Bleached Skirt
Way back in November of last year I was in great need of skirts. So, right before my birthday Momma and I went to Goodwill and got a super cute button-up jean skirt. I loved it and wore it to death (no joke!).
Some months later I bought some cute coral nail polish and was so excited to put it on that I did my nails in the car (much to everyone's dismay, because of the smell). As I was painting my nails I accidentally dripped the paint on my skirt. When we got home I tried scrubbing it out, which kinda worked but more just made that whole area of my skirt really faded. I kept trying to get the stain out but the more I tried the more my skirt looked strangely faded.
Finally, I got new skirts and so this old one was not being worn. But being someone who doesn't like unworn things in her closet I decided to work some magic on my skirt. I had seen several skirts with holes in it and I thought it was the cutest thing so I got a knife and went to work. I just made little slits in the skirt and made some areas more frayed. I loved it! It was so fun to try a different style! So, I wore my skirt some more.
But the skirt was getting old and the color was no longer a dark navy but faded (not in a good way). I tried to think of different ways to help the skirt when I got a great idea. Bleach it! Most of the skirts with holes in them I had seen were more of a light blue and it would also make any worn out places look like it was on purpose.
It took a while but I finally got to bleach it. Not thinking a decided to bleach the skirt on our gravel driveway. So, I set the skirt down and just poured bleach onto a washcloth and rubbed the cloth on my skirt. (Mind you this was all done without gloves or an apron.) As I was doing this I slowly noticed the color start to change. Yay! But then the color wasn't what I'd anticipated. It turned a weird greenish blue that was not what I was going for. "Well, at least it was an old skirt," I thought picking up the skirt. Then that's when I noticed it, the color changed to a beautiful light blue. This was exactly what I was going for! Super excited to start on the other side I flipped it over and the back was covered with mud. "I'll rise it off and then let it dry to see what is bleached," I said to myself rinsing off the skirt and letting it dry in the sun.
A few hours later I went out and the skirt was pretty much done! All I had to do was wash it, or so I thought.
I ran it through the washer and let it dry. Once it was dry I notice that the back hadn't got as much bleach as the front. Random parts were darker than others. My brother said it looked tie-dye, which wasn't terrible but I did want to do one more "coat" of bleach.
This time I didn't do it on the gravel or dirt so there would be no problems. I started putting the bleach on but nothing happened. "That's weird." I was waiting for something to happen but the color stayed the same, so, I poured more on. But still nothing. Finally, I just let it dry.
After a little while, I came back out hopping the color was different and I got my wish. Instead of a light blue, I dyed my skirt white. That's right, white. I would say pure white but there were still random splotches of blue. "Okay, this isn't that bad," I told myself. Taking a closer look at the skirt it turned out that not only had the back been bleached white but the front also. It actually wasn't bad the only problem being that it wasn't evenly dyed. There were still random patches of blue. So I quickly redid the front trying not to use too much bleach.
After a while of bleaching a drying the skirt, I threw it back in the wash. When it came out it looked pretty good. Most everything was white except a few spots on the hem and waist. I really liked it even though it didn't turn out the way I had thought.
One of the things that bothered me was that there was still some blue on the bottom, and I had no intention of bleaching it again. Then I saw this really cute skit at Maurices, there was no hem at the bottom, it was just frayed. I thought it looked so cute and could totally go with the rest of my skirt. So, I got out my scissors and chopped the hem of my skirt.
And now my skirt was perfect (besides that fact that I always had to wear leggings with it), it was totally cute! It had turned a different color than I originally thought but I really didn't mind.
So, after wearing it a few times I washed it, as one does. Well, when it came out of the wash I was quick to put it back on. Only I didn't realize that in the rear the were some holes. How? I'm not exactly sure, I was told something about the bleach weakening the fabric or something. But yes, my skirt did have very revealing holes in the back.
I really didn't want to throw it out so I just wore long shirts with it. But as time wore on the holes became bigger and more of them appeared. Finally, I had no choice and I threw out my beloved bleached skirt.
