Posts Tagged ‘tutorial’

I did this sketch a few months ago of a simple shirt with braided sleeve. So of course when I found this crazy psychedelic print that was by far the loudest fabric I’ve ever bought, I thought it’d be perfect for this (slightly weird) shirt. It’s pretty straight forward. You’ll need a t-shirt to use as a pattern. I had only a yard of this fabric, so it cost me about $3 to make. The best part I this shirt has dolman sleeves, which mean you don’t need to cut separate sleeve! Also, you don’t really need to finish the edges since it’s a jersey knit; it might actually add to the look (I finished mine because I hate raw edges)

1. Trace shirt like so:

2. Add length for braids

3. Cut out. Repeat for back side as well

4. With right sides together, sew side seams

* **Optional: Finish neck holes and bottom***

5. Turn shirt right side out, sew shoulder seam

***Optional, finish sleeve opening edges***

6. Cut fringe just up to seam, 0.75” wide

7. Stitch down the beginning of the braid at the neck opening. You can add extra strips here if you want to, it’ll make starting the braid easier.

8. French braid!

9. Tie a knot at the bottom and cut off. You could also tuck the ends in and sew to finish.

Done!

I saw this adorable on Anthro’s website and thought it would be a great fast project. I’ve had this bag of feathers that have been sitting in my craft bin for ever. It’s the perfect use of left over supplies. I wish I would have had spotted feathers like in the original, but I like the mixture I used.

You’ll need:

-Elastic, enough for around your waist (I used 1″ wide)

-Scrap fabric

-Feathers

-Closure (hook and eye)

1. Cut 4 strips of fabric 4.5″ by 2″

2. Sew together pieces, with a 90 degree point at the end. Trim excess and turn inside out.

3. Now you’ll tuck the ends of the elastic into the open ends of the fabric tabs. You’ll want to pin each tab in place. Check the sizing. You want just the tips to touch.

4. Zigzag stitch the end closed. Top stitch around the tab. This just keeps the tab flat.

5. Sew on the closures. It’s better to do it at this stage, before you put the feathers.

6. Now all you have to do is glue on the feathers! I used ivory, brown, rust, and black feathers. I finished it off with a jade bead shaped like a bear.

Since Vlad is at work, I took the photos on my dress form.

I’ll be the first to admit I’m a Pinterest addict. I saw this button belt and fell in love with it. The only bad thing? I forgot to pin it! So I have no idea where it came from. So if you know, tell me so I can give credit where it’s due.

Moving on…

This belt is super easy (and comfy!)

What you’ll need

-Length of 2” elastic slightly longer than your waist

-3 Hook & eye closures

-Tons of buttons!

1. Measure the length around your waist. Add ½”. Cut your elastic to that length. I like to lightly singe the edges with a match so it won’t fray

2. Fold back the ends ½” on each side. Stitch

3. Sew your three closures on the back side of the fold so that when closed, there is no gap

4. Start adding buttons! Don’t do too many with the same string. You want your belt to be able to stretch still. And that’s it. Seriously easy. I didn’t go all the way around the belt because I don’t have the attention span for it.

I am a truly lucky girl. I have a great boyfriend, Vlad, who is such a sport about getting dragged to the fabric store. He’ll go through endless amounts of clearance fabric trying to find some allusive piece of fabric that I can’t even describe myself. Yet some how, he always comes away finding some killer piece that I would have completely missed. Thus was the case with this awesome black, grey and blue shear panel printed fabric. I have no idea how he found it, but I love it. I loved it so much I didn’t want to waste a single inch. So I went with a belted Caftan design. It’s super easy, although a little time consuming.

What you’ll need:

-About 2 yards of fabric (which is approximately what 1 panel of the design was)

-Some ¼” double fold bias tape

-Fabric for a sash

1. This is by far the most time consuming step. Cut your fabric into a rectangle, I recommend using a rotary cutter for this so you have clean edges. Then you are going to roll the hem  all the way around so it’s 1/4″ finished. Sew

2. Fold in half, mark the center top

3. Take a v-neck t-shirt and trace the opening. Cut out

4. Using your double fold bias tape, finish the neck opening.

5. Put the Caftan on, pin front and back together at natural waist. I had to get Vlad’s help with this.

6. Remove the caftan, mark 2.5”where you pinned in step 5. Sew button holes here.

7. Make your sash 2” wide. To do this, cut strips 3” wide, enough to fit around your waist and tie together. Then sew strips together, turn right side out and press.

Then just belt your caftan and you’re done! There are so many ways you can where it. I know most people only think of caftans as beach cover ups, but look, I paired it with a simple purple tank dress and it’s ready to go out on the town! It also looks great with jeans. You can pin up the “sleeves” and add a thicker belt, or belt the sleeves in for even more looks. I feel like there are way too many pictures of me this post, but I really wanted to show you how easy it is to style a caftan.