Making do and mending

That's definitely red!

I had a jolly good whinge in my last post, didn't I? But grumbling never does anyone any good for long; far better to blow off steam then look at ways to make things better. Let's start with that brown shirtdress I grizzled about. Loved the dress, but felt the colour really didn't do me any favours. Well, it's now VERY red - probably a little bit warmer than in the photo, thanks to a box of Dylon Tulip Red.

I first dyed things using Dylon washing machine dye a couple of years ago, re-blacking things, and last year tried changing the colours of some things (palest grey capris and beige blouse both turned apple green). It's so easy to use - you just put the dye in the drum, add a 500g of salt, pop in the item to dye and wash it at 40 degrees. After that, another 40-degree wash rinses out any excess, and job done. I chose red for this dress as I needed something that would blend well with the existing brown, and while the label said the dress and lining were both cotton, it said nothing about the embroidery. The embroidery DID take the dye, but none of the seam thread did. However, I like the effect of the brown buttons and stitches against the red, so this counts as a success. My green capris still have pale grey seams, though it's hard to see, and I suspect a lot of modern clothing is held together with synthetic thread, so that's something to take into account if you're dyeing things.

A good, deep hem, ready to be let down.

I tried on my Mode O' Day dress yesterday with the Vintage Nostalgia show in mind. I can do it up but only just, so it might not make the cut. (My recent holiday to Devon did my waistline no favours!) However, as I was seeing how it fitted, noticing how it hung just at the top of my knee I thought, "What a shame it's not a bit longer." And what do you know - when it was shortened by a previous owner, they didn't cut it, they just turned the hem up by several inches. Hooray! A bit of work with a seam ripper and a good steam ironing will make it a much better length. It looked a little out of proportion at the current length, it'll be much better a few inches longer, though who knows when I'll be wearing it. I'm opposed to the idea that a person should have to be thin, and indeed there's very little chance of me ever being so, but I dislike not being able to get into things I already own, so I might take steps to drop a few pounds (basically, laying off the beer and walking more).

The other thing I did this weekend was tackle the shoe and coat cupboard. I might not have got my yellow shoes, but it was worth seeing what shoes I did have. I noticed a pair of shoes my mum got me a few years ago that I never wear because they need re-heeling and a pair of Victorian-style ankle boots also in need of heeling, plus a few pairs of cheapo Shoe Zone flats that I could wash ready for this summer. (They're pretty much pure fabric-covered plastic with cardboard insoles, but I can buy replacement insoles from Timpsons when I take the others in for repair.)

I also rediscovered a full-length grey wool winter coat that had dragged on every step I walked down one winter, and so had a lining that was trashed for the lower three inches. It's quite a boxy coat, so I plan to take it to an alterations place to be cut off to mid-calf; then it won't drag on steps, and will have a nice 1920s look to boot.

I've been in the mood to fix things. My new year's resolution was to 'make things better'. The results of the General Election weren't what I would have wanted, and I felt causes close to my heart would be likely to face horrible funding cuts over the next five years, so I made a donation to my local hospital's appeal fund, and to Arts Emergency. Can we fix it? Yes, we can!