What a Difference a Dye Makes!

Before                                 After

   

 I purchased this white coat ages ago, probably more than a decade, and it's hung sadly in my closet ever since. Even though I liked the shape and fit, whenever I tried to put it on it didn't feel right. I finally came to the conclusion that it was the white color which felt more like a lab coat than anything. As much as I admire people who wear lab coats, I am not one of them.

So I decided to try my hand at dye, which turned out to be totally fun and easy. First I ordered my Rit Dye from Amazon Prime (LOVE Amazon Prime). It cost $4.06 and was on my doorstep the next day. For this project I chose Denim Blue, but there are many colors to choose from.

This came in powdered form

Although the dye can be used in a washing machine I decided to keep life simple by using my recycling bin with very hot water and stirring it up with a wooden spoon. So easy.

And it turned out marvelously! After the success of this project I am definitely going to start using dye in more of my projects going forward.

       

Refashioned Infinity Scarf to Kimono

Before

This pretty infinity scarf was found at the thrift store for a couple of dollars. Any scarf with enough fabric will work for this refashion. I find it easiest to find a scarf in a width that is pleasing for the length of my kimono. It can be longer or shorter, depending upon your taste. Lengthening or shortening a scarf/kimono can be done with trims or additional fabrics, but I found that keeping it simple gave me a nice clean kimono shape.

Since this scarf had only one seam I cut that off and then hemmed the edges, which then became the center front.

Next I cut the arm holes. I made mine 10 inches deep. You can cut more or less if you like, but this worked well for me. Next you will fold the right sides together so that the front seams are in the middle and the arm slits are on the sides. Then sew across the top edge to create the shoulders. Finally, hem the arm hole edges.

This project took less than an hour to complete, and I was taking photos!

Voila!

Finished kimono jacket, a very light cover up for warm days.

Auction Bricks into garden shed floor

It's summertime in Wisconsin and I've been busy going to auctions, one of my favorite activities. SW and I had discussed buying pavers to cover the dirt floor in the garden shed (which is rapidly developing into a "she-shed".) It was a great idea, but it wasn't until I bought an auction lot of old bricks that I was able to come up with a plan.

The bricks had been collected by someone (thank you someone!) from various places. They were different colors and ages, some quite old. My favorites were the yellow bricks, but there was a limited number of those. Eventually I decided to use the yellow bricks to form a "sun" motif.

Here is a photo of the bricks after we loaded them into our pickup truck and hauled them home. Although the bricks only cost us $15.00 we were a little concerned that the heavy load would break a spring in the truck! It was really riding low to the ground. But we got lucky . . . and home, no harm done. These bricks were piled up in back of a barnyard, so we first loaded them up for transport then unloaded them into our garage. That's two times moved, and then a third time to the garden from the garage. An average brick weighs six pounds. So when I say we moved a ton of bricks, I'm really not exaggerating!

A ton of bricks!

Moving that ton of bricks on a very hot day!

SW and I are not professional bricklayers but we learned some things by going to Pinterest where you can get good ideas and then link to step-by-step instructions for DIY.  We were quite pleased with the finished product and will enjoy sitting in the garden even more than we did before.

Take Care! --The Elevated Bag Lady

Vest Refashion with Applique

I picked up this vest at the thrift store recently.

There are several things about it that I really like:

1. Fits great!
2. Sturdy 100% cotton
3. Has interesting details like those grommets, snaps, pockets and collar.

There are a couple of things I don't like about it:

1. Those rhinestone palm trees on the lower back!
2. It's boring!

Um, No.

I decided to spice up this vest with a vintage remnant that was gifted to me by some vintage relatives (sorry, that was a weak joke at the expense of the relatives) who've spent time in Africa. This piece is too small to do much with, but the color and pattern are so pretty. Those flower and birds in blue and yellow look almost Scandinavian, but that interesting circular pattern is definitely African or even Aboriginal in design. For a vest that hints of safari, I think this will do nicely!

It is probable that you do not have vintage African fabric in your fabric stash. No worries! You can use any large print, like maybe Aunt Mabel's tablecloth with the giraffes? Haha. If the fabric you would like to use is too fragile you can purchase an iron on interface to give it support.

When doing applique you want to make sure that your fabric doesn't shift around. On this refashion both fabrics were sturdy enough to stay where placed when pinned (pins are your friends). When I was able to fold down the edge I did a straight stitch. When I was sewing a raw edge I chose a zigzag.  And to shake it up a little I made sure the front wasn't symmetrical, but if that's your thing, by all means . . .go for it!

I'm looking forward to wearing this with jeans or a denim skirt.

Stay cool and have fun,

The Elevated Bag Lady

Green Sweat Jacket --------> Vest

 

AFTER

BEFORE



 



BACK

 

The little green sweat jacket that grew up into something more fun!

 

I found this green jacket in a thrift store at an amazing BOGO sale, so the cost turned out to be $1.50.  I know, crazy, right?  I had actually seen a green "army vest" in a department store for mega bucks and I new I could fashion something similar from this green jacket. 

 

First I cut off the arms and the collar.  The collar was then split in half and sewn to the bottom of the front to give it a little more length.  I also cut off one of the cuffs on a sleeve and sewed it to the back for more detail.  I have an amazing assortment of vintage buttons that I've been hoarding collecting.  Should I use those amazing buttons on this piece or save them for something better? I decided to use them here.  If something more amazing comes along I'll just cut them off and re-use them. 

 

This vest can be worn with jeans or with a peasant or jean skirt.