Reinventing your Boots!- A look back

Since it's boots season again and the economy is still super "awesome" I thought a look back on this boot-upgrade post from last fall would be timely! Enjoy


In keeping with my ReINVENTING your Stuff- entries... I thought I would tackle something bigger. First came reinventing your unworn jewelry- and then how to display your jewelry so you DO wear it. And then how to embellish sweaters (more to come in that department btw!) and now BOOTS! That's right.

See I think its all about making something "Feel" new without the cost of buying something new. So I took on my standard brown leather boots. They are about 4 years old, from j-crew, but they needed to be spiced up a bit, to set them apart, giving me a project and something "new" in my wardrobe!
I will admit I did spend about $10 on a few specific buttons and one special needle for sewing leather. I took some ribbon from my grandmother's sewing stash I inherited- and I folded the ribbon in half and sewed it together with a zig zag stitch on my machine. I thought Blue would be different- and would make the buttons POP.
Then I attached the ribbon on to the boot at the top- by folding it over the edge and hand sewing it in place- and then I attached the ribbon to the bottom- again with needle and thread. Then I marked where I wanted the buttons to go- and sewed them on as well. I did NOT attach the entire ribbon to the boot- where it is attached -by the buttons- I think is sufficient. (later- I might reinforce those spaces between- if necessary). And remember it's all about ODDS- in decorating and in applying buttons to a boot- ie: 5 looks better than 4 and I learned for me 5 looked far better than 3!
And Voila! Here is the final product. Kind of different and a little funky.

There are other ways to change your boots- 1) You could sand them down just a bit to scuff them up and then polish them with a different shade of shoe polish- lighter or darker from the original in order to have a greater impact. 2) You could also SEW on matching patches of fabric on to the back of the boots. I have a pair of boots that I bought a few years ago- that came like that, and I think it would be easy to do yourself. 3) THEN there is always doing a little leather work on your boots- using leather tools to punch holes in the top edge of the boot and then weaving in leather strips...etc The possibilities are endless.

4) AND if you are a little nervous to tackle this yourself- you can always take them to your cobbler and get them to spruce up your boots for you- It wont cost nearly as much as a new pair of boots - PLUS its good on the ol environment.

progress

Progress on the pillow I am embroidering for Lesley's room redo. It's a piece of coral on a striped fabric, with a green zipper and backed with a piece of canvas for the back of the pillow.

The tomato from 4th of July weekend. I put it in a brown bag to ripen- check out it's progress.

what the?!?!!

As some of you may know- I enjoy embellishing sweaters. It can be a fun and quick little project that has a great reward!  I bought this sweater maybe last fall at Target. I added the blue fabric trim and changed the buttons to these fun floral buttons from another sweater....
unfortunately- after washing the sweater- this strange chemical smell started to appear, and after washing it again and again in the hope that the smell would go away- it is even stronger!!!  Everything I have tried has not worked. Perhaps the result of buying processed clothes, every now and then you get a dud...?  Although I have NEVER experienced this before. (btw it's not the buttons, its definitely coming from the fabric.)  I guess I will have to throw out the sweater after I remove the buttons and in the future smell the clothes before I buy them? But honestly no basset hound would have been able to predict this! so weird.

every little bit

Here are two embellishment projects I have been working on this week! This first is another v-neck sweater I decided to spruce up.

1st I picked out some dollies from my mom's collection and dyed them pink. I chose to dye them in a bucket in my sink, because I didn't want to interfere with Cam's on going laundry! Plus this way I could have more control over the dying processes- leaving some dollies white at the center and pink at the edges, etc.  

I have not attached the dollies yet (this is going to take some time since I will sew them on by hand!). But this is the placement on the back of the sweater. I think I might put one or two small ones on the front- at the hem or peaking over a shoulder...  I'm also considering adding a bright yellow collar to the v-neck, something ruffly... I'll post the final product when completed!

Here's my second embellishment project. I took some old green felt and cut out leaf shapes. I then sewed each leaf at the center- creating a seam and making it look more leaf-like and also more interesting.  Then I attached them by hand to the shirt using pink thread to add another element- its all about the attention to detail with these projects! 

