Two more weeks left in the recycle/repurpose journey! So far in the weekly challenges I have placed every week – 2 4th places and 2 2nd places. This week the challenge was Southwest.

I was inspired by the colors of the SW United States. The soil, vegetation and terrain are so different when compared to my usual surroundings of the farmlands of the Midwest.

I decided to natural dye old white cotton t-shirts abandoned by my son when he flew the coup.

The T-shirts were washed, scoured, and prepped for dyeing with tannin & mordant baths before natural dyeing.

The plant & tree derived dyes I used were – quebracho rojo, madder roots, cutch, fustic, pomegranate, kamala, indigo, and logwood. I also used cochineal that yields a pink. Cochineal is an insect found in the SW area of the US. It feeds on the pads of prickly pear cacti.

The jacket was machine stitched with the seam allowances visible on the outside. Parallel whipstitching held the seams open.

The wrong side of the jacket is also attractive. I chose the whipstitch with that in mind since the jacket is unlined.

Head beading!

I even did a bit of painting on a pair of thrift store boots.

This was my favorite challenge of Refashion Runway Season 5. I was able to incorporate all the things I love to do – natural dyeing, sewing and decorative hand stitching!