In My Defense, It Has Been A Very Long Winter .....

Back before "the crappy winter of 2014", during "the crappy winter of 2013", I bought this black hemp jacket at my local resale shop for $1.50.  When that is the price, I get all crazy about the possibilities.

The first thing I did was splash some bleach on the jacket.  The bleaching action was almost immediate and I discovered that bleach on black hemp creates these wonderful pink/beige spots!

  I was expecting white!

I immediately washed and dried the jacket, to stop the bleaching action.  If I had not, I could have ended up with big holes.

Then I began the transformation.  I found some fabric with dragons and flames on it, a box of white sequins, some fabric paint in tubes, and some white acrylic paint that I applied with a variety of round sponges in different sizes.

This is a detail from the back of the jacket.

This is the entire jacket back. ( or most of it)

This is a detail of the right shoulder area .....( my first adventure with sequins)

This shows some of the buttons.  I removed the boring ones, found some replacements, and then painted them.  The one white button "face" is actually a bead.

This is a photograph of one of the pockets.  Because the jacket is a short one, it was really awkward to put my hands in from the top.  So, I opened the pocket on the side, added the dotted ribbon for stability, and sewed the top closed.  Now I can slip my hands in from the sides.  In the process of all this, I inadvertently snipped the fabric, creating a hole.  So, to take care of that, I sewed a VOGUE dress label over it .

This shows the left shoulder area. (more sequins as well as some beads.  A real bedazzled dragon !)

Here you can see most of the jacket front.  If it ever warms up, I will be able to actually wear it.

Yeah.  It really has been a long winter ......

So, go find a cheap jacket and give it a go!  You will have fun and something quite unique to wear.