By Giulia Busellato
Lockdown and boredom, a horrible yet popular duo, the group you don’t want to join.
If you’re stuck at home staring at the wall and listening to the falling rain waiting for good news, the Au Naturel staff have put together some creative activities that will get your mind busy and your summer wardrobe ready to sashay.
1. Crochet your way to freedom. Maria Scapin, 23, picked up crochet during quarantine: “I love it, it keeps my mind busy and focused on something else that is not the outside world with its bad news or the fact I have to graduate during a pandemic.”
With one needle, two skeins of yarn and a few hours, you can make anything from a summer crop top to a purse to hair bands, as crocheting is very versatile. "You need to learn how to hold the needle and the yarns. Once you master that, learning the stitches is super easy," says Maria
"There are lots of ‘let's do’ videos on YouTube and patterns to follow online that are very easy but the results are very cute," she says while holding her new light blue crop top. If you want to start, watch Au Naturel's tutorial below.
2. Give your old t-shirts a new life. Tie-dye is a staple group activity – it’s fun, it’s easy and it’s relatively cheap. Au Naturel researched the easiest and safer way to tie-dye t-shirts without worrying about bleach or toxic chemicals by using veggies, fruits and spices.
First step: Prepare the fabric by boiling 4 cups of water and 1 cup of salt. When the water is bubbling, put your shirt in, making sure it's covered by the water. Let it boil for 10 minutes, lower the flame and leave it for one hour. This step is really important as it prevents the garments to loose colours when washed. Remove the t-shirt and rinse it with cold water, squeezing extra liquids.
Second step: Now it's time to have fun with rubber bands. There are various ways to twist and fold your t-shirts to make a fun design so let loose and be as creative as possible.
Third step: When you are ready, it’s time to dip your t-shirt. Soak the piece of clothing in the pan with the dye you prepared following our tutorial. Bring it to a boil and let it simmer for 30 minutes. Let it cool and rinse the t-shirt with water. You are ready to rock!
3. Another great way to decorate and make your clothes more personal is hand embroidery. Irene Dal Dosso, 23, is now decorating t-shirts, tote bags, towels and jeans for friends. “It all started because I was bored. It’s really easy. once you learn the basic stitches you will start to create more complicated designs.
"It’s also a very inexpensive activity, you need few things and your clothes look great afterwards!” she told AuNaturel
Irene learnt from her grandmother, but she said she mastered her technique online. "I follow a few profiles on YouTube and Instagram that are very inspirational. Decorated items are really special gifts too.”
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