Here's how I made this bleached-out denim clutch from start to finish.
Wrapped up my denim tightly with rubber bands. Doesn't it look like one of those hippie sage bundles that people in Santa Cruz burn?
Pour that Clorox in there, don't be shy.
Set bundle in a bleach bath. I wanted this denim, which was quite dark, to get very light.
Cut the rubber bands out and check out your pattern.
I then put the denim in a flat dish pan with more bleach to lighten up the overall fabric.
The dark parts are where the bleach couldn't reach the fabric because it was so tightly bound. This is called resist-dyeing (resist-bleaching in the case).
It's getting lighter...
I washed it out with hot soapy water. I really just took this photo because I like the action-shot of my hand in motion amongst bubbles. Oh ya, rubber gloves = good idea.
Finished. At this point, you should probably machine-wash, but I didn't because I'm a rebel.
After denim is dried, I cut my pattern out. I swear I can make so much more than this one shape of bag. I'm just stuck on it right now because it's so fast and easy.
I love horsehair interfacing because it's heavy but not stiff. It's hard to find real horsehair interfacing these days, but the synthetic stuff is quite alright.
Sewed in the black leather piping I made. I heart piping! It gives the bag a finished look and reinforces the seams so they're stronger.
Brass zipper, check.
Dropped in the lining and sewed it up.
Done! I'm going to wash the entire bag in the machine now. I think it will get nicely battered in there, and hopefully will take away some of the overly-intense glue and bleach smell. The way it is right now, you might just pass out from the fumes, and that would be too bad unless you're into that kind of thing.
This is my beautiful hot pink Orly "Passion Fruit" nail-polish carried all the way across the country for me. I've been wearing it for weeks as you can tell by the grossly deteriorated state of my fingers in the photos above. Thanks, Kelly!
I must admit, I did not like
this jacket when I started seeing it online and I think Alexander Wang is over-blogged-to-the-max. Whatever, I got over it. It's a pretty cool jacket. I used the denim/leather (even though the blue in the jacket is actually leather, not denim) combo as my inspiration for this project.
Wrapped up my denim tightly with rubber bands. Doesn't it look like one of those hippie sage bundles that people in Santa Cruz burn?
Pour that Clorox in there, don't be shy.
Set bundle in a bleach bath. I wanted this denim, which was quite dark, to get very light.
Cut the rubber bands out and check out your pattern.
I then put the denim in a flat dish pan with more bleach to lighten up the overall fabric.
The dark parts are where the bleach couldn't reach the fabric because it was so tightly bound. This is called resist-dyeing (resist-bleaching in the case).
It's getting lighter...
I washed it out with hot soapy water. I really just took this photo because I like the action-shot of my hand in motion amongst bubbles. Oh ya, rubber gloves = good idea.
Finished. At this point, you should probably machine-wash, but I didn't because I'm a rebel.
After denim is dried, I cut my pattern out. I swear I can make so much more than this one shape of bag. I'm just stuck on it right now because it's so fast and easy.
I love horsehair interfacing because it's heavy but not stiff. It's hard to find real horsehair interfacing these days, but the synthetic stuff is quite alright.
Sewed in the black leather piping I made. I heart piping! It gives the bag a finished look and reinforces the seams so they're stronger.
Brass zipper, check.
Dropped in the lining and sewed it up.
Done! I'm going to wash the entire bag in the machine now. I think it will get nicely battered in there, and hopefully will take away some of the overly-intense glue and bleach smell. The way it is right now, you might just pass out from the fumes, and that would be too bad unless you're into that kind of thing.
This is my beautiful hot pink Orly "Passion Fruit" nail-polish carried all the way across the country for me. I've been wearing it for weeks as you can tell by the grossly deteriorated state of my fingers in the photos above. Thanks, Kelly!
I must admit, I did not like this jacket when I started seeing it online and I think Alexander Wang is over-blogged-to-the-max. Whatever, I got over it. It's a pretty cool jacket. I used the denim/leather (even though the blue in the jacket is actually leather, not denim) combo as my inspiration for this project. 
4 comments:
hey that was really cool, this is really solid fashion thread.
i love seeing your process!! i'm definitely going to have to use the accordian fold technique for my next bleach project. . . and i am obsessed with the wang jacket as well. too bad lohan had to wear it. I've been wanting to make a jacket that is a jeans vest part and leather jacket sleeves. . . i just need to find the right two jackets to frankenstein. . . i haven't read Garlic is Life but it could be the title of my autobiography so i must check it out. thanks for the suggestion. . . also, i only have one source for my zippers (the local leather shop where i get my leather scraps sets zippers aside for me) but i would love more. . . i could send you a necklace in exchange for the zippers or something!! that would be great!! xx
i love this bleached denim/ leather zipper project!! It's a great post and a great purse. Nice one
-X-
www.tobaccoandleather.blogspot.com
This is so freakin' cool---I'm pooping myself I love it so much!
I've GOT to try this at home!
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