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Have you ever seen a piece of clothing at a thrift store and thought, “This would be perfect if it were only my size!” Or maybe if it didn’t have these weird puffed sleeves or a glittery collar. Most of us simply turn down a piece like that because we don’t have the skills or resources to do anything about it, but some particularly innovative individuals can actually take a piece of clothing that leaves much to be desired and transform it into something they will proudly wear for years to come.

Allow us to introduce you to Sarah Tyau. Self-proclaimed Refashion Designer and mom of three, Sarah is famous for taking old or undesirable clothes and transforming them into adorable looks for her and her family. We’ve gone through Sarah’s Instagram page and picked some of her most amazing pieces to share with you below to show how far a little creativity and a sewing machine can take you. Keep reading to also find an interview with Sarah to hear some updates on her life since she last spoke to Bored Panda and a little bit more about her process. Be sure to upvote all of your favorite looks, and then if you’re interested in checking out our first story featuring Sarah’s incredible clothing transformations, you can find it right here.

#1

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$5 XXL men’s shirt from Target clearance into cute girls dress.

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Rachel Walsh
Community Member
4 years ago

XXL clothes sit on the rack forever! This is a great way to make sure they don't end up in the landfill.

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    #2

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    Made a waist-tie and a matching headband too from the extra fabric. Doesn’t she look adorable?

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    Agent 8433599
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Super cute!

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    #3

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    Vic_UA
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    this one is my favoutite!

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    #4

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    I’ve failed every single time I tried to dye a clothing red but I refused to give up! Do you think my perseverance paid off?

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    Agent 8433599
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Wonderful!

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    #5

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    Agent 8433599
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Actually, the Before would look good with just a cute belt. But the After is still adorable!

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    #6

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    Thrifted dress into a removal peplum dress, so you can wear it with or without!

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    kathryn stretton
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Love this

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    #7

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    ChickyChicky
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    It also fits her short body better. Petites have a hard time with things looking baggy at the top and around the butt/thighs.

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    #8

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    Before/after. 1. Dyed the dress. 2. Removed the collar and made into a v-neck. 3. Cut across the waistline to separate the bodice from the skirt. 4. Made the bodice narrower by cutting 1.5” off each side, then added darts. 5. Gathered the waistline of the skirt and sewed it back on to the bodice. 6. Cut off 10” to make the skirt shorter. 7. Using the extra fabric I cut off from the skirt, made pockets and added it to the skirt. 7. Cut off the sleeves. 8. Cut the armhole to make the shoulder narrower. 9. Made the sleeves smaller and sewed it back on. 10. Using the extra fabric from the skirt I cut off, made a waist-tie. 11. Removed the buttons and sewed on new wooden buttons. Any questions?

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    Ladytron
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Pockets!!

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    #9

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    Size medium coat to a bib skirt. I wished I could make it into a cropped, straight-leg overalls but there was only enough fabric to make it into a knee-length skirt.

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    Tuna Fish
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Love this.

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    #10

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    I found this dress from a thrift store years ago and just got around to refashioning it!

    I thought about changing out the buttons with more modern ones or replacing with little red bows but decided to keep the original buttons to keep the vintage vibe going. Then paired it with vintage style heels and red lipstick!

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    That other Panda
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    ✨YESSS!✨

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    #11

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    I added black ruffle trim to a plain black tee by playing around with the trim until I came up with what I call a “Ruffle Around Me” top. What do you think of this top?

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    Tuna Fish
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    I love this. It's the simple to wear yet elegant enough to dress up that I like.

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    #12

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    My old skirt ⮕ Suspender skirt for her.

    I actually bought this skirt from a yard sale my friend had 2 years ago but never ended up wearing it. Last week my daughter told me she needed a cute skirt or a dress, and her favorite color being blue, I thought of this design for her.

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    Ola Polowczyk
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Pockets! 😁

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    #13

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    XXL men’s shirt into a bell sleeve girls’ dress

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    Featherytoad
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    The money that can be saved, especially since kids grow so fast.

