Thrifting and scouting for sewing projects

We have visited Haraj twice this month already. Haraj, also known as Princess Souk, is a flea market in Riyadh located less than an hour away from the city center. Many people, both locals and expats go there to buy second-hand clothes, gowns, blankets, bags, and other supplies. For someone who enjoys thrifting like I do, that place is exciting. The reason for our visits? I was looking for cheap, old clothes to practice on my sewing.

I convinced my husband to buy me a Brother JA1400, which was on sale last month. Its features were simple and all that you need when you're just beginning to learn the craft. Machine sewing was a little overwhelming for me, since I have never owned a sewing machine or operated one before. Back then, we had an old Singer manual sewing machine that was kind of off-limits to us kids, because we might break it. My mom made several sewing projects both by machine and by hand like pillowcases and shorts. 

I was excited to start sewing when I got the machine - I read the manual, learned the parts, and started practicing. And in no time, I started repairing my husband's trousers and my black robes/abaya that were too big. Doing these alterations saved us a few bucks and helped me become confident to sew.

On our first visit to the flea market, I didn't find anything interesting to work on but luckily, my husband found a shirt that he could wear to the office, only that it was too big. No problema, I can fix that. And here's what it looked like before and after.

I made some alterations to the length, width, and armholes' size

I tried to finish the original hem of the shirt and it came out pretty decent:

The lines were a bit wobbly, but hey, I'll get better

On our next visit, I made some thorough digging in all the stalls we could squeezed in. It was a Friday afternoon, and there were more people in Haraj. We stayed away from crowded stalls, and I found some items that I liked. I bought them for 14 SAR - it was that cheap. Most of the items there were still in good condition, and women's clothes were always cheaper than men's. And although the sellers would shout out loud that the clothes they sell were clean and recently laundered, I would recommend a couple of wash to be sure the clothes were clean and smelled nice.

Thrifted, and waiting for some alterations

For the past three weeks, I have enjoyed sewing and finding ways to repair our clothes. I realized how easy it was to make clothes fit better, especially the clothes that have become loose (due to wear and tear, and some because of weight change.) It feels good to wear clothes that fit us well. I am still many steps away from attempting to make a whole dress or to follow a decent dress pattern, but I'm excited to learn how. Cheers to more sewing projects!☺