DIY gone awry!

When I was in elementary school, I read a lot of books in lieu of having friends. (Awww.....) But since I learned all my new vocabulary from books, I didn't get a chance to hear these new words out loud until years later, so I spent my formative years thinking the word "awry" was pronounced "aw'-ree." I felt so embarrassed until my piano teacher in college (who had taught my mom in college) told me a story about how she mispronounced "archipelago" at a dinner party and was so embarrassed. See, we all do it!

You know what else we all do? Botch up DIYs! Luckily this one still had good results!

HOW (not) TO DIP-DYE/BLEACH A DENIM SKIRT

1. Find a skirt! Mine was on super sale at J.Crew and is a happy bright neon pink. Get it in store, $60 is too much!

Step I skipped: Make sure it's 100% cotton! The skirt below is about 87% cotton and the rest is rayon and spandex, making for a very comfy skirt that WILL NOT bleach the way you think it will.

overpriced J.Crew skirt

2. Get out your $2 off-brand bleach!

ultra!!! TO THE MAX!

3. Pour some into a bowl, dye pot, or pot that you don't plan to use for cooking again. Mix in some water. I went with a half/half ratio to start with because I wasn't sure how fast the bleach would work. You can start there and add more bleach if you think you need it.

4. Put your hand up on your hip, and do the dip!

When I dip, you dip, we dip.

Things may not start to happen right away! Depending on the type of fabric, the type of dye, and your bleach mixture, you may want to dip it, get it pretty saturated, and then hang it up or let it sit there in the bleach for a bit. I've bleached items that needed five minutes and some that needed at least 30. Keep an eye on it, and remember that after you machine wash, your item will be a shade lighter than what you're seeing.

5. Let it lie in wait.

6. Wear it, wrinkle it, walk by a bodega, and squint your eyes up!

Dear New York, please stop raining.

7. Go to Muji for room shoes.

I need those.

As you can see, the bleach made my skirt darker and more purple/fuschia than neon pink. Not what I had planned, but still really cute!

I saw a cotton denim men's shirt in Uniqlo on sale, so this DIY may have a part two in the near future! Are you going to try it?