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    #14

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    The dress is too big and the shape didn’t flatter me.

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    Demongrrrrl
    Community Member
    Premium
    4 years ago

    That shape wouldn't fit anybody.

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    #15

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    While I loved the fabric and the fit was perfect, I wasn’t in LOVE with the dress. So I removed the ruffles and gave a simple update using white bias tape. The bias tape has worked magic! So what do you think? Do you like the before or the after?

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    Deborah B
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Wow. Amazing how just replacing the ruffles with white trim changes the outfit.

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    #16

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    Gigi
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    oh, those are nice pants :(

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    #17

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    Look what a 30 min. could do to a dress! Don’t you think this would make a perfect Fourth of July dress?

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    Ladytron
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    I prefer the "before" on this one, it gave that relaxed vibe.

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    #18

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    Agent 8433599
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    That's super cute!

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    #19

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    hot_noodle_soup
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Woah these are completely different! I love both but the transformation is really cool.

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    #20

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    I made the shoulder ruffles significantly smaller, shortened the sleeves, cut off the bottom tier of the skirt and sewed it back on after shortening the main skirt bodice about 8”, then added navy blue trims on the tier and the waist.

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    Dolevaal
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    I kinda like the dramatic style of the first one

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    #21

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    Two men’s shirts into one dress.

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    Ms. Human Being
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Cute!!!!

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    #22

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    Women’s suit to dress refashion DIY.

    Project cost: $8
    Estimated time: 3 hours
    Skill level: Intermediate

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    Vic_UA
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    I liked the before version :)

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    #23

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    My newest Refashion Revision where I transformed a large men’s flannel shirt into a dress for my sweet girl

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    Ruth Hempsey
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    She looks cute! Amazing transformation.

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    #24

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    MacKenzie Moore
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    oohh! I really like this one!

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    #25

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    One of my most pinned refashions! See how I solved not having enough fabric, even after using every scrap of fabric of this denim dress.

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    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Buying an item just for the fabric, good idea.

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    #26

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    A simple fix makes all the difference!

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    Ruth Hempsey
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    She seems to make belts on a lot of her remakes, using the fabric from the original itself. I'm sure I can see one on this around her waist, blending into the fabric. Either that or she elasticised the waist. It's a huge improvement regardless. Wish I had her skills.

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    #27

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    Auntriarch
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Love the pockets

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    #28

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    Maxi
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    This one is lovely

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    #29

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    Since I made the skirt longer on my last DIY, it reminded me of this refashion where the dress was way too small that it couldn’t even zip up so I made it bigger!

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    CaliCoast
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Both are cute

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    #30

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    Bought the closest matching fabric to the dress and added puffy pleated sleeves. Are you a fan of the sleeves or no?

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    LisaMarie
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Definitely better without the sleeves.

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    #31

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    zububonsai
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Wow.

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    #32

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    Izzy Curer
    Community Member
    4 years ago (edited)

    I think I like the first one better. Both are cute

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    #33

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    This was my HARDEST dyeing attempt for one dress in my entire DIY experience! I initially tried to dye it to a prettier, brighter pink like a salmon pink but it went way too dark. So I tried to dye it white but it was way too stubborn and only would give me a cream-yellowish color no matter what I tried! So in the end I tried to go for a Robin Blue color. I tried a total 9 times to get the right color!!

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    Wonderful
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    These posts are also great to show what just a little ironing can do all on its own. So many ppl just see wrinkles and ignore it.

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    #34

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    Wonderful
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Wow that before dress is pretty bad but the refashion is perfect. The before dress makes me wonder who actually thought that would be a good dress to begin with.

    #35

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    Faded light yellow dress suit transformed into a fuchsia peplum dress.

    Estimated time: 3-4 hrs.
    Budget: $10
    Skill level: Intermediate to advanced

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    #36

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    The Refashion Runway: 6 weeks of elimination, 6 challenges, and 1 final winner.

