Beej, of thebustytraveler.blogspot.com, suggested this blog and I love it both as a fat and as a beginning seamstress/DIY/crafty-gal! I was quietly catching up on some recent posts when I came across this one and just WOW & YES! More, please?! Ha-ha! I am falling for “Psycho Sue” and cannot wait for more fun sewing tips and “Fatshion for Wayward Girls!”

Tough economic times call for creativity and using all resources possible! How does this relate to fatshion? How doesn’t it?! Ha-ha! Yesterday I decided to finally dye the vest I bought two weeks ago at Avenue to complete what I’m dubbing “The Ultimate Outfit” (though it won’t be complete without the right knee-high boots, but that search is still in progress). You see, I found the right style vest at the right price, but the color? Meh. The vest was $6.96, how could I pass it up?! So I bought a bottle of RIT black dye and gave it a go! (I have never dyed any garment before, other than tie-dying which is different all together since you’re going for more color/designs/etc.)

The vest’s original camel-khaki color:

As I was about to dye this vest I went to my dresser for a shirt I wouldn’t care if it got stained. I first chose this top I got at Torrid a couple of years ago and looked at it and though, “Why don’t I wear this? I love this shirt!” Then I realized that it had a stain. Boo! So I grabbed two identical shirts from the same drawer and they, too were stained. Y’all! I don’t have to tell you about staining t-shirts on the frontal-chestal area, do I? I believe it’s a fairly common thing with everyone, but especially those of us gifted with larger boobages (I am using all sorts of made-up words today). Anyhoo, I decided I needed to save these shirts from their previously considered destiny: Cut into rags for cleaning! Oh Noes!!!

I headed out to my current sewing station (I’ve been making aprons like crazy for an upcoming craft show) and laid out my supplies and planned my next course of action. Dye? Appliques? Iron-on transfers? Check, check and check! I turned on the iron and filled my bucket with hot-hot water, a cup of salt (my vest was a cotton-linen blend and the bottle said this would help) and the bottle of dye. I first soaked the vest itself in hot water and then lowered in into the bucket-o-blackness. Doing this caused a mini-splash onto my aqua t-shirt and I realized, “Hey! I should just dye this, too, probably won’t see the stain anymore!” And whipped it off my person and into the bucket it went, too!
Supplies:

So much stirring!

30 minutes of stirring followed by many-several changes of water (have to keep agitating and then mild detergent and more water changes until the garments rinse clear) and finally my vest and t-shirt were ready to lay flat to dry. (I must note here that I chose not to use rubber gloves for two reasons: my husband had mysteriously thrown mine away and the dye was washing off my hands just fine at first, until? Well, see the pics!) After that I tackled the two remaining shirts. One got a neat-o iron-on transfer that covered the little stain it had perfectly, I think. And the other got some embroidered appliques ironed-onto it. Now I haven’t worn any of these yet, but I think they’ll look fairly if not entirely cute with these little upgrades. And the “Ultimate Outfit?” Well, I’ll just have to leave you in suspense for a bit, my dears. That will be for another day/week. =0)

Two tops saved (the black swirlyness at the right is what I ironed-on):

The “Corpse Hands” as my husband has dubbed them after the dying:

What creative or resourceful way have you saved something from the garbage or rag bin? Tell me about it! =0)

I had planned a more visually appealing/grabbing  Body Love Attack (as announced here http://bigfatblog.com/body-love-attack), but the trees outside of my cafe? Well, I just wasn’t sure how to attach the hearts to their branches without a lot of equipment. Ha! Go figure, poor planning on my part. But I did use the hearts in the way I intended originally, which is to share positive messages with people walking by or into my cafe.

On the back of every heart I wrote, “Love Your Body Just As It Is” I’ve already had people stop and read & smile at me!

One of my friends stopped by and said, “Oh I Love this! These hearts are great!” and I gave one that said, “You Amaze Me!” to her little girl. She left smiling from ear to ear! This is such a great thing! I love doing this. And the sign on my door about weight diversity? Fabulous! When my friend started to mention doing a body wrap with a friend I smiled and gestured to the sign, and she smiled back and said, “Oh don’t worry, I’m doing for the pampering and not for any sort of body issue.” I do love her. =0)

What are you doing for Love Your Body Day???

ETA: My business neighbor, man in his 70’s reads the sign on the door about weight diversity and says to me, “Oh good! Most people don’t know what the hell they’re talking about anyway!” referring to the no diet talk. Nice! Later he reads some of the hearts out front on my flower cart and comes back and says, “Those are really neat! I promise to love my body, okay?!” Too funny!

Go here…NOW: http://bigfatblog.com/body-love-attack

What: My first ever giveaway, yo! Oh, what do you get? Any one handmade item of your choice from my Etsy shop! Great for gifting or for yourself. Woo! (Winner will be chosen at random by using one of those randomater-sites, have to find one, suggestions welcome!)

When: Starting today until September 30th. Winner will be announced on Friday October 1st!

How: You may enter 4 ways/times 1.) by commenting below with your email address 2.) by posting the link to this post on  Twitter 3.) by posting the link to this post on your Facebook and 4.) by linking to this post on your own blog/journal. Easy-peasy! Please include your username for tweets and FB posts so I can see them.

Also, be sure to follow me on Twitter: @Notblueatall!

Thanks!  =0)