Upcycle 2 tops and celebrate mistakes

Not all refashions are an instant succes. I often start a project without knowing how it will turn out, and sometimes the result is just not what I had in mind. This time, I struggled with 2 tops. I wanted to try a new technique on a top without knowing if and how it would work (and to be honest, I'm still not sure if it's a succes) and I had some dye issues with another top. So this is not a succes story, but I wanted to share my ideas with you anyway and bring an interesting book on visible mending to your attention. 

Top 1

I bought this top in France a few years ago, I fell for the embroidered flowers. The top was originally off-white and I've given it a lavender dye bath last year. Unfortunately, the paint hadn't dissolved quite right and had left some spots on the top. 

Inspired by the book 'Mend' by Kate Sekules I came up with the idea to emphasize the spots with embroidered knots. I decided to add more embroidery, with the idea of creating a shower of french knots, in a gradient from dark purple to light pink. As mentioned before, I'm not quite sure if it's a succes, but I liked trying out the technique. 

If you're interested in visible mending, I can really recommend the book 'Mend' to you. It offers a lot of creative solutions for tears, holes and spots. What I like about the book that it's about making your repairs visual and obvious, instead of 'hiding' them. 

The book is about saving your beloved piece of clothing and  contains a lot of tips and tutorials on how to do that, including a useful overview on types of fabric and the best way to mend.

Top 2
I found this blouse at the thrift store. I really liked the broderie anglaise but not the colour, it makes me look pale (or even sick). Luckily, the fabric was 100% cotton, so I bought it with the intention to give it a dye bath. 

I had a kind of blueish green in my mind, so I mixed green with aqua in a dye bath. Unfortunately the original yellowish lime colour was too strong and the result was not what I wanted. I wasn't even sure if I was going to wear the blouse, such a shame! One week after, my good friend J. came by and when I showed her the blouse she immediately liked the blouse AND the colour! So I'm glad the blouse ended up in perfect hands after all!

The tops may not have been an instant succes but I got to try out a new technique and made my friend J. happy! So mistakes are rarely only mistakes, don't you agree? Feel free to share your own 'mistakes' in the comments!

If you're interested in more details and/or the origin of broderie anglaise, please visit Vermaakster.blogspot.com. Until next time!