Newnique News

I have been on a mission to upgrade the way I dress in the winter when I work at home.  I am all about warmth and unfortunately that had resulted in flannel pants and not so attractive fleece pullovers.  In the summer I wear colorful tops and crop pants.  I always feel comfortable walking out the door to do errands or have an informal lunch with friends.  I want to stay warm in the winter and still achieve this level of comfort with my daily outfits.  To that end I have been shopping for things I can hack to achieve both goals.

A few weeks ago I bought this purple wool Chico’s jacket at Goodwill.  I was attracted to the felted wool and the delicious color.  When I tried it on – it was not flattering.  Really boxy.  Long in the sleeves and torso and the collar was long and pointy.  I planned on cutting some off the bottom to start and go from there.  First step was to wash it even though it was clearly marked ‘Dry Clean Only’.  I knew it would shrink some but there was a lot of room for shrinkage and I didn’t have much to lose.  If it shrank to much to be a jacket I could make a vest, use the fabric for a great scarf or redonate for a smaller person to find.

I washed in cold water and hung to dry.  When I tried it on – it was just right!!  It was about 4 inches shorter, the sleeves had shortened about 2 inches and the collar had become quite petite.  And the best part is it almost developed a shape.  It seems to be smaller at the waist and the hem flares a little – probably due to uneven shrinkage.  An extra advantage is that the shrinking made the wool even denser and it is really warm.  It is great to wear with jeans or black velveteen pants which are my current replacement for flannels.  Add a scarf and earrings and I am ready to go out.

I forgot to take a before picture, but here is the after.

When you are out at the stores look for fabric and color first.  Buy the things you like and be creative with your finds – it almost always works.

A few weeks ago I bought this linen/rayon tunic top because I liked the simple lines.  I wasn’t as thrilled with the black/white/gray color scheme once I tried it on.  I decided to dye the white areas lime green using Tulip dye and a warm water process.  I did not want to boil the tunic as I had some others because the size did not give me much shrink allowance.  The color turned out quite bright.

I also had this silk scarf that I bought because a) it is silk and b) an animal print.  I love both.  However, in several months I have not worn the scarf because it was so dull.  Once I finished the tunic, all of the green dye was still in the pan.  It somehow seemed a waste to pour it down the drain.  I decided to perk up the scarf and left it in the dye overnight.

As you can see the results were remarkably different for the two garments.  The scarf is greener than the picture shows – almost a mint green.  More attractive than it sounds.I do not know if that is due to the fabric or the fact I started with cold water for the scarf.  And could the tunic have absorbed all of the pigment even though the dye seemed as vibrant as ever.  I don’t know the answer.

A few weeks ago I found this wonderful beaded and sequined sweater.  I enjoyed the feel of it.  Did a quick analysis that it would fit and put it in my yes pile.  I did not see the big ink stain camouflaged as part of the design until I had it home.

I was a little miffed at myself for missing the stain but after I washed it (even though it says dry clean only – what did I have to lose?) and tried it on I was determined to salvage it.  Did I mention how wonderful it feels?  The knit is viscose, nylon and spandex and feels like pure luxury on my skin.

Since it already had sequins I decided to cover the offending ink with black sequins.  I also added a couple more rows to make them look more like part of the original design rather than an after thought.  Here is the ‘after’ and a close up of the sequins.

I am very glad I missed the stain when I bought this.  I played in my closet and already have 5 new outfits based on this sweater.

Look in your own closet and reexamine clothes that you love to see if there is a way you can refurbish them.   If you don’t love them though, get rid of them.  They are not worth the work or the space they are taking.

I bought this shirt at bag day at a recent clothing sale for charity.  The feel of the shirt is wonderful.  It is very soft cotton and I like the way it drapes.  There are two problems with it.  The first is that the ‘white’ is not my true white but a cream color that really takes all of the color from my face.  The second is that after I washed it I noticed a few light stains.

I decided that fuchsia would look good with the black pattern.  I bought a package of Rit powder dye.  Previously, I have dyed items in the washing machine.  This time I wanted to really concentrate the color so I opted for the stove top method.  I followed the directions on the box and simmered the top for 30 minutes.

I then used my washing machine on a short cycle to rinse the dye from the shirt.  I really like the way it looks now. 

If you have never dyed anything, give it a try.  Use something you already have or visit a thrift store to find an item you like but won’t be too upset if the result isn’t what you imagined. You can always redonate.

Imagine the possibilities.

My vision for summer dressing included a pair of comfortable walking and ‘standing’ sandals – I am doing at least one day long craft fair.  I own one pair of red ostrich Dansko clogs and love them for their comfort and uniqueness.  Dansko sandals were high on the vision list.  And last Saturday I found them!!  In Goodwill for $6, I didn’t care that they were marked higher than all other shoes and shoes weren’t included in the half-price sale.   My size in almost unworn condition.  But the color was nowhere in my vision.  They were that heavy brown leather of quality comfort shoes.  Soft, flexible, long wearing, BROWN.  My summer wardrobe is very colorful and brown would not work.  Here they are with Glad Press n’ Seal to protect the insole during the transformation.

I was thinking maybe purple or red would be a good color and then in a flash of inspiration – Silver.  Goes with everything, summery, light.  Next step – how?

A google search turned up these instructions.  I spent about 2 1/2 hours carefully painting the sandals 4 times with a tiny brush.  It would have been much quicker to paint shoes without straps.  I experimented with different silver paints  and found the following.  Craft paints – the kind in the little bottles – were too runny and the color not very saturated.  Artist acrylics were too thick and the color was almost too bright.  I combined the two in a 1:1 ratio for the final coat and liked the results.  I did use the craft paints in the first painting step where the paints are mixed with water with good results.

Love my new shoes.  Colorful, clunky, comfortable and unique.  Not sure how durable the finish is.  I will post in a couple of months with the wear test results.  I can always repaint.  Purple and lime?