H&M Jean shirt X DIY

This was my friend, Tel’s original idea. She showed me a picture of a shirt from H&M that she should’ve bought for her now fiance but when she was actually going to buy it was gone already. Too bad! Then, she told that it can be done by just cutting off the sleeves of a jacket and attaching a new sleeves to the jacket.

This was that H&M shirt minus the navy blue sleeves. Couldn’t find the exact shirt.

Finding your materials
So it instantly sparked my creative juices, I got off to the nearest thrift store to find some cool pieces that I can deconstruct. Luckily, I got something with 160 pesos, a pair of jackets in muted colours.

Dyeing
The shirt on the right side is too pale for blue so I decided to dye it to navy blue to emanate like a denim. See instructions for dyeing here.
While for the khaki brown shirt on the left, I didn’t go for dyeing it since fabric dyes here are little too limited with colours it might turn out like mahogany so I’m saving it. Hehe.

Chopping and attaching the sleeves
1. Measure the length from the middle of your palm to your shoulders and then use this measurement for the length of your sleeves. What I did was I gave a few allowance like 2 cm from the sleeve and then cut it out.
2. If you know how to sew using a machine then go for it. As for me, I opted to have it sewn from my friend.

And Voila!

Thoughts?

 

If You Like It Then Put A Stud On it

I am putting the spotlight to my black Marithe Francois Girbaud Rucksack bag, a vintage item circa 2005. Hehe. I was really not happy at first when I bought this. I think I just bought this on impulse. But it’s just recently that I unraveled my love for it. The rusty old faded  look gave this bag a new image. And to top that, I installed studs to make it look a little edgier.

With my project number 2, I placed matte brass studs that looked perfect for my denim top. I placed them unevenly on the upper part of the  pockets. This denim shirt is my fave. I t looks so legit with the studs. :)

Tip: When installing the metal studs, be sure to lay them first with the arrangement that you like  before locking them up. Be careful not to prick yourself, studs have really sharp edges for the lock. You can use a flat screwdriver to flatten these sharp edges.

Talking about epiphany here. Happy!

What do you guys think of the end result? :)

♛ AUK ♛

It’s Tough Love, Denim Love

I must admit I have this fixation with denims. Or an obsession probably. From tops to bottoms, I must have it. And just by having these amazing hauls keeps more happy than actually wearing them. Right! It’s quite nice to have a dependable denim top and pants. You can never go wrong with your trusty old denim.

Although it’s super hot now, and wearing this denim top with this weather is quite self-punishing. But of course there are light weight jeans that could still be worn.

This is my growing collection of denims. All of these were just thrifted from almost anywhere. With a creative mindset, I turned each of these outfits even cooler from various fabric manipulation techniques like dyeing and bleaching. Though not that refined,  I am just so happy of what I have achieved.

The things that you value the most are the things you have worked hard for.

♛ AUK ♛

Acid Wash Wednesday

Since I have lots of time to spare, it's time for some DIY!

I have this denim vest for more than a year now and just recently, I sent it over to the tailor for some alterations. It is looking sad and drab now so I thought of giving some life to it by bleaching or acid washing it. But before I poured myself into doing the project, I searched the web for some tips to go with me.

Warning: If you are planning to use your designer denim, you might want to rethink this because you might end up with a hot mess and hate yourself for sacrificing a precious gem in your closet. Instead, you can opt for your Mom's or Dad's old jeans or you can just buy at thrift stores.

Now let's start!

You will need:

1. Bleach

2. Spray Bottle

3. Denim Vest

4. Basin

What to do:

1. Lay your garment on a flat surface that you won't get worried of bleaching like your garage floor.

2. Wash the denim vest with running water. I used the hose to wash it.

3. Start splattering the bleach over the denim to your desire. You can use a spray bottle to get a localized spot bleach. Start with the front and then at the back. You can also put box boards to lay your garment to absorb the bleach and to prevent it from spreading to areas you don't want to be bleached.

4. Let the bleach set into the denim for a few minutes.

5. Once you got the faded look you aimed for, you can toss the denim into the basin and pour on cold water to halt further bleaching. Afterwards, you can wash it and put some fabric conditioner. Let it dry.

Voila! Your fresh and edgy denim vest!

Before/After

♛ AUK ♛

Out and about

Sauntering the mall, I took the chance for a close-up. Yearly, SM malls comes up with different themes and this year they have Christmas village/Candyland that kids and kids at heart would really enjoy. I was really in a hunt for something that I don't know (crazy) but that will surprise me.

