So, I finally got around to making a couple of DIY projects inspired by current trends.

Rodarte-Inspired Leggings

The first is a spin on Rihanna's Rodarte leggings following Tiffany's instructions at Six Six Sick.

Instead of trying to create an imperfect pair of laser cut leggings by hand (this is the most meticulous project ever because its really hard to make each diamond identical and perfect), I chose to just do a couple of bands of them. So, if you're a little more conservative, you may want to try something more along these lines than the full cutout. I left the back alone. I really like the way they turned out (and the shorter time it took), and although I was just able to squeeze in only one wearing this season on a cooler evening, I'll be bringing them back in the fall. I may take some time in between now and then to do some more cutouts since I still have my stencil, but the perfectionist in me may not let me...





Bleached denim jeans

Next up, I decided to bleach some jeans using the instructions posted at Denimology. Unfortunately, I got the bright idea to take pictures as I went AFTER I finished, so I tried to duplicate how I scrunched the jeans to get this effect.

1. I started with a nice pair of dark wash denim (you'll have to use your imagination) and scrunched one pant leg from the ankle up and secured vertically with a rubber band.


2. Then I did the same with the other pant leg.


3. Then I scrunched them together horizontally and secured with a third rubber band.


4. After 2 hours of soaking in the bleach mixture and adding even more bleach (because I grew tired of making trips back and forth outside to check on them), I pulled them out of the bleach mixture, removed the rubber bands, and threw them in the rinse cycle.


And voila:



I was surprised that they turned out having a more two-toned tie-dyed effect rather than a splotchy bleached out one (you never know what you're going to get with these type of projects), but I'm assuming that's because they were of a light wash denim that was dyed dark in the first place. But, I do appreciate that they look a little different.