to attend, a woman at my church set up a clothing exchange one Saturday last year. I heard it turned out really well, with many people in the church participating. The Sunday after it was open to anyone to look at before they donated the rest and I found a cute shirt.

Child's Summer Dress

I have doing so much sewing lately! One of my most recent projects is a dress for a three and a half year old girl. This was the midterm project for my sewing class, everyone made clothing for a little girl my teacher knows through church who is in need of more clothing. I followed Simplicity pattern 3510. The pattern was pretty straight forward. All the tucks on the dress lined up without any problem. The only confusing part was the patch pockets. I used the Reader's Digest New Complete Guide to Sewing for instructions on rounded patch pockets. I am very pleased with how it came together!

Dorm Decor

Finally I though I'd post a few pictures of our room! It has looked like this for awhile but I never got around to taking and uploading photos. It was fun going to Ikea this last fall and picking out curtains and finding curtain rods and such. My desk and closet are on the left side of the room and my bed is the one that is higher. We put it up on risers so that there is space of the person below.