DIY Sew: Striped Pencil Skirt

Here's a more detailed version on how to make the knit mini:

Materials:
1 yd knit fabric
Matching thread
Sewing machine
measuring tape
pins
scissors

With good sides of fabric touching I traced an old pencil skirt

The measurements ended up being 18" wide by 19" tall; in order to achieve the waist I measured two inches in on each side of the width and marked, from there I measured 9 1/2" down and marked, using a ruler I matched the dots. Then pin and cut

Fold down the top 1 1/2 inches on both pieces of fabric, pin and sew using a zigzag stitch

create darts to the back piece of fabric only; to do this measure the waist band, and cut the measurement in half, measure this out and mark (this should be the exact middle); next measure 2 1/2" from the center on each side and mark, from here measure another 1" and mark; next in the middle of your inch mark and measure down 5 1/2" down, mark; connect the dots

pin the darts

sew with a straight stitch

pin and sew up the sides

hem to desired length, by folding up and pinning

The skirt in action!

DIY Sew: Maxi Skirt

Yesterday I attempted my very first maxi skirt, it seemed like a simple enough project but I had no idea what the measurements should be. Luckily last weekend I came across a maxi at the loft, and I thought the easiest way to recreate one was to learn the construction.

Here's what you'll need:

2 yards of knit fabric
matching thread (unfortunately I was out of luck here!)
1 inch elastic
pins
Scissors
measuring tape
Sewing Machine
Skirt (for tracing)

FIrst fold your fabric in half and lay it out; place a skirt over your fabric, and trace around the skirt

Pin up both sides of the skirt and sew using a zig zag stitch

Fold the top of the skirt down an inch and a half, pin all around

Sew all the way around but leave an inch and half open
Next measure your waist and cut the elastic to that measurement plus two inches
Place a safety pin in the elastic and thread it through the waist band

When the elastic is completely threaded through overlap it by 2 inches and sew the elastic together using a straight stitch, make three different lines of stitching to ensure the elastic is secure

Fold the fabric back over the elastic and sew up the remaining inch and half of fabric

Turn inside out... and wear!

DIY: Fabric Covered Headbands

For some reason I just love headbands, maybe because I'm extremely lazy when it comes to styling my hair. In any event, I have this one jcrew headband that I absolutely can't live without, so when brainstorming for new craft projects, I figured recreating something just like it would be very useful

This is how my version turned out!

I can't express how easy this is to make, you can whip it up in under 10 minutes.

Here's what you'll need:

16" by 3" piece of fabric

plain headband 33 mm (1 3/4in)(I ordered a bunch off etsy.com)

scissors

double sided clear tape (you can buy this at a hardware store)

1. Cut a piece of fabric 16" by 3"

2. Cover the top of the headband with double sided tape

3. Figure out where the middle of your fabric is and line it up to the middle of the headband, press into place, then gently smooth out the fabric on the top of the headband

4. Place tape on the bottom insides of the headband, fold over your fabric

5. Cover the underside of the headband with double sided tape

6. Fold over fabric pressing and smoothing as you go

7. do the same to the other side

8. Complete!

Handmade Birthday Presents

Today's my sister's 26th birthday, and, coincidentally mine too! I wanted to do something special for her, so I figured I would make a few things that would come in good use for the spring!

10 Minute Dangle Button Earrings

Awhile back I learned how to make fabric button earrings, and posted them to my blog. After trying on the earrings a few times, I realized although cute, they really weren't my style and I probably would never wear them. Upon further thought I realized that if I turned them into dangle earrings I would get lots of use out of them, so that is what I set out to do.

For this project, you can either create your own fabric buttons, or recycle extra buttons that you get when buying sweaters/shirts(this is what I used)

Here's what you'll need:
2 fabric buttons (either recycled or made yourself with a button making kit)
pliers
1 paper clip
2 dangle earring backs
hot glue gun

Using the pliers pull the back protruding part of the button back off (do this on both buttons)

using your pliers cut off the top and bottom of the paper clip, you want both to be around the same size, see below for a visual

Now string the dangle earring backs onto the paper clip

Lastly, place a dab of hot glue on the back of each earring, then place the paper clip (dangle earring attached) onto the back, hold in place

and... you're done!

DIY Sew: Mini Skirt Slip

I made this crochet skirt a few months ago; I was really happy with how it turned out, but the only real use I had for it was as a beach cover-up (as it was see through). After a little bit of thought, I figured if I could make a slip for it I can wear it all spring/summer; so I set out to do just that.

Materials:
XL Old t-shirt
thread
Sewing Machine
scissors

Turn the shirt inside out

Trace the outline of the skirt

pin

Cut

Fold the top down a 1/2 inch and pin (do this to the back side too)

Sew, using a zigzag stitch across the top(front sides, and back sides), then down the sides

Turn right side out, and wear

Add the crochet skirt!