D.I.Y. Fashion

DIY. Do It Yourself Fashion Projects are one of my latest obsessions. Next to my hidden desire to design clothes one day, (I have the sketches to prove it) this is the next best thing!! DIY is an easy, fun and creative way to recreate or freshen up your wardrobe without breaking the bank. Ways in which you can re-vamp your wardrobe include: the cutting, sewing, dying, bleaching, embellishing, even spray painting of clothes and/or shoes, to name a few. I started with a simple idea, and it was from there that this hobby began. Since then I've recycled shirts, pants, handbags and my upcoming project, shoes ;) Here are just a few of the items I've already D.I.Y'ed.

BEFORE

The Black Scarf: For me, this is where it all began. I wanted a black scarf for an outfit I was putting together, but didn't have one. So rather than going out and spending at least $15 on a new one, I thought, "Why not dye one I already have but don't really wear?" So that's what I did. I did my research on how to go about dying a garment, what kind of dye to use, etc. I chose Tulip's Permanent Fabric Dye in black ($2.49 at Wal-Mart, but is also available at most fabric and craft stores). I went home, experimented, and loved the results. This project was incredibly easy. There are a couple of ways to dye fabric, i.e., the bucket or the stove. I used the bucket method. This is achieved by combining the packet of dye in a cup of hot water, stirring first before adding this mixture to the bucket of hot water. You want to make sure the dye has dissolved completely before submerging the garment. When the dye was ready, I set the scarf in the bucket and let soak for a couple of hours- making sure to stir frequently for the first 15 minutes and then occasionally for the remainder of the time. After it had soaked, I rinsed with cold water and let dry. Pretty simple right? *Side note- the packet suggests soaking for 30-45 minutes, but I ended up dying the fabric twice and soaking for longer time periods because I wanted the scarf to be jet black. None the less, I was impressed because I had transformed my scarf from light grey to classic black, all while saving money hunnay! 

AFTER

BEFORE

The White Skinny: Who says you can't wear white after labor day??? I agree with this statement in regards to shoes, but clothes on the other hand are a different matter. White pants in the winter are actually quite fashionable in my opinion. They get noticed in the sea of grey, brown and black you see every other woman wearing during those cold months. And who doesn't like to get noticed? But I detract; the white skinny-I've always wanted a pair, but never found any I liked.That is until I decided to make my own. I took a pair of grey skinnys I've had for a while- but never really wore and turned them white by bleaching them. The jeans are from Wet Seal, and I believe they were somewhere in the neighborhood of $15-$20. This project was so easy and cost effective because bleach is something almost everybody has at home. Some methods call for bleaching in a bucket of sorts, but I bleached mine in the washing machine. I recommend this method because it's mess and error free since you wash your whites with bleach in the machine to begin with. I filled the basin about half way up with hot water, poured 5-6 cups of bleach in, and washed for at least 30 minutes. You can repeat this cycle if the garment doesn't come out as white as you like the first time- but remember, bleach reacts with fabric in the first 15-20 seconds of contact. After the wash cycle has completed, put the garment on the rinse cycle in cold water. After the rinse cycle, wash the garment with a little detergent and a little fabric softener to combat the bleach- and let dry. And voila! you now have white skinnys. You'll notice that on mine the grey stitching remained even though I bleached the pants entirely. That is, because most garments we purchase are constructed with a polyester thread, and polyester thread can not retain color if dyed or bleached. There are ways to alter this but they are time consuming and expensive. Soooooo, I'm stuck with grey stitching, but I happen to like the contrast.

AFTER

BEFORE

The Elastic Dilemma: This bubble top from Forever 21, I've had a long time now. It originally had 3/4 length bubble sleeves- but not too long ago those elastic bands broke and I was left with terrible baggy sleeves. I've always liked this top, but stopped wearing it after this particular incident. The other day though, I decided to fix my sleeve problem, and it turns out the top is so much cuter now that I've altered it. All I did was shorten the sleeves, and I achieved this by turning the shirt inside out, cuffing the sleeve up to the inside hem and sewing the two hems together. It doesn't matter what color thread you use since you're sewing on 2 inside seams- no one will ever see it :) Now my top has these cute sort of poofy cap sleeves, and thanks to this quick fix, I like the top even more so than when I bought it! Again, another easy fix that you can do on your own and saves you money. No more trips to the seamstress!

AFTER

So you see, the possibilities of recycling your clothes into something you'd be more likely to wear are endless. So think about it the next time you're ready to throw out or donate old clothes and/or shoes- get creative and get to it! Till then, stay fabulous! XOXO