How To: Dye Your Clothes

I have had this sweater for a while now, and while I still love the cut and fit of it, it wasn't long before I grew tired of the color. It didn't really go with anything else in my closet (which consists of mostly black, white, gray and blue) and I found that I was never wearing it. Still, I wasn't quite ready to part with it either, so I decided I would try my hand at dyeing.

Dyeing this sweater was actually pretty easy, but before you go decide to change the color of everything you own, its important to keep a few things in mind. First, it does matter what your item is made of, and natural fibers will dye best. My sweater is 65% ramie/45% cotton, both natural fibers. Second, a patterned item may not (read: probably won't) turn out well because of all the different shades, so its probably best to stick to solid colors. And finally, no matter the color of dye you use, you are not going to get a super bright, super true-to-hue finished product, but it will still look nice.

Rather than give you a step-by-step how to, I will just post a few pics and recommend that you simply follow the instructions on the Rit color remover and dye, as I did (I know, that makes my post title deceiving...).

I "cooked" my sweater in the color remover for the whole 30 minutes that the instructions recommended and was pretty pleased with how well it took the color out.

After it was good and white, I prepared the dye in my washer (actually my mom's, I was at her house when I did this).  I wanted my sweater to be as dark and vibrant a blue (I used Rit Royal Blue) as possible, so I bought the liquid dye instead of the powder. One liquid bottle is about equivalent of two boxes of powder, but at a better price, so it seemed like the right choice and was easy to just pour right in. If you opt for liquid dye too, remember to shake the bottle before pouring it in the washer. I forgot, even though the instructions told me to, and I had a clump of dye that didn't want to come out of the bottle and then got all over my hands and dyed them blue. Learn from my mistakes.  

The dye did splatter around quite a bit inside the washer, but after I was all done dyeing and washing my sweater, I wiped it down with a wet rag and some bleach based cleaner and it came right off. 

Here is my sweater now:

This isn't really the best picture because I took it when the light was bad, but it shows the new color of the sweater pretty well. I'll admit that it's not as dark or bright of a blue as I hoped for, but you can only do so much with at-home dye, and I knew that when I started. Still, I am happy with it and have already worn it more in the past month than I probably did the whole two years I had it before when it was pink.

Have you ever dyed any of your clothes? How did it go?

Buying vs. Sewing: Which is better?

Sometimes I hear people talking about whether it is better to buy clothes, or to make them yourself, and since I do a lot of sewing I thought it might be interesting to talk about this. Since we now live in a generation where very few women actually can sew clothing, the answer is usually "buy", simply because they know no other way. But for those who can sew, or who want to learn, you may be wondering if it is worth it at all.

When my mom was a teenager, she sewed a lot of her own clothes. At that time it was definitely more cost effective, not to mention completely normal to do so. Patterns, fabric and notions were often considerably less expensive than buying a new, ready-to-wear item.

Today, however, clothing can be made so cheaply (often overseas) that once you buy all the materials you need, plus consider the time it will take to make what you want, that you will often spend more money sewing than buying. However, when deciding if you should make or buy something, it is important to not just compare like items (ie: a store bought t-shirt vs. a homemade t-shirt) but also the quality of items (ie. materials used, weave and durability of fabric, linings, notions, etc). Handmade items are often better quality than store bought items.

For example, if you see a blouse you like at Forever 21, it will probably be priced around $10-$20. We can know from this price, as well as from taking a look over the shirt itself, that this item is probably cheaply made and may not last more than a couple of seasons. If that's ok with you, then it's probably better to just buy the shirt than try to make it, because it will be more expensive once you get all of the materials and account for your time (although you may be able to produce something of better quality).  However, if you see a blouse at Nordstrom, or a store with similar quality items, it will probably priced between $75-$100, and in that case you can surely re-create a similar item (in look and quality) for less.

Here are a few examples of my own recreations when I decided to try my hand at sewing instead of buying:

I saw this dress on Corilynn, and fell in love with it. 

