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.

 

Basic Thrift Store Shirt Butchering

 

The end product - a perfect shirt filet!

This time around the focus is on basic thrift store shirt butchery. The shirts in question are those endless racks of classic man-tailored shirts ideally suited for boring nine to five office jobs, found by the armload at any thrift store. They can generally be had for anywhere from $3 to $5 depending on the thrift store. That means you are getting lots and lots of lovely cotton fabric (check labels and avoid synthetics) far more cheaply than you'd pay at a fabric store, and you are keeping all of those shirts in circulation and out of the landfill.

To create a jigsaw pieced creation like the one above, pick at least three shirts in complementary hues, or in contrasting colors that appeal to you. Butchering a man's shirt involves removing all useable expanses of fabric and gutting and tossing the reinforced seams. You may want to save collars and cuffs for other projects (see Power Cuffs for another fun and fashionable project). Stream something online, grab your scissors, and make an evening of it!

Shirt butchering diagram

Keep the front button and button hole plackets intact – they can contribute interesting and unexpected details to your final creation. What you end up with after an enjoyable evening of shirt butchering is a lovely array of useable fabric. At that point, let the creative fun begin. 

The salvaged fabric

Try piecing the fabric together in a variety of different ways. The end product in this case is a short-sleeved shirt formed from a rectangle, which gives you lots of leeway to mess around.

Let the piecing begin!

One priority for me has always been pockets, and I found a number of ways to incorporate them into this new creation from the butchered parts. The top center pocket is actually a meta-pocket, incorporating the breast pocket that was on one of the original shirts, which is itself simply the exterior of another, larger pocket formed from a panel that includes a portion of the buttoned front placket of the original shirt. A button placket was used again for the lower right pocket.

Pockets, count 'em!

There is no limit to your creativity when it comes to shirt butchery. 

Shirt back

And finally, here is the shirt in action. . . shown on me in a spaced out moment in my living room.

Moi

Couture for the Reality Wars: Where Chaos Becomes Style

A Faux Fashion Line with a PR Pitch Created by AI

In a world where the boundaries of reality shift with every scroll, tap, and algorithmic nudge, fashion has found its ultimate muse: the breakdown of communication itself. We’re thrilled to unveil our bold new couture line, Asemic Elegance, a stunning fusion of art, rebellion, and commentary on the fractured state of modern discourse.

Hand-stitched embroidery on linen

This collection uses Asemic writing—marks that mimic language but carry no specific meaning—to craft garments that speak volumes without saying a word. Think flowing gowns adorned with swirling, glyph-like patterns, sharply tailored suits etched with cryptic loops, and accessories that turn symbols of confusion into dazzling statements. It’s a celebration of ambiguity, proving that even as meaning slips through our fingers, beauty remains undeniable.

The Designer wearing an Asemic scarf

Asemic Elegance isn’t just couture—it’s a movement. In an era of competing truths, echo chambers, and fragmented narratives, this line invites wearers to embrace the chaos and transform it into something powerful. The absence of fixed meaning in the designs mirrors the complexities of modern existence, encouraging conversation, curiosity, and creativity. Who decides what a symbol means? What stories do we create when language breaks down? With Asemic Elegance, the runway becomes a battleground of ideas, where every piece is a wearable manifesto for resilience and reinvention. So step into the swirl, and let your style speak the language of the future: one of infinite possibility.

The Original Instructions to Chat GPT Used to Create the PR Pitch

"Write a two paragraph blog post introducing a new line of couture designed for the reality wars. The design uses Asemic writing, marks that look like language but lack meaning, in response to the breakdown of communication as our realities fragment. The tone should be upbeat and enthusiastic."

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Postscript:

I became fascinated with Asemic writing  and proceeded to create this hand-stitched linen scarf using my own stabs at this challenging practice. When it came to writing the blog copy, I figured getting Chat GPT to come up with the PR pitch was appropriate given the musing that went on during stitch after stitch.

Gritty Urban Interactive Wear: Alarmed!

 

Does this woman look alarmed?

Well she is!

This fashion statement was inspired by a little gadget called "She's Birdie," a personal safety alarm (pull the ring out and you have a 130 decibel siren and a flashing strobe light). If you've read the news about Oakland, California lately you know that we are teetering on the brink of civil collapse and in a state of lawlessness that rivals those old Westerns we all grew up on. However, the weather is nice and I can't imagine living anywhere else. I decided on a whim to invest in this little budget safety alarm and while I have no idea whether or not it would actually deter a thief I figured it could easily become part of an ambulatory interactive piece.

The Birdie

The first step was converting a prime thrift store find: a gray linen jacket with wonderful pockets but lacking any front closure. I snipped some fabric out of the back side of one pocket (replacing the missing section with scrap fabric) and stitched plackets onto the top front of the jacket to support buttonholes for a pair of vintage buttons.

Jacket front 

The next step was creating a template for the back lettering. I chose Bookman Old Style Font at 188pt, and printed out the letters and punctuation I needed on one 8.5x11 sheet.

Bookman Old Style 188pt

The printed letters were used as a cutting pattern on crafting felt, and the felt letters were then stitched onto the back of the jacket.

