DIY: Bleach Dyed Sweat Shirt

If anyone can figure out why oh why

I waited all these years to try bleach dying please let me know! 

I am kinda obsessed with single color 

tie dye which is what inspired this project.

Yet I have never tie dyed anything.

I have had this black sweat shirt for many many years.

It's always been one of my favorites,

but in recent times it's just started to look a little beat.

It needed something.

A pick me up if you will.

So a good bleach tie dye became it's fate.

I found this great DIY on 

Say Yes To Hoboken,

but as many of the things I see on Pinterest,

it didn't really work out for me.

I followed her directions to a T and the only results 

were one or two bleached out marks.

So I became frustrated with the project,

the hubs and I laughed at my waste of a 

perfectly good shirt, and I decided to take this project to the max.

At this point there was no coming back for this top, 

so my fears of "ruining" it went out the window.

I rinsed and rinsed the residual bleach from my first attempt.

I then re-twisted and rubber banded the top while it was still wet.

Part of my hesitation with tie dye or bleach dye in the past 

has been a lack of control, but I shook that off and just 

told myself that this wasn't an exact science.

After the sweat shirt was twisted and banded I

fully submerged the tangled mess into a bowl of straight bleach.

In the previous DIY steps that I had tried to follow

I was told that it would take 12+ hrs to see any change in color.

Well with my way it was almost instant.

With in about an hour I had the top out of the bowl.

I have to be honest with you,

at this point I was pretty sure that the next step for this 

beloved sweat shirt was the trash can.

The entire top appeared to be, well, tan.

I began to cut off the rubber bands on at a time,

as the shirt unraveled beautiful pinks, blacks, and creams were revealed.

Once I got the entire sweat shirt opened up I rinsed it until no more color 

bleed into the water.

I was so pumped up about how this top

turned out that I actually raided my closet for more things to

bleach dye.

Have you experimented with bleach dying?

I would love to see your projects! 

Share your secrets and results! 

Wardrobe Re-fashion

When I first bought this hat years ago,

I was an awful shade of blue.

Not quite navy, not quite royal,

but somewhere in between.

It had a brown ribbon to cap off the dull factor.

Despite how I grew to feel about it,

I did really love it when I first purchased it.

As you can guess it sat in my closet for far too long,

until one day I had had enough.

I ripped off that ribbon, and grabbed a can of black spray paint 

and when to town.

What and improvement.

Now it was the perfect blue/black,

and fit great (which is a big deal when you have an enormous cranium).

Even though I wore it all the time now,

I still felt like it was missing something.

Then one day a few weeks ago,

I decided to get to crafting to finalize this 

year long wardrobe re-fashion.

Here's what you'll need:

hat

fabric scissors

a stip of fabric 

(about 4 inches wide,

 and long enough to wrap around the hat with some over lap.)

pins

hot glue/gun

Step 1:

Fold over hem and pin in place.

Repeat on other side.

I left my band a bit over 2 inches wide.

Once it is pinned, press flat.

Step 2:

I started in the opposite side of where I wanted to

have to two ends over lap.

Apply a stip of glue,

and press down the middle of the strip of fabric. 

Work you way around,

one side at a time glueing a little bit as you go.

When you get around to the ends leave about

2 inches unglued.

Step 3:

At this point you should be left with about 2 inches of fabric on each end.

Twist and manipulate the fabric until it looks the way you want it.

I looked at a fedora that I love and tried to copy that twist closure. 

Glue that into place and then double check to make sure the rest of the band is 

securely glued into place.

Let it dry fully before enjoying this little beauty.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. the hubs was out of town for work early in the week, which is always such a bummer. usually i sulk and whine while he's away just wishing that he was home. i am usually bored out of my mind. but the past few times that he's had to go i have taken it upon myself to enjoy my night. i do all kinds of super girly things. you know like before we were married and i would have ben and jerry/americas next top model marathons. well, my habits of "me time" havn't changed that much, i still love stuffing my face full of ice cream and watching mindless t.v. (except now it's marathons of storage wars) what's wrong with me?
2. the boy has started the "why's". everything i say if followed by his sweet little "why?". while i have already gotten a little tired of the question it is really cool to see his little brain trying to work. i made a pact with myself that i wasn't going to blow these questions off as annoying, or give the "because i said so" answer. he's been asking some tough ones and i honestly think that some times he just gives up because he doesn't understand the encyclopedia explanation that i am giving him, but sometimes you can tell that he's totally piecing things together and really truly understanding.
3. i have been feeling super inspired this week. i feel like everything that i see i am taking in like a sponge and these miny story boards are forming together in my head. i feel like my brain is full of really beautiful ideas and images and words. at the park i am seeing sticks that look like dinosaurs, and standing in front of a wall full of hardware i am seeing really beautiful jewelry. it's funny how the brain works.
4. i came to two really awesome realizations this week. well one really awesome and one pretty sad. the awesome one was finally figuring out what i was going to do with my blue and white polka dot dress. i couldn't be happier with the results. and the other was that what i thought i had figured out to alter my favorite dress (that i have never been able to wear) was absolutely not going to work. it was really sad to have to face the facts: i am never to going to be able to wear this dress. wah.
5. the hubs is opening a new restaurant on monday and the past week was full of training and soft opening events. the boy and i made the journey south to eat some delicious tacos and check out the new spot! it was so much fun and so yummy! we even got to see my best friend and some old friends. it was a perfect date night with the boy.
6. i took the boy to the fair on friday night with some of our friends. i didn't go to the fair much as a kid, not that i really remember any way, and none like this. the south florida fair is by far the biggest i have ever seen. it was so awesome seeing the look on his face as we walked across the fair grounds checking out all the sights and smells. it was an evening i will never forget.
7. my mom and brother and sister came into town for the weekend. it was great spending time with them and so awesome to see my brother and sister finally acting like normal people and getting along!
8. my brother and i did some volunteering for habitat for humanity on saturday. it was so much fun. i love volunteering with that organization. you get to meet some really amazing people and learn some amazing new skills at the same time. i now know how to hang dry wall like a pro!
9. i got the most amazing surprise in the mail this week from my friend kelly. first off i have to say that i love nothing more than unexpected packages! and this one was a double whammy because it included on of my other favorite things in the world....homemade pickles. i can't wait to dig into them....i am waiting for the perfect occasion (ohh....maybe tonight with slow cooked ribs! mmmmm!). the box also contained some goodies for the boy and a jar of homemade sweet corn relish that i want to eat with a spoon!
10. this has been the week of bike rides. the weather has been perfect for toting the boy to the park in the bicycle. this is quickly becoming one of our favorite pass times! he finally has the patience to sit for the entire time and has really gotten into making up stories about what we are seeing along the way. i sure do love that boys crazy imagination.

