Tuesday, June 2, 2020

Spot Removal - of a Sort

I don't own a lot of white clothes.  Me and clean are passing acquaintances at best.  It's not that I'm sloppy or messy, but when I get involved in whatever I'm doing (cooking, crafting, eating, cleaning) the state of my clothing is way down on my list of priorities.  I really should get in the habit of wearing an apron. 

I bought this tank top because it fit (more difficult to find than you'd think).  Besides, it was for contra dancing, so it should stay clean, right?  And it did for a while - up until I either spattered pasta sauce or bled on it.  A little spec of orange is impossible not to see in a sea of white.  I tried everything to remove the spot; it would not budge.

Well, bad words.  I liked this top.  It went with all my skirts.  So now what?

I decided to applique something over the spot.  The top lingered in my closet for months as I considered designs and mostly forgot about it.  This week it finally popped to the top of my project backlog along with a plan:  vines, leaves and flowers. 

I started with bias tape I made for my failed Celtic knot.  I snaked it around the top in what I hope will be a pleasing design.  Trying it on was tricky with all those pins.  Ouch!  I was nervous about sewing it in place, but it turned out to be so easy.  Excellent.

I may add more vines, depending on how the rest develops.  I have no scraps of fabric I used for the bias tape, but I found a similar green and have cut some leaves.  Next I found a couple of neat tutorials for fabric flowers.  It has been fun digging through my scraps for bright colors and sifting through my buttons.  I'm trying different sizes and methods.  Once I get a bunch made, I'll start arranging and see what happens next.  This has been fun!

Sharing with:
Love Laugh Quilt - Monday Making


3 comments :

  1. I love the little flowers - so cheerful.

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  2. I love the idea of simply improving on the spot rather than just removing it. Nice design. I like the sinuous line.

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  3. very nicely done. On your try to remove the spot journey did you try 2 paper towels soaked in milk (one on each side of the spot) pressed firmly against it (no scrubbing). Or if it was blood hydrogen peroxide or plain seltzer water usually works done in the same way as the milk paper towels. Milk gets out tomato sauce. The 3rd way to try would have been to hang it on a line outside overnight. All suggestions are from my grandmother's wealth of ways to clean things.

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