DIY:MAKE IT WORK- pants makeover!

7/6/2013

Not working this summer has left me with lots of time to DIY. Here are 3 pants I made over, all of which I was getting ready to get rid of but decided I could give them a new life. The light blue and coral pair actually used to be white, and two summers ago I dyed them. In doing so I accidentally got some of the coral dye on the blue pants (as you can see in the picture below) so I usually would only wear those around the house.

I originally had the idea for the purple pants- to create a pickle stamp from a winnie dog silhouette. I started with sketches of winnie dogs and once I drew one I liked- I used tracing paper & a # 2 pencil to transfer the outline to the piece linoleum. I had to make the winnie dog stamp twice because I got one leg done & was getting ready to finish up with the other the next day and discovered Olive eating the stamp. The second time I made it I used an exacto knife to cut it out and it was the easiest clean cut- so I suggest doing it that way if you try this out yourself. I used a paint brush and a purple fabric paint to coat the stamp and then carefully press on to pants. Another tip is to practice on another piece of fabric or piece of paper before you get started to get a fill for how much paint you need to apply each time and to figure out your spacing as well.

I got the idea for the watermelon shorts while doing some online shopping. I found the cutest pair of watermelon shorts on some British website ( I can't recall which) where they were asking 100 something US dollars for a pair- & well I'm just not gonna do that. I didn't try to make mine look like the ones a saw online at all- just working with what I got. They are rather crafty looking but good to wear on a playful summer day! I just used fabric to paint on the watermelon design and I kept it super simple- don't over think it!

I decided to paint the blue pair with a pattern I created in my sketch book a couple of months ago. These pants are a little LOUD but I do LOVE them with this top from modcloth. I also think they would look good paired with a simple white tee or button up! It is supper cool for me to see a pattern I created on a pair of pants. I once found a site where you can upload you own pattern and have it printed out on to fabric- I though about using this site to create fabric to make a new couch cover. All in all, pattern design and color mixing is something I love and would LOVE to work more with.

All 3 pant makeovers were super easy to do and took practically no time! Easily done in a day!

DIY till I DIE!!!!

xoxo, Court