wardrobe re-fashion

i would like to start off by just saying that you should never under estimate the power of an ugly dress. in the picture above it almost had the power of making me pee my pants i was laughing so hard. the shoulder pads in this thing are out of control! hahaha

 i found this "beauty" at an estate sale last summer with my in laws. they all looked at me like "well i guess if any one could pull that off it would be you?!?!?!" they must have thought i was nuts, or they were just praying that i didn't decide to wear it to dinner.

 it's been sitting in my closet for months now. i couldn't decide what i was going to do with it. for a while i thought that i was going to sell it. then i was just going to cut it up and use it for scraps. then i realized what a gem i was really sitting on. so with literally about 10 minutes of planning, cutting, ironing, and sewing i came up with this....

wardrobe re-fashion

before

after

wardrobe re-fashion

i found this necklace in the back of a drawer.  i think that it belonged to the hubs at some point.  chokers kinda freak me out, i think i must have a fat neck or something. but not to worry....a quick 5 minute DIY can fix just about anything. so my "i am never going to wear this" choker became a longer necklace with just a few snips and the addition of some extra chain.

wardrobe re-fashion

i can't believe i finally sat down and finished this necklace. for years it's been sitting in my jewelry box. i've been afraid to wear it because it's looked like it's been on the verge of breaking and sending 500+ puka shells every where. i am not really sure why i didn't take a before picture of the necklace, but you can use your imagination. i re-strung all the shells and then added the chain in the back to lengthen the necklace. i think my great grandmother would be proud.

10 things i couldn't live without this week:

1. oh man, i am just in love with my new red floral skirt that i found at family vintage. and i am kinda in love with family vintage it self...just found out they will be having another yard sale coming up in september! can't wait.

2. ballet just keeps getting better and better....or maybe it's me that's getting better at ballet. i am not sure how i went for some many years without structured dancing in my life. don't get me wrong....i shake my booty all the time, but the discipline and control that ballet takes is a different story.

3. i can see changes happening in my body. besides the weight loss, i physically look stronger. i am long and lean, and i feel more poised and far more flexible. it's kind of an amazing thing.

4. all this talk about how fantastic i look and feel made me hungry for some deadly gooey chocolate cookies! check out these delicious gluten free lava cookies.

5. i finally got my na fianna cd in the mail. me and the boy can't stop listening/dancing/singing to it. i won a contest a while ago (yes can you believe it....i never win anything) that they were holding to help promote their american/canadian tour. na fianna is a great traditional folk and ballad band from ireland...and you know how i am a sucker for irish music. make sure you check out their album and show some support to the band!

6. i finished my pencil skirt the other day and got to take it out for girls night test drive. it's kind of amazing. and there is something about that skirts color pallet with turquoise shoes that makes me feel complete.

7. i bought my plane tickets for north carolina. the boy and i can't wait to be there! the trip went from being and nice quite family vacation to what sounds like a giant reunion-ish family party. can't wait to see everyone. i have plans to take lots of pictures and maybe spend some time getting lost in the woods.

8. the hubs and i went on a great date night, it's not something that we do often, but when we do it's always amazing. we ate dinner at a place downtown that we always over look...god knows why because it might be the best restaurant we have down there. then we cruised over to our local pub for some drinks with some friends. we ended the night down by the water watching shooting stars.

9. i finally started working on a restoration project that i have been sitting on for a while. my great grandmother gave me a necklace that my father helped make when he was a kid. i have had the necklace for a while and have worn it in the past, but due to the necklaces delicate condition it's been out of the rotation for a quite some time. so i took it apart and started to put it back together again....with a little re-fashioning. can't wait until it's done so i can share it with you!

10. we took the boy for his first movie theater experience. it was awesome! he was so excited when we got there, the look on his face was priceless as he took it all in. we got our popcorn and candy and settled in to our seats to watch the smurfs 3D. not only did he love the movie, but he was so good. he sat in my lap (mostly because his seat kept folding up on him - which was hilarious) with one had in the popcorn and his little 3D glasses on. as soon as we left he wanted to go back.