Celebrate National Op-Shop Week with This Super Cute Thrift Flip
- Words by Peppermint
words and process shots HANNAH KLOSE photos KELLEY SHEENAN
If you’ve been looking for an excuse to hit the op-shops, we’ve got you. This week in Australia is National Op-Shop Week, so we asked op-shopping queen Hannah Klose of Never Ever Pay Retail to show us how to make the most of the beloved oppy.
Obviously, this National Op-Shop Week I’ll be thrifting seven days straight… so it’ll be a fairly normal week for me! But something I’ll also be working on is ways to get more mileage out of the preloved pieces I find.
It still blows my mind that some people buy garments, wear them once, get the snap for Insta and send them on their way to landfill. This week I’m taking on the challenge from sustainable fashion advocate,and founder of Eco Age, Livia Firth to ensure I get 30 wears out of each piece of clothing I thrift.
Matching sets are still a major vibe this spring, especially tops and skirts with a little bit of skin showing in between. When I found this shift dress for $5 at a rack sale a few weeks ago, I couldn’t resist doing a little DIY! And you can too! It’s actually a super basic flip and only took me half an hour. Get ready to turn a simple dress into a whole new wardrobe (cue the Aladdin soundtrack)!
Here’s What You Need
Sewing machine
Thread
Elastic
Pins
Scissors
Let’s Get Making
STEP ONE // Thrift a shift dress in a midi or maxi length (the longer the better so you have more material to play with).
STEP TWO // Try the dress on to figure out where you’d like your crop to finish and your skirt to start, and mark with a pencil or safety pin. Always go longer than you think for the top and remember to allow 3cm for the seams to feed your elastic into.
STEP THREE // Lay the dress flat and cut a straight line across where you’ve marked to create your separates.
STEP FOUR // If the dress is super shifty and you have a lot of fabric width-wise you may want to take your top and skirt in at the sides – this will depend on how bunched up you want your elastic seams to be.
STEP FIVE // Zig-zag stitch or overlock your edges where you’ve cut the fabric to prevent fraying and then turn the top and skirt inside out and fold a seam that’s wide enough to feed your elastic through. Either use pins to hold the seam in place or iron the seam flat so it’s ready for sewing.
STEP SIX // Straight stitch the seam leaving a 2cm gap on one of the side seams to feed the elastic through.
STEP SEVEN // Wrap the elastic around your midriff to work out the length you’ll need for the crop top, then repeat around the waist for your skirt.
STEP EIGHT // Pop a large safety pin on one end of each elastic strip to help with feeding the pieces through each seam and then use safety pins to connect the ends.
STEP NINE // Before stitching the ends together, try the top and skirt on to make sure the elastic is tight enough to keep both in place but not too tight that it cuts off your circulation! Once you’re happy with how the separates feel, stitch the elastic ends together and then seal off the seams.
STEP TEN // If your dress came with a tie for the waist, wrap it around the top of your skirt for a nice little finishing touch.
STEP ELEVEN // Take your matching set for a spin or mix and match with what’s already in your wardrobe!
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Pattern via the link in bio! 🪡
Photos: @KelleySheenan
Fabric: @Spoonflower
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Raise those needles, folks – art and craft can change the world. 🧶
Link in bio for the pattern.
Images: @Gather_Fiber @NeedleAndSkein @a2ina2 @KyraGiggles Sandi.204 @WhatTracyMakes AllieKnitsAway Auntabwi2
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Life Instyle – Sydney/Eora Country
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Head to the link in bio now 📞
*Not a real number in case that wasn`t clear 😂
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As the world careens towards AI seeping into our feeds, finds and even friend-zones, it`s becoming increasingly hard to ignore.
We just wanted to say that here at Peppermint, we are choosing to not print or publish AI-generated art, photos, words, videos or content.
Merriam-Webster’s human editors chose `slop` as the 2025 Word of the Year – they define it as “digital content of low quality that is produced usually in quantity by means of artificial intelligence.” The problem is, as AI increases in quality, it`s becoming more and more difficult to ascertain what`s real and what`s not.
Let`s be clear here, AI absolutely has its place in science, in climate modelling, in medical breakthroughs, in many places... but not in replacing the work of artists, writers and creatives.
Can we guarantee that everything we publish is AI-free? Honestly, not really. We know we are not using it to create content, but we are also relying on the artists, makers and contributors we work with, as well as our advertisers, to supply imagery, artwork or words created by humans. AI features are also creeping into programs and apps too, making it difficult to navigate. But we will do our best to avoid it and make a stand for the artists and creatives who have had their work stolen and used to train AI machines, and those who are now losing work as they are replaced by this energy-sapping, environment-destroying magic wand.
Could using it help our productivity and bottom line? Sure. And as a small business in a difficult landscape, that`s a hard one to turn down. We know other publishers who use AI to write stories, create recipes, produce photo shoots... but this one is important to us.
`Touch grass` was also a Merriam-Webster Word of the Year. We`ll happily stick with that as a theme, thanks very much. 🌿
