Art and Adaptation Project - Eco dye garments

I decided to submit to a local art project Art and Adaptation. I had the opportunity to submit up to 3 photos of works that could be displayed in light-up art boxes around my town. The theme was adaptation and transformation and how this applies to our local context: so why not enter some transformed garments, since the reuse and recycle movement is so strong here?
My concept was that I would take before and after photos of my dyed garments and I pictured them as mirror images. 
No other available model but myself!

 A pity this one blurred! Oh well, learning experience, and I took other photos.

This shirt.. was not flattering!

I think the ones with me in them are probably more interesting than just the clothes, but I tried some of them too.

 The next stage is seeing how they turn out after the dye... could be anything!

 The flowers are loving the bits of rain we get at the moment 😃

Another day of dyeing. Aaaaaand..... the results!

 Mixed results with the photography.

 And with the success of the dye. I had a couple that I could work with though.

A bit of photoshop and creativity, and this is what I came up with.

I didn't end up submitting the green dress, because I didn't think it was interesting enough. People are much better subjects. 

 I was really happy with this one in the end, though trying to take outdoor photographs in the tropics WHILE WEAR WOOL is crazy!

 But this is probably my favourite, especially the 'after' shot.  

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Steampunk skirt refashion with eco dyed fabric

Take an op shop skirt that you bought because it had a cool pattern (and was still cotton!):

Add a cotton vest that only took up some of the eco dye:

 And a curved pillow case that you don't have a pillow for but would look great as a ruffle layer:

Layer them over each other, making sure you can see both:

And it's a pretty good start for a steampunk skirt! Final product, almost ready for the stall (unfortunately slightly too small for me!) It didn't sell this time around, but maybe next time.

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Upcycled denim jacket with rust dyed fabric

This denim started out as any denim jacket does: plain and blue. But though I like blue, I'm not so keen on plain. 

So I started adding eco dyed lace.

And then some eco dyed patches, because these spring prints needed a garment home.

A sleeve unpicked from a rust dyed shirt.

Some grumbling from my machine about sewing through denim!

That scrap of eco dyed lace that I loved, that just needed the right thing to go on.

And there you have it: ready in time for my stall.

 

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Dyeing, dyeing, always eco dyeing - this time silk dresses!

Take a gorgeous silk dress with gold embroidery:

Fill it with gum leaves, grevillea leaves, tea leaves and rusty objects:

Wrap it into a tight bundle:

Repeat with the second silk dress:

Lots more grevillea leaves on this one:

Wrap it around a rusty piece of metal:

And once both are wrapped, boil them in gum leaf dye for an hour.

They looked promising on the line afterwards:

Drying - love that copper!!

 Promising colours and patterns:

There's green in there, even after a wash in the machine!

Nice mix of copper, grey and black.

 Check out the spring:

 And the results... blown away!

Have to try that one again!

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