The Polka Dot Cure

 During a recent bout of self-imposed isolation due to my third time around with Covid, I came to an astonishing realization: Polka dots can cure just about anything, from food stains to floors to a very bad mood.

Polka Dot Fabric Patching

There's many a slip twist the fork and the frock.

If, like me and my friend Dawn, you favor natural fabrics but find that most every time you eat you drop something or other onto your clothing creating an indelible stain, this cure is for you. Below are three cotton shirts I "cured" for Dawn during a recent visit. To make these polka dot patches, see the how-to instructions included in the post, The Transitional Traveling Scarf.

The cure for food stains: polka dots!

Back

The beauty of this cure is that, as you continue to systematically destroy your garments, you can simply keep adding polka dots.

Front

Back

Tiny dots

To create tiny polka dots (the ones above are covering both stains and bleached-out areas), simply cut out a circular scrap of fabric, stitch around edge of circle, draw tight, and use the sewing needle to pick the poufy result into a flat circle shape. Using the same needle and thread, stitch directly onto garment.

Tiny dots

The back: polka dot with a sense of humor

Polka Dot Cure for Depression

Aside from their practical advantages, I have found that polka dots utilized for no practical reason whatsoever can offer a jolt of pure joy. I seldom begin a project with polka dots in mind, but if the project begins to look a little lackluster or boring I know the cure. Below are two recent projects in which polka dots were put into play with good effect.

Linen Shirt Upcycled from Aprons

Linen shirt with a dash of polka dots 

Back (and yes that is a pocket center back)

House Slippers Created From Upcycled Men's Shirts

This project, which involved winging it with no idea of what I was doing, took a very exciting turn when I realized I finally had a use for the leftover collars from upcycled thrift store man-tailored shirts. Here, it would take a sour outlook indeed to deny that the polka dots add a splash of added joy.

House slippers with polka dots

Even the pompoms, created from trimmings from the slipper seams, form a three-dimensional polka dot!

Pompom polka dots

 Polka Dot Floor Repair

I was in the midst of this polka dot craze when I enjoyed a brief retreat at Asilomar in Carmel, staying at the Julia Morgan-designed Scripps House. Imagine the giddy reaction when I looked down and spotted this gorgeous polka dot repair to the vintage wood flooring.

A wood floor polka dot repair

The Future of Polka Dots

The field of polka dot science and hands-on research is still in its early stages. Who knows how far this could go – from polka dot pothole repair transforming the crumbling infrastructure of our streets to a playful wonderland, to polka dot cuisine, polka dot auto body repair – the possibilities are endless.

 

A Perfectly Ambiguous Protest Pin

 

Recently my friend Chris, with whom I eat sushi every Tuesday, announced that he had come up with the perfect protest pin: a simple message that questions, "Had enough?" I was thrilled when he gave me permission to use the idea, and settled on the two most readable color schemes for signage — red and black for one, blue and yellow for the other.

To craft the pins I used my standby tin-can-lid method (full instructions for do-it-yourself tin-can pins can be found in my Tin Can Frames Tutorial).

However, in the process of wielding my needle nose pliers to craft a few prototypes, while my fingers were occupied my mind had time to wander far and wide. I realized that, while my intent in making these was firmly anti-Trump and anti-fascist, the exact same pin might perfectly express the sentiments of those convinced they need to make America great again. For that matter, the pin could also work for members of all 12-step groups, for abused wives, for those fed up with crime in our cities, and for those trying to curb climate change by reducing consumption. 

I had unwittingly created the perfectly ambiguous protest pin, suitable for expressing the utter dissatisfaction of most every American about something or other. What does it say about a nation when all of its citizens are completely fed up — but disparate groups are sick unto death of entirely different things? Who knows? Certainly not me; I'm just cranking out art.

Suitable for most any dissatisfaction.

If you would like to join the confused masses and let the world know that you, too, have totally had it, make a batch of perfectly ambiguous protest pins and pass them around. If nothing else they may spark conversation across our different world views, which would be an accomplishment in itself.

The How-To

Use the link for the Tin Can Frames Tutorial to learn how to make a pin from a tin can lid, and use the following link for a free downloadable pdf of the Had Enough Pin Template, which offers a template for making six pins.

Had Enough Pin Template