Some months later I bought some cute coral nail polish and was so excited to put it on that I did my nails in the car (much to everyone's dismay, because of the smell). As I was painting my nails I accidentally dripped the paint on my skirt. When we got home I tried scrubbing it out, which kinda worked but more just made that whole area of my skirt really faded. I kept trying to get the stain out but the more I tried the more my skirt looked strangely faded.
Finally, I got new skirts and so this old one was not being worn. But being someone who doesn't like unworn things in her closet I decided to work some magic on my skirt. I had seen several skirts with holes in it and I thought it was the cutest thing so I got a knife and went to work. I just made little slits in the skirt and made some areas more frayed. I loved it! It was so fun to try a different style! So, I wore my skirt some more.
But the skirt was getting old and the color was no longer a dark navy but faded (not in a good way). I tried to think of different ways to help the skirt when I got a great idea. Bleach it! Most of the skirts with holes in them I had seen were more of a light blue and it would also make any worn out places look like it was on purpose.
It took a while but I finally got to bleach it. Not thinking a decided to bleach the skirt on our gravel driveway. So, I set the skirt down and just poured bleach onto a washcloth and rubbed the cloth on my skirt. (Mind you this was all done without gloves or an apron.) As I was doing this I slowly noticed the color start to change. Yay! But then the color wasn't what I'd anticipated. It turned a weird greenish blue that was not what I was going for. "Well, at least it was an old skirt," I thought picking up the skirt. Then that's when I noticed it, the color changed to a beautiful light blue. This was exactly what I was going for! Super excited to start on the other side I flipped it over and the back was covered with mud. "I'll rise it off and then let it dry to see what is bleached," I said to myself rinsing off the skirt and letting it dry in the sun.
A few hours later I went out and the skirt was pretty much done! All I had to do was wash it, or so I thought.
I ran it through the washer and let it dry. Once it was dry I notice that the back hadn't got as much bleach as the front. Random parts were darker than others. My brother said it looked tie-dye, which wasn't terrible but I did want to do one more "coat" of bleach.
This time I didn't do it on the gravel or dirt so there would be no problems. I started putting the bleach on but nothing happened. "That's weird." I was waiting for something to happen but the color stayed the same, so, I poured more on. But still nothing. Finally, I just let it dry.
After a little while, I came back out hopping the color was different and I got my wish. Instead of a light blue, I dyed my skirt white. That's right, white. I would say pure white but there were still random splotches of blue. "Okay, this isn't that bad," I told myself. Taking a closer look at the skirt it turned out that not only had the back been bleached white but the front also. It actually wasn't bad the only problem being that it wasn't evenly dyed. There were still random patches of blue. So I quickly redid the front trying not to use too much bleach.
After a while of bleaching a drying the skirt, I threw it back in the wash. When it came out it looked pretty good. Most everything was white except a few spots on the hem and waist. I really liked it even though it didn't turn out the way I had thought.
One of the things that bothered me was that there was still some blue on the bottom, and I had no intention of bleaching it again. Then I saw this really cute skit at Maurices, there was no hem at the bottom, it was just frayed. I thought it looked so cute and could totally go with the rest of my skirt. So, I got out my scissors and chopped the hem of my skirt.
And now my skirt was perfect (besides that fact that I always had to wear leggings with it), it was totally cute! It had turned a different color than I originally thought but I really didn't mind.
So, after wearing it a few times I washed it, as one does. Well, when it came out of the wash I was quick to put it back on. Only I didn't realize that in the rear the were some holes. How? I'm not exactly sure, I was told something about the bleach weakening the fabric or something. But yes, my skirt did have very revealing holes in the back.
I really didn't want to throw it out so I just wore long shirts with it. But as time wore on the holes became bigger and more of them appeared. Finally, I had no choice and I threw out my beloved bleached skirt.
Wow, that skirt has been through a lot! The ultimate skirt upcycle - you got as much life out of it as possible! :-D
ReplyDeleteYep! =D
ReplyDelete