Jacket back

Stitched felt letters

More stitched felt letters!

My hopes and dreams for this piece may be overly ambitious. I envision a conversation with one of the many strangers I encounter on my ramblings about town.

Them: You are alarmed? What are you alarmed about?

Me: No, no, this is not a philosophical or political or emotional statement - although I would say if you are not alarmed about the current global situation you would have to be brain dead. This is a simple statement of fact. I am literally alarmed!

I then wave the Birdie dangling from my neck and a good laugh is had by all. Sometimes I even imagine having this conversation with an armed mugger wearing a hoodie. We will see how it goes.

Heading out...

Embroidering Blind Contour Drawings: The Sister Shirt

Blind contour drawings

Blind contour drawings are a fun, relaxing art exercise that supposedly improve your observation skills and hand-eye coordination. They can also make for some hilarious sessions with fellow artists. We've done several rounds of blind contour drawings on Zoom over the past few years since my sister and I formed a weekly maker group with her granddaughters during the pandemic. 

In our sessions, each of us chooses another person on the Zoom screen without telling anyone who we've chosen. We then start our drawing with the following rules: Don't lift your pen off the paper from start to finish; don't look down at what you are doing, just keep your eyes on the screen. After a set time period (about two minutes) we each show our drawings and the others guess the identity of the portrait subject.

The sister shirt (front)

During a gloomy interlude this winter featuring dark skies, damp chill, and atmospheric rivers, I searched through my closet for likely upcycling candidates and found this bright green linen thrift store find. Originally a long and frankly blah tunic with no pockets, the shirt was first transformed by cutting off a sizable portion of the bottom and converting those scraps into generous pockets. Vintage buttons from my collection embellished the piece.

Vintage buttons

Shirt back

The next step was to get my sometimes-hopelessly-spaced-out grandnieces and sister to send me their blind contour drawings. Once in hand I sorted through, picked out four, and transferred the drawings onto the shirt using carbon paper. The final step was stitching over the transferred drawings, adding "tethers" that extend to the bottom of the shirt so the heads look life floating balloons.

Blind drawing of Aleida by Nana

Blind drawing of Cici by Nana

Blind drawing of me by Nana

Blind drawing of Nana by Nana

You will note that all of the blind drawings used for the shirt were by the artist known as "Nana," my sister Judy, who has firmly and repeatedly identified herself as a non-artist. Blind contour drawing eliminates judgments and labels and allows everyone, no matter how they identify, to have big time fun. Nana's drawings were selected for this project because they simply suited the design best. The shirt is called the Sister Shirt because it depicts two sets of sisters, two generations apart.

A fun project from beginning to end.

Summer of Invention #3: Toe Bugs

 

The Problem

First let me say this isn't about the cost of a sock. This is about fighting back against the throw-away, out-of-control consumerism that has brought us to the brink of the apocalypse. It is also about combatting the emotional embarrassment of finding yourself at someone's house or, worse yet, a spiritual retreat in Ojai, where it becomes clear that the exception is that everyone is expected to remove their shoes. And it is about cute little bugs. It is a win-win scenario. Part of the Summer of Invention has been about tuning in to quotidian, annoying little problems that generally go unnoticed and figuring out how to fix them. 

A graphic take on problem identification: sock toe holes

The Solution

I have always wanted a darning egg for purely aesthetic fondling possibilities. I have never known how they are actually used. I ordered a cheap one online that came with darning needles and a set of embroidery thread. It arrived within 24 hours. The kit cost less than a good pair of socks.

The solution: a darning egg kit

I then spent about twenty minutes watching online how-to videos regarding darning and felt I had grasped the general idea.

The Toe Bugs

As a rank beginner when it comes to darning eggs, I found my first toe patch looked scraggly and had a couple of random bits sticking out. It looked sort of like a bug. This was the "aha" moment; I rethreaded the needle, went back in, and added a couple of legs and antenna. 

The first wonky toe bug

Colors that pop make for happy toe bugs

This is admittedly an invention far behind the times, a recycled invention from yesteryear. Which may be a lesson about thinking twice before you dispose of anything, including ideas.

Upcycling: The "Ta-Dah" Nightshirt

Front view

Back view

Introducing the Ta-Dah! nightshirt — guaranteed to help you make a noteworthy entrance at any pajama party. On a recent visit with my sister, she began to covet my nightshirt (Exotic Upcycling: Indigo Dreams), and put in a request for one of her own. Because that first shirt used such unique materials, including a length of West African cloth, I was dubious about replicating the effort. My solution was a trip to the thrift store where I scored three recycled men's shirts for a total cost of $8. The name of the shirt comes from the embroidered initials on the hem of one of the shirts.

How the shirt got its name

I find it delightfully absorbing to figure out this kind of textile puzzle, and the two photos below offer an idea of how the three shirts melded into one.

Guide to the puzzle pieces - front

Guide to the puzzle pieces - back

Detail

Note that I use the term "nightshirt" loosely. While wearing this garment assures you will look incredibly stylish if you encounter someone in a hallway in the middle of the night in alien surroundings, it also doubles as an entertaining shirt during the day. Below, a photo of me modeling the shirt before shipping it off to a sister in need.