How Refashions Multiply

In the draft phase, this post was called something like "Dr Clio: RTW Surgeon" and was going to be all about how I took this cotton lace dress that doesn't suit me...

Not my color and 6" too short

But I liked the lace motif

... and refashioned it into this tunic.

Hemmed to tunic length

And dyed a fierce red-orange.

And I was going to pose some kind of sewing question about whether you refashion RTW and say how this was the first time I've actually purchased a garment with the intention of refashioning it.

But then a minor disaster struck: when Phin did post-vacation laundry, there were unexpected results which left Phin with three pairs of rather pink shorts. 

They don't look too pink here, but trust me, they did not pass muster!

Phin does the laundry. So it was with some surprise that I learned that there is regularly a red and orange load. I haven't sorted out what beige shorts were doing in that load. There was some sort of story about an orange and beige shirt. 

Whatever the reality of our laundry, the fact remains that, apparently, I did not rinse all the dye out of the newly dyed tunic. Oopsie.

Rather than let 3 pairs of shorts - 2 new and one old favorite - be ruined, I took a go-with-the-flow approach and bought more dye. Phin has always been open to fun colored shirts and tees, athletic wear, jackets and accessories. However, unless it's jeans, his pants and shorts are normally in the beige/tan/stone/khaki color range; he wasn't 100% on board with this plan at first. 

However, since the shorts were ruined, we gave it a shot. Here are the results:

  

Grasshopper Green

Phin likes green and has been wearing these a lot, even though they were the least favorite shorts pre-dye bath. 

Slate Blue (old favorites)

These were the old favories. We were hoping that they would come out a little brighter and darker, but Phin seems to be liking them nonetheless.

Righteous Red

I had teased Phin when he bought these since they have a "comfort waist". Then of course I realized that I just finished two pairs of pants with elastic waists myself.  But he was sold on the shorter length of these shorts. Now, they are the clear favorite of the rehabbed shorts, and we both like how the poly thread didn't take the dye, creating contrast stitching on the pockets. 

So, the moral of the story is dyeing is fun, but unpredictable, and I should invest in better dyes (like these) in the future. 

Do you have any dyeing tips or stories of mishap?  Or do you refashion RTW? Share please!

Oh and by the way, I have a finished pencil skirt and most of a top to show if the weather would only  cooperate so we could take some pictures. 

*Edited to add:  For new dyers, I used the washing machine and followed the instruction on the bottle. After I had rinsed the freshly dyed garments, I ran one more cycle with the machine empty and with bleach in it. I had no staining whatsoever.