Archive for the ‘tutorials’ Category

No-Hem Bubble Skirt Tutorial

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I hate hemming. It’s certainly easier now that I have a rolled hem foot and a serger to speed things along, but I still despise it. I want them to be perfect, but often don’t want to spend the time to make them so.

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This idea for a bubble skirt came to me as I was wondering what to do with the remaining yardage from my scoop neck tee. I quickly put it together in about an hour, minus some unpicking because I pinned the skirt on wrong.

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Penelope reacted as she normally does with complete and utter elation. But when I asked for a photo or two, she gave me the stink eye. Gummy worms did the trick for this session.

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I would suspect this would be the perfect kind of tutorial for a sheer or semi-sheer lightweight material. The knit drapes and flounces nicely here.

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Outfit details:

  • top: Walmart
  • skirt: handmade
  • shoes: Target

Read more for the full how to!

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High Low Circle Hem Tutorial

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Brewing in the back of my mind has been this pink and orange circle dress. I’ve had the fabric for months, it’s just been such a busy couple of months I was almost too scared to start on it.

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I certainly shouldn’t have been scared. This thing took 2 hours to make from start to finish. Clean studio to clean studio, I might add. I didn’t test anything out before I started sewing, and I ended up paying for it a little bit with the waistline, but overall everything worked like a dream.

I included a high-low circle hemline here because I had enough requests for a tutorial, I thought I would do it again so I could better explain it. It’s really easy. So easy that I’ve made a printable pattern. Not printable from home, (it takes forever to format to print on 8.5×11 paper) but you can easily take the file to your local copy shop and they can print it out on their gigantic plotter for something like 15¢-50¢ per square foot. Or you can draft your own using the instructions after the jump.

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The two colors are very similar in content and weight, the orange being a bit heavier. I wanted to have the pink on the bottom when I first conceptualized this dress, but I didn’t have enough fabric for it. You’ll need at least a yard and a half if you want it to come close to hitting at the knee. I’m a knee length gal, so more yardage was required.

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I drafted my own skirt and used the Renfrew tee as a base for the bodice. I took in the Renfrew tee about 3/8 inch at the fold line, none at the shoulders or arm pits then just about 3/8 inch at the waist line. I wanted the top to be form-fitted so I can wear the dress sans belt.

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I made the mistake of cutting the bodice too short, so I ended up adding a waistband for the needed length. It worked out just fine, and looks like it’s supposed to be there in a way. Next time my dress won’t have one. And I will be making another one of these. I sort of wish I had made this skirt last year or the year before in the height of the orange/pink craze, but I still love it regardless of what’s trending.

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The jersey is crazy comfortable, it feels like I’m wearing lounge clothes. I can’t wait to make another one. Next one will be out of a print, I think. Now I need to find the right print.

Outfit details:

  • earrings: Brazil
  • necklace: Annily Green
  • skirt: handmade
  • belt: hand-me-down from grandma
  • leather bracelets: handmade
  • bangle: c/o Apricot Lane
  • shoes: thrifted

Click to read more for the full how to make this skirt!

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Wrap Bracelet “Tutorial”

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This is the most complicated tutorial on my blog to date. I kid, I kid. You probably already have everything on hand, it’s just a matter of repurposing. And maybe you’ve already done this before.

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Yes, make an awesome, hip, trendy, amazing wrap bracelet in a matter of seconds.
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Find the skinniest skinny belt in your closet.

Wrap it around your wrist a ton of times.

Fasten.

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Mind blown? I sure hope so. The gold belt above I scored as part of a sweater set at H&M. I made the hot pink one from leather cording and a lever-back clasp.

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I measured the leather cording to my waist and glued the leather into the end cups. Each wrap took 2 minutes to make and an hour for the glue to dry. So I can wear these as itty bitty skinny belts or multi-wrap bracelets. I like these as bracelets as they’re flexible, comfortable and don’t get in the way.

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Outfit details:

  • glasses: Coastal.com
  • scarf: thrifted
  • blazer: H&M
  • top: Forever 21
  • pants: target
  • shoes: thrifted
  • bracelets: handmade and H&M
Leather and clasps courtesy of endlessleather.com (cording here, clasp here).

 

Tutorial: Kate Spade Inspired Skirt

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I’ve had the skirt of this dress in my head for a while now. It’s simple, too. Three pleats in the front and three in back.

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So for Easter I drafted up a pattern for the skirt and I thought I’d share the tutorial with you.

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The skirt itself is really simple, pretty much straight lines.

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I used this fabric from Kollabora. I love the tie dye, mottled look of it. It’s a cotton twill, perfect for heavy projects. It may be a bit stiff for this kind of skirt, but I couldn’t help myself. I will be making some pants for Felix out of this and I think those will be perfect.

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This was my second invisible zip insertion and it went even better in this than the last. Probably because this fabric is much more responsive than chiffon. Perhaps? I then thought how I could make it out of jersey. And I love my jersey version, too.

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I made it out of a stripe jersey, it’s soft and wears totally different. This was easier to sew up as I didn’t have to work with any fasteners because of the amount of stretch.

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It’s still pretty cold around my neck of the woods, so I’m not about to wear shorter skirts without stockings any time soon. But I couldn’t help myself. I’m just itching for warm weather!

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Click the read more button for the full tutorial.

First Outfit Details:

  • top: H&M
  • belt: thrifted
  • skirt: handmade
  • shoes: thrifted
  • earrings: etsy

Second Outfit Details:

  • top: handmade
  • skirt: handmade
  • shoes: thrifted
  • bracelet: handmade

Oh! And lookie, I just found a skirt you can purchase that’s very similar, but much less expensive than the Kate Spade dress version. Check out the awning stripe pleated skirt.

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Crafty Box Tutorial

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I’m over at Whimsey Box today, sharing how you can make a cheap target find into a crafty storage box.

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And I bet you have most of these supplies already on hand!

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Click here for the full tutorial.

 

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