    Week 3 Challenge: Handbag, Tote bag or Clutch. Swipe to see the other handbag I made for my daughter.

    I knew I wanted the bag to be made out of black leather so I scoured a couple thrift stores to find the right one. After taking it apart, the leather was thinner than it seemed at first, so I thought it would be perfect to add fringe, it’s light enough to have movement but thick enough so it doesn’t look stringy.

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    #37

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    In partnership with Dove, I turned a $4 thrifted blouse into a sleeveless bow-tie blouse that’s perfect for transitioning into Fall. I’ve been using Dove Advanced Care Antiperspirant since I was 14 years old, but recently converted to a Dry Spray Antiperspirant fan! Dove Dry Spray provides the same 48-hour odor and wetness protection I love and goes on instantly dry – perfect for a finishing touch on this blouse.

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    Agent 8433599
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    I totally love this!

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    #38

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    #39

    Old-Clothes-Recycle-Transformation-Sarah-Tyau

    They had a plethora of XL’s and XL’s only on clearance. The price kept going down and down because nobody was buying. I bet the rest went to a landfill!

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    #40

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    Men’s shirt to a crop top + skirt combo.

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    #41

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    I saw this plain XL shirt from a clearance rack at Old Navy for $5 and knew I had to buy it because I loved the color. Inspired by a shirt from Anthropologie, I did my best to make it look as close as possible to the inspiration. And if you look closely on the “after”, you can see the green markings from my disappearing marking pen.

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    #42

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    Jackie Lulu
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    Wow!

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    #43

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    Wore this dress to a “80’s casual dress” themed church event(Young Women Excellence) for my daughter tonight because I thought it meant “a 80’s dress” but upon walking in and seeing everyone in jeans, big earrings, crimped hair and side ponytails, I knew I didn’t get the right memo(like that one time when I walked into a non-costume Halloween party as Maleficent.).And about this dress, if you saw this dress(the before) at a thrift store, would you:1. Buy and wear exactly as is2. Skip right along to the next itemTrying to gauge since I always get some unhappy people whom are angry that I’m taking away bigger-sized options from them(this is only a size 6-8).

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    Wonderful
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    How dare you take this dress away from someone else to wear and look awful in. In all seriousness more than likely the dress would have sat there for a crazy long time then eventually sent to another warehouse and from there end up in a landfill somewhere or as padding in a couch or something. Nobody would wear this dress now unless they had to and even then they would probably say screw it and go naked.

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    #44

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    My newest Holiday refashion for you!

    I feel like some people would look amazing in the before but not me! But I loved the red plaid pattern and the thick, warm, high-quality fabric so I had to find a design to suit me!

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    Izzy Curer
    Community Member
    4 years ago (edited)

    The After shirt, but keep the pants. It would have been so retro chic

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    #45

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    Turned this plain women’s top into a fun design with a pleated detail(using a fork!) and navy blue ribbons

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    CatGirl
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    This is really nice - nice length and I love the sleeves

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    #46

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    When I have two very similar dresses, I love dyeing one of them to get a different look!

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    Izzy Curer
    Community Member
    4 years ago (edited)

    Have to say I prefer the white one.

    #47

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    Super old refashion when my oldest daughter was tiny! I used to wear this skirt when younger but it was now too short for me so I sewed the sides narrower and turned it into a skirt for my little girl. Super simple way to upcycle a skirt that’s too short!

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    #48

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    One of my 1st refashions where I combined a plain cardigan & a dress slip(both from my closet) to make a new cardigan.

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    #49

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    Am I too old to pull off the original length? Or is that just me thinking that based off of my programming? Either way, this would be my New Year’s Eve party dress… if I was going to some cool party. The party I’ll be going to is still cool, but it’ll be with my mom, aunties and uncles and all my kids

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    猫草
    Community Member
    4 years ago

    definitely not too old. she looks nice in both pictures. even if you‘re a hundred years old, wear whatever skirt length you feel good in.

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