Dress Up Your Walls by Repurposing a Goodwill-Found Gown as Art
Create a truly one-of-a-kind piece of wall art by upcycling a sequined dress. Pair it with a thrifted frame and you have an eye-catching art piece for just a few dollars.
In addition to being a conversation starter, your dress-into-art is also good for Mother Nature because you are reusing items and keeping them out of landfills.
Here’s how:
Step 1: Pick up a party gown at Goodwill
Look for your good at Goodwill in the form of a pretty party dress to reuse as art for your place. You are always encouraged to look beyond an item’s current function (clothing) to consider what it could be transformed into (wall art). At every nonprofit Goodwill retail store, you will find a wide array of donated dresses on sale for lovely low prices.
While shopping for items to decorate my home for the holidays, I saw this cocktail dress. Its shimmery style, colors and black background were perfect for my place and was first reused as a colorful foundation on which I created a holiday vignette. (See photo). Therefore, this dress got repurposed twice—once as a holiday decoration and now as art. Love it!
Design Idea
Goodwill has scarves and other items made of fabric you can easily reuse this way, too. Neckties could be upcycled as framed wall art as well.
Step 2: Grab a frame & you’re good to go
During your Goodwill shopping excursion, look for a nice frame to upcycle, too. While the frame I found was good sized, consider using several smaller frames for your wall art DIY project. You could reuse the same dress fabric in each smaller frame or find other matching material to cut and reuse.
As you are able to see, the frame featured here has a nice mat with a pink layer to it which picks up the pink tones in the sequins, so the final appearance looks intentional.
DIY Idea
If you come across a frame that works but the color isn’t what you are seeking, consider painting it. If you can’t find a frame you like, think about picking up a canvas at Goodwill to reuse as the base for your wall art.
Step 3: Deconstruct your frame and gown
Carefully take apart your frame, removing any hangers and hooks as well as fasteners and screws. If your frame has glass (the ideal choice), carefully set it aside with the outer frame so it doesn’t get broken. Place your frame’s backing on your workspace as this will anchor your dress/gown parts.
Enlist some sharp scissors to cut away zippers, straps and extra internal fabric from your dress. You are basically seeking to get to just the raw fabric. As always, keep any big scraps and other parts to reuse for future DIY projects.
Step 4: Hot glue your gown in place
Place your dress fabric on top of the frame backing and do your best to smooth it out. Based on your gown’s material, you might need to iron it to make it as flat as possible. Trim away extra fabric after you hot glue gun your dress material in place so that you are left with a square/rectangle on top of the frame’s backing.
Go back to your piece with your glue gun to ensure the edges are securely in place.
Step 5: Reconstruct for reuse
Carefully place your frame with its glass face down (and with its mat face down, too) on your workspace then flip over your fabric-covered frame backing and place it back in the frame. Bend any fasteners/holders to keep the back in place now.
Screw any hangers back in place and your dress wall art piece is ready to be hung up!
6. Create an eye-catching vignette
Hang your upcycled dress/art piece in a favorite spot on your wall. Add an elegant lamp, plant stand, figurines and other items (also found at Goodwill for just a buck or two) to create an inviting vignette. Take a step back to admire your DIY handy work, then pat yourself on the back for being a smart shopper and a creative decoration maker!
Here’s to a Happy 2025 and making our community thrive!
Similar Reads:
- How to DRESS Up Your Front Door with Thrifted Fabric
- DIY: Give a Mirror the Royal Treatment With a “Frozen” Transformation
Tim Kime
Artist, Motivational Speaker, Life Coach
