Some fun with denim. Today I am working on some designs to paint on levi clothing. Many years ago I painted levi jackets with large flower appliques across the back and then I would put a little flower like a pin on one side in the
front. They were so popular that they almost sold before I could get them done. Denim is one of those timeless fabrics like silk and linen. I also did some beaded embelishments after I painted them. So I brought to the studio this morning a boxy jeans jacket I picked up at the thrift shop a couple of years ago. It cost less than five dollars so I think it a good one to experiment on. First I drew out a design on newspaper print with a pencil and then made some alterations and then outlined everything with a sharpie and transferred the design to a piece of white fabric with a pencil. Then painted it with a watercolor paints. 
I always use some sort of iron on adhesive to attach my design to the jacket. I removed the back of the adhesive and ironed it. 
I tried it on and had my husband take a picture so I could see what else it needed. While I liked it, it still needed more flowers. I painted three more flowers and some tall leaves and cut them out and ironed them on to the sides and front. Because of all the pockets on the front placing the flowers there was tricky.
Lastly I painted the dragonfly on the back and now it is a dragonfly coat. After all this I then sewed the applique edges with a simple straight stich to hold on the flowers so I didn’t disturb them. 
The sleeves need be shortened and decorated too and hopefully I can work on that tomorrow afternoon. You will notice the bottom edge is just hanging out there and I am thinking some sort of painted finish would be great. This jacket is going to have alot stuff on it because I want it to be fun and springy. Painting appliques are pretty easy because the paint can run all over and you just cut the shape out you want to use. I can’t wait to do the thread work! Will keep you posted about this project. Does anyone have any ideas about finishing the bottom edge? How many of you have made a jacket just for fun? Would love to hear about it…
