Thanks to Justina at Smockwalker Vintage for providing goods to DIY.
The last post in my #Haulternative series! See the embroidered blouse and the fringed denim.
I had originally intended to cover up a few small stains on this blouse with Indigo, but there is no indigo to be found in this town! I ended up ordering some online, but it wasn’t going to be here in time to prep posts, so I had to come up with an alternative on the fly. A customer recommended beets, which was actually a better idea for this blouse anyway because the light tone means the cute little embroidered diamonds are still visible.
Beet Dyed Blouse
Beets are deceptive little suckers. Their juice will stain your hands a deep magenta, but the effect on cotton is much more subtle. It’s hard to tell in the photos, but the final effect is a lovely, pale rose, which perfectly covered up what looked to be makeup stains near the collar of the blouse.
What You’ll Need:
- A vintage, thrifted, or pre-owned cotton blouse (even better if it’s got a few small stains you want to cover up)
- 1/4 cup vinegar
- 2 beets
- Medium pot filled 3/4 of the way with water
- Knife for slicing beets
To Make:
- Thinly slice two beets, then place in pot with water and vinegar. Heat to boiling on the stove, then cover with lid and simmer for at least 20 minutes.
- Remove beet slices from water. Keep pot on burner.
- Fully saturate blouse with water, ring out, and fully submerge in beet water.
- Bring beet water back to boiling, reduce heat, then cover and simmer the shirt in the beet water for at least 20 minutes.
- Take pot off heat and continue to let shirt steep for an hour or more.
- Ring out shirt and rinse thoroughly in cool water. Air dry.
What I Learned From A Week of Upcycling Projects
If you end up doing a #haulternative this week, Justina and I would love to see it! Tag @stylewiseblog and @smockwalkervintage on Instagram!
