DIY Fix-Its: Clothes

I can't say that I'm talented in any specific field of visual arts or crafts, but I can say without a shred of doubt that I very much love two things: 1) making things from scratch, and 2) eye-pleasing creativity.  Although my hopes for this website is to share ideas and projects that fall into both categories, I do have a huge laundry list of less-creative but very practical DIY projects that I have to get checked off.  So please bear with me as we go through this house cleaning exercise together over the next two or three posts.

I have a garbage bag of clothes in my closet, containing things that can't really be worn until they are altered.  Some things were bought with the intention to remake.  Other are things that I've worn, maybe only once or twice, but needs improvement in some way.  Over the past 2 weeks, I finally got around to altering 3 of these things:

Jeans.  I've had these jeans for a few years now.  They still fit fine, but the colour faded to an unappealing yellowish blue.  Instead of Goodwilling it, I bought a pack of pre-dye (to remove colour) and store-bought fabric dye in hopes I could revive it.  After a series of chemical treatments over a 2-day period, the jeans are now a greyish blue colour and are back into regular wear rotation.  Dye old jeans -- check.

Dress.  I bought this diner waitress' uniform at the second-hand shop The Public Butter a few years ago, in hopes of altering it into a cute one-piece jumpsuit.  However, the internet taught me that you can't really make a shirt into shorts, since there's not enough fabric to go around.  Lesson learned.  Alternate option: change it into a top by cutting out half a metre of the bottom length.  Alter second-hand dress -- check.

Slippers.  The last quick project for this past fortnight was fixing up a new pair of leather slippers bought in India.  They aren't made for street wear - the leather soles would probably wear down in a few short months.  After a quick chat with the lovely shoe maker at Sole Survivor, it seemed like an easy fix: scuff leather soles with sand paper, trace and cut soles from rubber sheeting, and adhere together with cement glue.  Make slippers street-ready -- check.

Alas, not ground-breaking stuff here, but at least my task-driving, mature adult self is satisfied for the moment.