I knew it was a good quality item based on the information given and product reviews, but at $145, it just wasn't something I could afford. In this case it was definitely less expensive for me to make my own version, which I did for around $40, plus lots of time. 

Another example of when sewing may be the way to go is when you want a more custom piece. I saw this dress on Merrick's Art and thought it would be great for summer. 

She made her own design, using a Stella McCartney dress as her inspiration. The Stella McCartney dress is no longer available, (and no doubt would have been beyond my budget anyway) so this is a time when sewing can allow you to create something you can't find in stores. (A custom dress made by someone else will almost always cost a lot of money).

I used the same pattern from my dress above, with a few tweaks, and created this dress for around $30, (plus lots of time). 

It should be noted that while the dresses I made were similar to those that I couldn't afford, they weren't perfect. Patterns vary, as do fabrics, and you may not get the exact fit you were hoping for. This is especially true if you, like me, are an amateur seamstress (I am learning new things all the time) and may not have all the skills needed to get a perfect fit. So while the materials may be cheaper than a ready-to-wear piece, you always risk the possibility of spending that time and money on something that doesn't turn out exactly like you hoped.

Sewing can also be a good option if it's just something you simply enjoy doing. I love to sew, so for me, the extra time it takes to make an item doesn't really feel like an extra expense. But if you don't enjoy sewing, the savings just might not be worth it to you.

What do you think? Is it better to buy or sew?

How To: Shorten a Pair of Jeans (without making them look homemade)

Altering the length on jeans can be a little more tricky than other types of pants or skirts. This is due to the thick denim, the thicker, contrasting thread, and the wash and distressed look on the finished pair. You really can't lengthen jeans, at least without it being super obvious and probably not looking very good, but you can shorten them. There are a couple of ways to do this, but I will only be showing one today.

I found this pair of jeans at the thrift store for $8. I was in need of new jeans and they fit me perfectly everywhere except the length. After giving them a good look over in the fitting room, I decided I would go ahead and buy them and alter them to the right length.

Here's what you need:
Measuring tape
Tailors chalk or marking pencil
Scissors
Straight pins
Hammer
Matching thread in both regular and heavy-duty or top-stitching weights (you may choose a contrasting color for your top-stitching thread depending on your pair of jeans).
Sewing machine
Heavy duty machine needle

1. Try on the pair of jeans and evaluate how you would like them to look. I didn't like how this pair was so bunchy at my ankles and knew right away that I would need to shorten them by at least 2 or 3 inches.

2. Measure the inseam of another pair of jeans that fits you the way you like. The pair I measured has an inseam of 29" so I knew that would be about the length I was going for.

3. Measure the inseam of the jeans you are going to alter. My new jeans measured 32", three inches longer than my ideal pair.

4. Mark with tailors chalk or a making pencil the length to match your ideal pair. Since there was 3" difference in the two pairs, I measured from the bottom of the jean up 3 inches and made a mark. Repeat this all the way around the jeans.

5. Fold and pin your jean up to the mark and try on the jeans again. Because various pairs of jeans will fit differently due to different styles and brands it's important to try them on several times before cutting. When I tried my pair on after pinning it up 3", I found that they looked a little shorter than I wanted, even though they were now a 29" inseam like my ideal pair. I decided to shorten them by only 2" instead of 3".

6. I repeated step 4, but measured up only 2" from the bottom. If your pair fit the way you wanted after the first marking then skip this step and go to step 7.

7.Once you have determined the right length, measure one inch longer than that line and mark, this will be your cut line. So if you plan to make your jeans 4" shorter, make a mark at 4" for your fold line and 3" for your cut line. Cut your jeans at your cut line.

