Last Friday 2 friends and I went to the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church) to see an exhibition of fashion by Dutch fashion designers. You can read more about it, and see better photos than mine, here.

The exhibition showed clothing from the 17th century up to the present time. It was really interesting and inspiring. I’ll put my best photos at the end of this post.

There was one exhibit that gave me ideas about what to do with the many pairs of jeans with holes in them that I’ve been saving.

The designer cut up old jeans, created a patchwork fabric, then sewed new jeans out of that fabric. I love this idea! This is what I will do with my old jeans collection and sew the fabric into a jumper or sleeveless A-line dress. I just hope that my sewing machine is up to all that heavy fabric. These pieces have been top stitched with the gold thread used on Levi’s jeans which I really like. Time to get a heavy duty sewing needle! I also really like the added stitching on some of the squares. I don’t think I’ll add the paint/bleach though. 😉

Here’s another view with the ”Amsterdammertje” under his butt.

If you’re local, or planning a visit between now and 3 April 22, I highly recommend you go see this exhibit. AND you get to see a church which was first built in 1409. It’s pretty impressive in its own right.

More photos from the exihibit…..

And now a few photos of the church. The lighting is very dim, but you get the idea.

There is information in English about the church on their website. Since 1979 it has been a place for exhibitions, official State events, concerts, etc. It sits right on Dam Square so if you are visiting it’s hard to miss! Well worth a visit no matter what is taking place at the time.