Invested in the Future

      Though I am now unemployed, I feel justified in saying that I've been decently productive the last week. Despite my body's firm betrayal in our agreement to keep me healthy and top-notch at all times, I got up, re-dyed my hair, attempted to transport my life onto my new laptop, finished The Vampires Diaries, season 3 (I had fallen out of touch after the hiatus last year... today I finally caught up to the rest of the world, and OH MY GOOD GOD, that remains one of the most intense shows I've ever watched. I'd forgotten how brilliant it is: plotwise and character-wise. And I was sobbing during the last episode, even though I already knew the twist at the end. I'm just saying.) and then spent the evening finally ironing patches and studs onto my vests!

     I accidentally put this off way longer than intend... but with the Amazon gift card I recieved for my birthday two months ago, I ordered a beautiful sugar skull patch from Square Deal Recordings & Supplies, a Fullmetal Alchemist patch, and 100 Iron-On, 7mm Silver Pyramid Studs (also, the company sent a bunch of random sample studs along with the ones I bought... very useful). They all arrived on a different day. Combined with the Johnny Cash patch that I've had for months and the Dumbledore's Army patch I picked up at Whimsic Alley this summer... I knew it was time to actually put them on the vests.

 Here's how I created the beautiful and questionable creatures that are my vests: 

• I found two structured jackets that I didn't wear anymore. One is obviously denim, which I bought years ago at H&M, while the white jacket was originally my mother's. I'm not sure what material it's made out of, but its layout is the same at the standard jean jacket would be.
• I cut off the sleeves, using the actual seams as a guide. When cutting T-shirts, I tend to ignore the seams where the arms are sewn onto the body, but with this, it was a lot easier to just cut around the outside of the two sleeve seams. Where the fabric changes thickness... if that makes sense? Don't actually cut through the seam; it's difficult and there's no point. Surprisingly, it actually fits well if you cut where the jacket wants you to.
• I distressed the denim jacket myself, by cutting lines into the fabric with sharp scissors, and then putting the article through the wash. I didn't do anything to the white jacket. Instead, I left it be and used fabric paint to slap a movie quote on the back. I haven't washed it since. 

• Cutting horizontal lines in the denim + washing will result in something like this: 

  

• Cutting vertical lines in the denim + washing will result in something like this:  

 

•  Once dry, it's alright to put on the patches. Place the patch in desired location, place a thin cloth over it, and press your hot iron onto the area. I used some old, thin, worn dishtowel over mine. I kept my iron on its highest setting throughout the process. I held the iron onto the patch for about 10 to 15 seconds, usually holding still. After that, I would press on the patch with strokes, back and forth across the area.
• Check to make sure the corners are well-adhered onto the jacket. It may take a few times to get the patch completely on there. And then you may think you have it on, only to have it start to peel off when you're ready to move on. You should be able to move, ripple, and bend the jacket without your whole, patchy world falling apart.
• When I was sure the patch was mostly secure, I flipped the jacket inside-out and ironed the area where I knew the patch was on the outside. It's a bit strange to explain, like many things in this post, but I basically ironed on the patch from the other side of the fabric. I read on the internet that this would make the patch even more secure. It certainly doesn't hurt.
• For studs, it's basically the same process, except you can't really move the iron once you press it down, for worry that it'll dislodge some of the studies. I came at it from different angles, though never moving in strokes like with the patches. At first, I did all of the studs individually. But it's quite easy to do many at a time. Also, when I removed the iron, the pyramids were covered in adorable little water droplets. The studs will slide around a lot more easily than the patches, so it's best to let them dry for a few minutes before adjusting the jacket. 

Johnny Cash Patch. A cut-out from an A Perfect Circle T-shirt that I accidentally destroyed, generously sewed on by my mother. A sharpie design that kind of accidentally evolved out of a few mistakes, drawn while watching The Vampire Diaries. "I go to seek a Great Perhaps," the dying words of poet Francois Rabelais, and one of the most important quotes in my current favorite book, Looking for Alaska by John Green.

  

   

D.A. (Dumbledore's Army) patch from Whimsic Alley in Los Angeles, California. Purchased right after I re-read the fifth Harry Potter book. Colorful sugar skull patch... which I now realize social justice bloggers will probably have my burned at the stake for... :/ I love the idea of Dia de Los Muertos, and all of the beautiful artwork and celebration involved. Fullmetal Alchemist (not Brotherhood, okay. I grew up with the inaccurate and amazing 50ish-episode anime. I still have a lot of emotions associated with that particular timeline..) patch. I'm currently reading the manga series. I finished Vol. 2 earlier this month. Also, one of the pyramid studs on this side is hanging on for dear life... I'm thinking of hot-gluing it on tomorrow?

          And here is my Inglourious Basterds vest... for a while, I wore it with just the letters painted on the back. Stark red and black on a white canvas. But then I took some spray paint to it this morning and an idea struck me: what if I made it look like it had just been pulled from a burning building? I have to say, I like the look of it now much more... Though the pictures don't do it justice. They make it look like the vest is a mockery of a cow, when in reality, the contrast between the white jacket and the black spray paint is not nearly that drastic. And I added on some of the free sample studs to the pocket and the collar. It's not exactly A+ design work, but I dig it. Those studs seem to be holding on fine. My only advice would be to remember that larger studs need more time to get themselves adhered on!

This post was actually formulated in the middle of the last week, but I've been unable to get on the website! I got the same error message every time I logged on, telling me that I'd logged out from another computer. Nothing worked to fix it! And then magically, I tried while sitting in my new dorm room and alas-- It works! I did absolutely nothing to repair the problem, but I'm happy it worked itself out anyways.