DIY PART: I was sporting a checkered shirt.  The shirt was from a thrift store that I bought for 200 Pesos. It was hanging inside my closet for a while and I haven't wore it for a long time so I thought of deconstructing it.  So there is really no pressure of making it look good right away. Voila, it looks even more wearable.  When I cut the sleeves, I gave a few centimeters allowance to allow clean finish look but later I have decided to leave it as it is for a more raw and undone look.

Comments? Suggestions? Drop them here.

Denim Darko

Do you have a pair of jeans that you have loved before but not anymore? And you still can not let it go. I have a simple remedy for that. Old jeans will fade out in time. Dyeing is the answer. This will save it from potential handing it down to whoever. I have a favourite pair of jeans that I purchased circa 2009 that I still want to stay in my closet. My friends even tease me that they want to have my jeans but I just shrug it off. Haha. This is the perfect time to salvage it by dyeing it dark.

You will need:

1. Dye - available in powder and liquid form

2. Stainless Basin

3. Salt

4. Pair of gloves

5. Tongs

6. Jeans



Here’s what you need to do:

Step 1

Wear protective gears like gloves and apron to prevent it from staining your clothes.

Using boiled water, dissolve the dye powder in a small stainless container. In my case, I used the powdered form but there are liquid dyes available of course. You will need to add a lot of dyes here to achieve a darker shade. Here I used 6 packets of blue dye.

Step 2

Pour in water into the stainless basin that can cover up the entire fabric and boil it. While waiting for the water to boil, wash the fabric to remove any finishes that may prevent absorption of the dye.

Step 3

When the water boils, pour the dissolved dye. You need to put on 2 tbsp. of salt for every gallon of water you put in the dye bath.


Step 4

Then, put the article into the dye bath. It is important that the jean is fully submerged in water to allow equal shades of dyeing. Continuously stir the garment for 15 to 20  minutes using a ladle or a tong.

Step 5

Take out the fabric from dye bath using a tong because the jeans is now smoking hot. You don’t want to burn your hands. Squeeze out excess dye. Run it through the water until the water runs clear. Wring out the fabric for excess water and iron it until dry.

And your good to go!

I love love the result!

THE BEFORE AND AFTER

Try this and have fun.

Don’t forget to drop some comments!

Truly,

Kenny 

Let’s Get This Party Studded

Studs are perfect in making an outfit look edgier and have that rock and roll chic look. I have not explored the idea of incorporating them into my clothes until last Monday. On Facebook, I posted a picture of metal studs and asked to where I can get some. Lucky enough, I managed to find some at a local store in the city. Metal studs are best placed on jeans and leather. Jeans are a tough fabric so putting on studs will not destroy it that much. It can also be used in glamming up bags or shoes.

Just need to experiment on your outfits. Not only with jeans but you can also do this with your bags, tops and others.

Materials

Metal Studs

Screwdriver

Jeans

Steps

1. I thought of making them as collar tips. So I laid them first if how many could fit in. You will have to think of where to place your studs first. 

 2. I drew a triangle in the collar so I filled them all. Just be careful to not prick yourself because the studs have pointed metal teeth.

In my case, I chose to edge up my jean shirt. You can play up where you want to put it on. So this is how it looks now.

For questions and suggestions just drop them on the comments section. :)

Project DIY: Faded Denim

Jeans do not go out of style. Well, that depends on the cut and fit I guess. But this year/season denim is a huge trend and a must in any one’s wardrobe. High end stores like H&M, Topman, Zara, Forever21 made their own spin with our beloved denim. But what captivated my style radar is the button down denim shirt that has a faded detail. Just recently, my shopping habit kind of shifted a little bit and I am not so keen on purchasing things that I want. Instead of just shopping fancy clothes, I want to try to create it. I searched for some old denim shirt in thrift shops to maybe lessen the pressure of making it good instantly.

This denim shirt is the exact shirt that I bought from a thrift store. Got this from robbieoffduty.com! 

So here’s my own version of the faded denim.

What you will need:

• denim - could be from jeans to shirt to vest


• bleach


• water


• measuring cup


• spray bottle


• some creativity

Tip:

Before doing this procedure, you can search for a photo for inspiration.

Get 1 cup of water and bleach. Mix them together in a spray bottle. You can adjust the amount of bleach to be used.

Step 2

Lay your garment flat on a surface which will not stain and then pour in water to soak the garment.

