Upcycled Clothing with Nia Aretakis

EAC’s Workshop Wednesday offerings continue on August 21, 1-4 pm, when instructor Nia Aretakis teaches a session on upcycling clothing. Aretakis will demonstrate simple ways to refresh old clothes into pieces worth wearing again, whether for back-to-school or a fall refresh. This is a BYOC (bring your own clothes) workshop. Students are asked to raid their closets seeking items with holes or stains, or plain clothes to decorate. Using patchwork, hand-sewing, fabric collage, and more, Aretakis will guide participants’ journey into wearable art. A variety of decorative fabrics, trims and adhesives will be included, all students will need is their clothing items and some creativity.

Garments that will work well for this workshop’s techniques are loose cotton tee shirts, denim shorts or jeans, cotton dress shirts, or cotton/denim jackets. Tight or stretchy clothing is not ideal for this workshop; materials like cotton and denim are best.

The session is designed for students ages 12 to adult. Students age 10 and 11 may attend with an adult helper. Workshop fee is $20 per person. A sliding fee scale (pay what you can) is available by request. Space is limited and reservations are required, reserve below or by email to workshops@eastportartscenter.org.

Aretakis has been involved at EAC for many years, as a student and a teacher. She graduated from the New Brunswick College of Craft and Design in June. Her area of study was fashion design; her first fashion collection was shared in April at the college’s Annual Runway Show

This session has been supported by the Belvedere Traditional Handcrafts Fund of the Maine Community Foundation.