Posts Tagged ‘DIY’

So my Dita Von Teese inspired wrap dress was such a success for the summer, I’ve decided to go a winter version. This is a traditional style wrap dress, it actually ties closed, unlike the other one which was a faux wrap. I honestly have no idea how long this took because I worked on it in like 15 or 30 minutes chunks when I had the time.

To start out I found this amazing knit at G Street for $3/yard. With my Living Social deal my purchase was ½ off ($25 for $50), so it was basically $1.50/yard. It’s a panel- print knit called “Bunny” and it has a pretty good weight to it; almost like a light sweater. I needed 3.5 yards because of the panel. So I made this dress for $5.25 + a closure. Pretty darn good.

****Before I go on I want to make a note: Even though we are working with a knit, I don’t recommend using elastic thread. It will bunch/ruffle the fabric and we want smooth seams. So instead use a small zig-zag. *****Oh and all seams are 0.5”*****

Here are the measurements you’ll need:

1. Cut two (opposite of each other) as follows:

2. For the upper back, cut 1:

3. For the skirt panels, cut 3:

4. The ties: cut 4

5. Sew ties together, turn right-side out, top stitch. Now you’ll have to strips

6. Assemble the panels, attach the skirt to the top, pleating in the excess in the skirt.

7. Sew Front panels to back panel at shoulder.

8. Trace arm hole, add seam allowance. Cut two as follows:

9. Sew front right panel to back panel along side seam.

10. Pin one tie strap in place on back panel at left side seam. Then sew together back panel, tie strap and front left panel along seam.

11.  Pin sleeve to dress, sew

12. Finish the neckline/side seams by rolling the edge

13. Hem the bottom

14. Attach the second tie strap to the outer edge of the right front panel

15. Attach hooks on the outer left panel and on the side seam which attaches the right front panel to the back panel. This is so when you put the dress on the left panel will stay secured with the hooks and the right panel is tied in place.

And that’s it!

Let’s talk a minute about the boyfriend, Vlad. He’s tall, handsome and has excellent taste in clothing both in regards to quality and style. Needless to say, he’s a catch. And so is his wardrobe, or should I say his old wardrobe. Thankfully he has kept most of his old clothes that don’t fit him at his parents house (not to far from where we live). So on a recent trip over to grab so yummy yummy Haitian food, we raided his “childhood” closet. I grabbed the awesome Polo pants with a great brown herringbone pattern. They were to short and small for him anymore, but they fit my (natural) waist perfectly. So I thought, why not a pencil skirt?!

So here’s the tutorial for turning men’s slacks into a pencil skirt:

1. Disassemble.

1a. For this, I took out the pant leg seams, both inside and out. On the inseam, take out the stitch up until the seam is straight vertically (in the butt and crotch areas)

1b. I took out the front seam at the waist band (because front pleats to not look good on high waist skirts.

1c. I took out the side pockets completely. Men’s pockets are huge! This is great for them, but seems to visually pack on pounds on women.

2. Fix the Center seam

2a. You are going to fix the center seam on the front and back the same. So, what you do is pick a leg, we’ll say the right side. Continue the vertical seam from step 1a until you reach the inseam. Add seam allowance (0.5”) and trim excess.

2b. Repeat for left leg. Then stitch together

2c. I surged the seams, but if you don’t have a surger, finish how ever you’d like.

3. While the skirt is inside-out, pin the front and back together. Use chalk to mark out your new side seams. Mark 3” from the bottom

4. Before you sew the sides together, mark and cut your hemline, leaving enough room for a 1” fold

5. On the side seam, mark 3” from bottom hem

6. Sew sides down till 3” mark. Back stitch here

7. Tuck top raw edge into waist band

8. Top stitch (very close to the edge) your waist band shut

9. Like I said before, I use a surger, if you don’t you are going to need to finish this off another way. What I did was finish all the inner seams and the bottom with the surger.

10. Then I folded the opening at the bottom like so, and stitched:

11. Fold bottom up 1” and hem.

Done!

Obviously I love my accessories. So much so I’ve made displays for them. But what to do with my scarves and belts? Bingo! A basket.

But there’s a hitch…. Wicker baskets like this, although lovely, tend to snag delicate scarves. And we can’t have that. So here’s a super fast no sew/no glue tutorial for a basket make over.

You’ll need:

-Basket

-Pillow Case

-Safety Pins

-Ribbon (I used the kind that comes around blankets from the store. I like it because it has velcro)

1. Cut open the pillow case along the bottom edge.

2.Put the pillow case inside your basket, leaving equal amount of excess on either side

3. Tuck and pin the corners so the final edge is about 2″ below the rim

4. Wrap your ribbon around the basket to cover up any safety pins. Pin together in the back

Done! So fast. And your scarves will thank you

The Brightest necklace ever! Also, an amazing scrap-buster!

So this is very similar to my white jersey/t-shirt necklace. But I made it out of quilter’s fabric instead. I wanted something really bright and fun for summer, but that I could also wear through out the fall. I still had left over strips of fabric from making Kellie’s quilt years ago, so I pulled out all the oranges and yellows. I ended up with about 10 different fabrics. Here’s how I did it:

1. Cut 12 strips 2” by 30”. If you don’t have a continuous 30”, you can piece together strips like I did. You won’t be able to see the seams when you’re done. I used 6 different fabrics for this step and cut 2 strips of each.
2. Separate your strips into groups of 2. I recommend not having the same fabric for both pieces in a group. It makes it more whimsical looking if different fabrics are matched up.
3. Sew your pairs together along the long edges using 1/4” seam allowance. This will create fabric tubes
4. Turn the tubes right-side out

1. You should have 6 tubes now. Pair them up again so you have 3 sets. Sew the pairs together at one end.
2. Twist the pairs. To do this, I usually put a safety pin in the end that is sewn together, and pin it to my ironing board. Then I can twist them together more easily.
3. Sew the other end of each pair together to prevent the twist from falling out.

1. Cut out 2 oval-ish shapes. ****I actually started with an oval and didn’t like it so I made 1 side straight.****
2. Sew the ovals together, leaving an opening about 1-1.5” wide.
3. Turn rightside out. Turn the edges at the opening in, so there is a finished edge.
4. Put the 3 twisted pairs into one end of the oval, and sew to secure.
5. Put the other ends of the twisted pairs into the other end of the oval, sew to secure.
6. Making flowers
   1. For “ruffle flowers”
   2. Cut strips 2” wide by 15” long. You can make them narrower if you want shorter flowers. And cut the fabric shorter (less length) if you want less full flower.
   3. Fold the short end over about ½”, wrong sides together

   

   1. Fold the strip in half long ways, wrong sides together

   

   1. Make loose stitches down the whole length of the strip.

   

   1. Cinch the strip to create a ruffle

   

   1. Tie off the thread
   2. Wrap the ruffle around itself keeping the bottom (raw edge) even.

   

   1. Sew the bottom edge until you think it is secure.
   2. All Done!!

   

7. Secure the flowers to the oval portion of the necklace

I even made a red and orange one for my mom. Firey!