Step 3

Now, your ready to spray the bleach mixture in the way you desire. If you are in for an acid wash effect, you can just pour in the bleach into the denim.

Step 4

After you have achieved the effect you are aiming for, you will need to wash the garment with cold water to halt further bleaching. Then, wash it with detergent and fabric conditioner to get rid of the noxious smell of the bleach. And you’re done!

You can ask me for any queries. Enjoy!

Toms Shoes Refurbished

I got my Toms shoes last December 2010 at Nothing But Water in Trinoma(a local mall in Manila). A pair of Toms costs around 3,000 pesos. Mine is a black burlap. Expensive as it is, they have tied up the brand with charity, with ONE FOR ONE movement as their carrying objective. This means that for every pair of shoes bought, another pair goes to poverty-stricken people all over the globe. A good cause.

My worn out Toms.

After almost 2 years, it got worn out and there are peeping holes caused by friction from my smaller toes. It may have served me for the entirety but I can’t let go of my precious pair just yet! And so as I was browsing my Facebook account, I saw a featured post from Toms Facebook page about a blogger redesigning her shoes by covering up the toe part of the shoe. So this instantly got me and there and there I started right away.

In the blog, Under The Sycamore(ashleyannphotography.com) which lit my creativity, Ashley the blogger used fabric glue and used apron as her textile for the cover-up.

Materials
Scrap of cloth
Scissors
Glue or needles and thread

Procedure
1. You just need to measure the entire toe area of the shoe to know how much fabric you need to use.
2. I folded the edges of the scrap of fabric and I sewn it directly on the shoe to prevent the cloth from fraying.
3. Finish it until you have sewn the entire shoe. It was really difficult to sew the shoe since the fabric is quite thick and I’m just hand stitching it. If you think that it’s too hard you may just need to glue it. :)

I have scraps of fabric particularly corduroy and fortunately it’s black! I was contemplating if I will use fabric glue. But since my shoe is made of burlap, I thought that it might not stick too well so I opted for manual stitching. I’ll tell you, it is an immense task to do, although challenging and exciting. I hope you can jazz up yours!

DIY Project: The Ombre Effect

Last summer, I was searching for cool outfits that I can wear for my vacation getaway. Ombre-detailed shirts and jeans are so in this season(or this year) and so I rummaged the entire city for some. I saw this cotton jean shirt with a ombre detail from Oxygen, a mid-high end clothing store  and costs 1, 799. That will hurt my sensitive pocket obviously, so I thought of just searching for a button down jean shirt from thrift stores or widely known here as ukay-ukay and just dye it. Lucky enough, I managed to get one which just costs 200 bucks! Plus I bought 5 packets of powdered dye.

             This was that shirt from Oxygen. by Mark Ammerson Pagaoa’s Lookbook account

For the dyeing process, I consulted YouTube and searched for some legitimate instructional videos. Aside from this, I also made some extra research in various dyeing techniques.

You will need:

Dye, a color of your desire

Non-stain basin - It should be wide to accommodate the fabric to be dyed.

Table salt

Fabric or shirt

A pair of Gloves

Cup

Hanger or a rod

and some creativity!

Step 1

Wear gloves. You may also want to wear an apron or dark-colored shirts to prevent staining.

Dissolve the powdered dye and salt in a small stainless container. You need to put on 2 tbsp. of salt for every gallon of water in the dye bath. In my case, I used the powdered form but there are liquid dyes available of course. It depends on how dark the effect you want to achieve with the amount of dye you will use.

Step 2

Pour in water into the stainless basin that can cover up the entire fabric and boil it. While waiting for the water to boil, wash the fabric to remove any finishes that may prevent absorption of dyes.

Step 3

When the water boils, pour in a small amount of dye.

Step 4

Using a hanger or a rod, dip dye a part of the fabric to create the lightest shade. Then quickly move it up and down into the dye bath.

Step 5

Then pour in the remaining dissolved dye and stir it continuously. Then dip the mid-section of the fabric that was dyed for 5 minutes, gently lifting and lowering it to create lighter and darker shades or until desired shade is achieved.

Step 6

Take out the fabric from dye bath and squeeze out excess dye. Wash the fabric under running water, holding the lightest color at the top. This will let the dye to seep through to the darkest area. Run it through the water until the water runs clear. Wring out the fabric for excess water and iron it until dry.

And there you go, a cool new look for you this season! Enjoy!