DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — A 2020 graduate from Central Dauphin East High School has found a unique way to pass the time during the pandemic.
18-year-old Carley Furlow of Lower Paxton Township, Dauphin County has made nearly a dozen outfits and dresses out of household materials, including magazines, duct tape, bottle caps, straws, trash bags, VHS tapes, coffee filters, homework assignments, playing cards, and toilet paper.
"It's kinda funny," Furlow said. "Yesterday we were outside taking pictures at this park, and a lady comes up and she says, 'I have stuff to drop off for you,' and I said 'huh?' and she goes 'yeah you're the girl that makes clothes!' So I'm kinda known as the girl who makes clothes now."
Furlow always had a passion for sewing. At the beginning of the pandemic, she made and donated 1,300 masks to front-line workers. It wasn't until after she ran out of fabric, she started making clothes out of items she had at home.
"I honestly sit at home and go, 'okay we have a bunch of this. How can I wear it?' That's honestly what I do," Furlow said.
Furlow makes the dresses not only to pass the time, but to spread some positivity, as she's given away each of her outfits to other people.
"Everyone's coming from a different place and a different background, and you don't know what people are struggling with at the end of the day," Furlow said. "If I can help one person then I've reached my goal."
Carley's current project is a toilet paper dress with hand made roses on it. She plans to make another dress out of balloons and gum wrappers next.