Bleach Boys- Jeans Update

Here's an actual progress update on how my jeans are going!

They were sad, lonely, jeans hanging on the line, pathetically getting cobwebs. Although that's kind of cool I thought I'd put them out of their misery and got crafting.

What you'll need:

Bleach - I used the cheapest one I could find at the store. Homebrand lemon scented!
Jeans
Gloves
Sink, bath or bucket
Something to measure the bleach/water with I used the bucket
Old spatula that you can turf afterwards

 

What I did:

I soaked the jeans in the sink to make sure that I got an even coverage with the bleach later.

Then I prepared my bleach and water solution. I used 5 litres o water and about 2 litres o bleach. I used an old spatula to push them down into the bleach until they were completely submerged. I also used the spatula to push the jeans around a bit, every 15ish minutes, so they got an even dose of bleachy goodness.

NB: So the disposable gloves I used were ones for dying my hair and were pretty much useless. Note to self: buy thicker gloves.

I bleached them for an hour, drained the excess bleach off and then put the jeans in the washing machine. After a quick wash I could see they were nowhere near light enough. Back into the bleach solution they went for a further hour. This time they looked much much lighter. Perfect!

Now remember my jeans were very dark when I started so if you're using lighter jeans or a stronger bleach mix I would keep checking their progress.
 
I stuck them back in the machine for a huge wash and put them out to dry on the line overnight.

Here's my jeans up until now. I thought I'd better take a few photos before I get much further. Oh no, we're not done yet... Not by a loooong shot!

I'm also wearing my husband's band shirt (they've since disbanded) To The Teeth. I think they still have a myspace somewhere. Anyway to grunge this shirt up a bit I diyed the back. It's a very simple no-sew technique that you can find all over the internet. It took me about 4.8 seconds and I even went so far as to use a safety pin to secure the top instead of stitching. My sis showed me how to do it many moons ago... On a bus... That was moving... That's how easy it is!

Also check out the foxy leopard print maternity bra my mother-in-law bought me. OOOOoo yeah!

Don't worry, be happy ^_^

Here's a little poster I made to remind myself to stay positive. Sometimes we all need a pick-me-up.

I used the iPhone app made by the beautiful girls at A Beautiful Mess. Go check out their blog you won't regret it.

Nesting Projects - Little Geranium

If pregnancy was a long distance race I totally nailed it. I had my due date changed to a week later and then still almost made it to 42 weeks (groan). I finished work at 36 weeks and it was a hot hot summer, I was massive and daytime telly just ain't what it used to be. So I spent A LOT of time doing crafty projects and surfing blogs.

My sister pointed me in the direction of Made by Rae's Little Geranium Dress. There's a free pattern for 0-3 months and then you can also purchase the pattern from her blog for $10.

One look at the dress and I fell in love. This crazy montage flashed through my head of my baby girl in the dress, us frolicking around in the fields. Holding her in my arms. Sunshine. Flowers. Kittens... Yep.

So I printed out the pattern, hefted myself down to my local spotlight and found some super kawaii fabric and some little red buttons.

My sewing skills would definitely fit in the "beginner" region. I can nut out a pattern and knock something together but it generally takes me a while so I found Rae's tutorial really helpful. Especially those little progress shots, always in the nick of time.

Sewing montage ^_^

4 day old Ruby (Still in hospital)

It's such a great basic dress pattern and you can add little details like trims, contrast fabric or  my favourite, heart-shaped pockets to really make it unique. If you need some inspiration hop on Pinterest, this is such a popular little pattern that there's A LOT of different versions available for your viewing pleasure.

The dress still fits Ruby at 5 months - winner winner chicken dinner!