Now to be honest- I hadn't worn this shirt in a long time because there was/ is a small but OBVIOUS grease stain! yah know one of those stains that comes from no where and will NOT GO AWAY!  Hence the green sash detail around the waist of the shirt.  I used my sewing machine to attach the ribbon.   Its not completed yet- I think I am going to take it all the way around the back of the shirt.  But CAUTION if you do try something like this- do not make my mistake. I just willy-nilly pinned the ribbon to the shirt and sewed away!  But since its a knit I basically turned it into a corset at the waist- it was not pretty as I struggled to stubbornly get the dam thing over my head! AND hence why the ribbon is now no longer attached all the way around... seam ripper, seam ripper! so I will have to problem solve this one to a nice resolution...  I will keep you posted!

Here's a detailed shot of the leaves at the neck line.

I have at least 2-3 other shirts down at my sewing station in our basement- waiting for a little something! And with this 65 degree day here on the east coast- its nice to start focusing on t-shirts, although my knitting is still focused on the bulky cold weather accessories... but soon enough!

Another DIY sweater!

I finished another embellished sweater. Actually I finished this a while ago... but I haven't posted it yet because I wasn't sure if it was actually "finished". So today I decided to take it out on its maiden voyage. To wear it a bit and see if I need to add anything to it! (shows up a bit better with the hair up!)
This was another one of the cashmere sweaters I inherited from my grandfather. It was a v- neck and a bit boxy, so I knit this collar out of left over brown wool- from my grandmother's knitting stash. I knit it on regular straight needles and I dropped a stitch as I went- making up my own pattern- as I do! SO up close it is a bit more interesting. Then I sewed it to the sweater using the brown yarn.  And then I added this pin.

The collar is only attached along the very edge of the v-neck so I can prop it up and it looks rather elizabethan.  This would be where I would alter it if I find it is too boring. I would "pop" the collar up... we'll see!

Button and lace set the pace

This entry is part of a little series I have been posting- about how to recycle your unworn clothes, jewelry etc- in order to breath new life into them, to wear them once again. With renewing an article of clothing by adding an embellishment, - you achieve a sense of accomplishment that does not compare to any bargain shopping find. Not only is a crafty idea like this one good for your wallet but it is also good for the environment. You are reusing the article of clothing not to mention the buttons!
This sweater I made almost four years ago. I simply took an unworn cardigan and spent a good chunk of time sewing buttons to it. I used my mother and grandmother's discarded button collections as well as those odd buttons you get as extras when you buy a new garment. I love this cardigan it makes me think of Bert from Mary Poppins- something a chimney sweep would wear- with all the buttons. It jingles now and then.
This sweater I embellished this fall. I inherited about 4 or so cashmere v-neck cardigans from my grandfather's wardrobe.  In order to spice them up and to get away from the boring boxiness that comes with a man's sweater- I have set forth in embellishing them. This is the first completed of the four.
I have learned that I approach embellishing a sweater- in the same way I approach my artwork- I might not always have a finished concept cemented in my mind, but I enjoy the process along the way and even when it appears precarious and that I might be in a jam- I muddle through, knowing that it will all turn out in the end, no matter how unexpected the result. I enjoy what I learn in the process of making- thus my endeavor is not only for a finished product but it also acts as a fact finding mission- where I gather information, learning from my mistakes and successes.

As I mentioned earlier- since this was originally a man's sweater- it is more boxy- so in addition to adding the lace and the occasional button, I folded the sleeves under to a 3/4 length and lightly sewed them in place- this made the sweater more feminine. 

Spice UP a sweater if you please!

This fall I have been SPICING up some old sweaters- breathing life into them by adding embellishments!

I will be posting these sweaters all through the winter- to give some fresh projects for those long winter months!

This is my first sweater!

I bought it last year on ebay. Its a great vintage bright yellow sweater. It was a little plain and honestly I didn't wear it all that much.

After going through my grandmother's scarves I decided to use one of the shorter ones as an embellishment to this sweater. It was wide so I was able to cut it in half in order to make it go all the way around the sweater. I removed the buttons from the sweater and with my sewing machine I attached the scarf and hemmed its edges. 

THEN I did a little couture hand sew- around the top to form the bow- to make it just right!

I'm going to wear it with a purple dress, some tights and my funky brown leather boots- THAT - coincidentally have purple fabric on the back of them with a yellow stitch! Perfect for Work!

ITS all about reinventing the old and making it new!

Its good for the environment and GREAT for your wallet!