8. Fold your jeans up half an inch and then again another half inch and pin in place. Iron the fold to help it stay put.

9. This step may be optional, but I have found it to be really helpful, especially if you don't have a heavy duty machine. Hammer the new folded hem of your jeans, especially on the seams where it is extra thick. This will flatten out the thick area and allow you to run it through your sewing machine more easily. It's best if you place your jeans on a hard surface (but not your hardwood floors), I just use a small piece of plywood left over from another project. Then hammer away until your seams are good and flat. Careful not to hammer right on your pins!

10. With jeans inside out, sew a straight stitch all the way around and close to the top of the hem using a matching thread. Then, turn your jeans right side out and use a top-stitching or heavy-duty thread to sew right on top of your first stitches, again following them all the way around.

11. Now it's time to distress your jeans. First, fold your hem inward along the stitch line. Using a light grain sand paper, sand gently all the way around this fold. Unfold your jeans and sand all the way around the very bottom fold of the jeans. Then sand a little here and there between the stitch line and the bottom fold of the jeans. The lighter blue color in the pictures below show the areas that I sanded. You may notice that some dye or fibers come off on your sand paper, this is normal.

12. Once you have sanded to your liking, run your jeans through a wash and dry cycle (or hang dry if you prefer). If you want more distressing, sand some more and wash your jeans again. My jeans turned out like this:

All done!

Family Time: "Up" for Halloween

Anyone who knows me knows that I love Halloween.  I don't know what it is exactly, maybe the combination of Fall weather, pumpkin everything, haunted houses, and the fact that you can dress up even as an adult, make it one of the most magical holidays.

When I was a little girl my mom almost always made my costumes. I think it was usually less expensive to do so, and even though I thought the store-bought costumes were really cool, the things my mom made always looked better and were much better quality.  I have yet to make any of our costumes from scratch, but I always find great things at the thrift store that, with a little tweaking and sewing, have made some great costumes. I know it's cheesy, but I love choosing themes each year, and lucky for me, I have a husband who is a good sport about it and I baby who is too young to know any different.

This year, we chose to dress as characters from Disney's Up. It was probably the most work I have spent on Halloween costumes yet (I should have counted the number of feathers I traced, cut and glued), but it was definitely worth it.

Happy Halloween!

How to: Lengthen a hem

Of all the skills I have learned in my life (which may not actually be that many) sewing is by far one of the most useful. I have always loved clothes, but have never had much money to spend on them so being able to make my own clothes as well as alter and repair items has saved me a lot of money over time.

Most recently I bought this cute sweater dress on clearance at Target. It is so comfy but can also be dressed up or just worn casually so I felt like it would be a good addition to my closet. (Please excuse my lack of shoes).

 However, one of the problems I always have with dresses and skirts is that they are never quite long enough. This dress was close, but when I sat down came up just a little too high for my taste. Luckily, it had about a 3 inch hem, leaving plenty of room for me to take it down and add a couple inches in length. Plus the dress just used a regular straight stitch for the hem, rather than a blind stitch which is more common, making this alteration even easier.

Because I wanted to match the look of the original hem, I used extra wide bias tape. Bias tape is so easy to use and inexpensive. You can find it in just about any color and width at any fabric or craft store, or even at Walmart.

First, use a seam ripper to unpick the original seams and lay dress flat.

Next, lay your tape and fabric, right sides together, matching up the edges. You can pin if you want, but probably don't need to. Sew tape onto fabric, using the small fold in tape as a guide.

Trim off the extra tape and your dress should now look like this.

Turn dress inside out and fold up hem to desired length. I wanted the hem seam to be about the same as the original so I folded up the fabric about 3 inches.

Pin all around. If you have slippery fabric you may also want to iron your hem to make sure it stays put when you sew, but this knitted fabric was heavy and easy to keep in place so I didn't worry about ironing.

Depending on the look you want you would now either do a blind hem or a straight stitch. I am matching the original hem so I did I straight stitch as close the the top of the tape as possible. Then I flipped the dress right side out and did a second straight stitch, using the first as a guide and matching the look of the original hem.

Trim off any loose threads and you're all done!