Homemade shrugs from Yoga Journal

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The May newsstand issue of Yoga Journal includes instructions for how to make your own shrug. I like shrugs because they add an element of feminine interest to plain yoga attire. And I’m not comfortable wearing only a spaghetti-strap cami in yoga class, especially while teaching. As I’m forty-seven, not twenty-seven, my body is for use, not show.

Because it’s Yoga Journal and not Vogue, the article describes the clothing lines of three yogini fashion designers who recycle clothing. They add flounces, cut off the legs of slacks, reshape, and trim until a new outfit has emerged. Check out Kat O’Sullivan’s website. I’m sure you’ll be inspired.

I haven’t used my sewing machine since the last Halloween costume I made for my kids, so the shrug project seemed like a good place to start. Here’s a few pics from my first attempt.

I made a mistake on this first try. You can see in the photo on the right I cut off the left tie. No worries! This was a stained T-shirt I was trying to salvage. It will now go in the rag bin for clean ups of the piddles my diabetic dachshund makes from time to time.

Here’s a finished product. I hated to send this T-shirt to the rag bin– I bought it Mexico after hiking to a mountain top to see an ancient temple. I was so proud of myself that day for not giving up halfway to the top to drink beer mixed with pepper, salt, and lime (cheladas). A young woman was selling them along the trail as if it were a lemonade stand in the middle of the forest. But I was good, and saved the drinks for the way back down.

I’m going to pull out the old sewing machine to hem the raw edges of the shrugs. Since I’m the kind of person who beats a good idea with a stick, I’ll probably be wearing shrugs long after they go out of style.

Confession Tuesday at The Polkadot Witch.

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