after untold hours of speculative contemplation and meditative needle chanting, my re-newed pair of denims are complete! the wings and skull were hand embroidered onto salvaged lightweight denim. i chose to stitch the wings down, leaving a raw edge so they will fray and soften during future washings, while needle-turning the skull itself to create a cleaner line. i had originally designed the skull with a dropped lower jaw and tongue, but decided to leave them out because the look become more whimsical than i had wanted. the darker circle and rectangle (still sporting some of the seam ombre and wrapping around to the front of the cuff) are from further up on the salvaged denims that the inserted cuffs were harvested from. the lighter denim square on the left cuff sports a seam from it's previous form. the inserts at the bottom of the cuffs were salvaged from another pair of denims that i had blown out the knees on. i chose to use the back seams which had already begun to fray (from my passion for wearing denims a few inches too long in the inseam so they will bunch around the ankles) rather than from the intact front cuffs so that there wouldn't be a harsh transition from the frayed over cuff to a pristine under cuff.
if you've been following my blog for any time (or know me at all), then you already recognize the skull as a personal symbol that i tend to use a lot. i know it touches some of you with its crypt-worn rasp and chilled breath...but for me it has always been a reminder that life is ephemeral and one must make the most of every moment lest those moments be lost forever!
all in all, i am extremely pleased with the way they turned out. now to turn my creative gaze upon re-newing a few shirts with some speculative boro.
namaste'
