DIY Lace Shorts A few weeks ago, our friend Katie showed up wearing the cutest lace trimmed shorts. We were impressed to discover that not only did she DIY them, she made them using boxer shorts! We immediately raced to Target for white boxer shorts and the fabric store for a variety of pretty white lace trims. Honestly, this DIY is so simple and perfect for summer! You’ll need:men’s or boy’s white boxer shorts2 yards of lace trima pair of scissorspinsa sewing machine or needle and thread Pin the lace trim along the inside hem of the shorts, starting at the seam of the inner leg. And you’re done! Wear them as is or layered under skirts. (top image from Tumblr, rest of images by Honestly…WTF)
DIY Elbow Patch While perusing Pinterest one evening, I came across an intriguing tutorial on the wonderful art of needle felting. I had to learn more – especially after realizing it entailed repeatedly stabbing a needle up and down into a piece of fabric or sweater. A satisfying stress reliever that results in something wearable? Sign me up. And now that I can officially call myself a needle felting maven (and nerd), trust me when I say that you’re going to have a blast with this technique. You’ll need: With the sweater on, place a piece of tape about half an inch below the elbow. Align and center the bottom of the cookie cutter along the top of the tape. Fill the cutter, spreading out the wool fibers evenly. At the base of all felting needles are tiny, sharp burrs, which grab and interlock the wool fibers. Continue stabbing away until the surface is flat and even. Remove the cutter and use the tip of the needle to reign in any stray fibers, if necessary. Carefully peel the sweater away from the foam.
Canvas Peter Pan Collar So Peter Pan collars are a pretty big trend right now, and I really love them. I'm just glad it's socially acceptable for girls over the age of 6 to wear them now! A fun way to wear them is as a statement necklace like this one, to hip-up any plain shirt. I know there are already a few DIY tutorials out there for necklaces with a similar idea as this, but I couldn't find one exactly like this, and I felt like I had a few things to add sewing technique-wise, so I created my own little tutorial as part of the Kollabora Alt Summit Challenge. Find the full tutorial here, and let me know if you make one! I think my next one will be in something sparkly. Tutorial: Tiny Polymer Clay Plant Pots I’m really a sucker for anything miniature. You know what’s cute? A horse. Materials: Polymer clay (I used Premo Sculpey in white, from here ) Melon baller (or other tiny scooping tool) Knife Oven Methods: 1. 2. 3. 4. See that excess clay you scooped out of your pot? 5. 6. 7. I made this plain little pot a holder using these instructions and substituting embroidery thread for rope.
DIY Collar Tips You probably have guessed by now that we have a major soft spot for almost all things western . . . bolos, cowboy boots and the like. So when Balenciaga incorporated a modern take on western collar tips into their Spring 2011 Collection, we were beyond thrilled. Who knew these little metal tips are capable of brightening up any button up shirt?! With a pair of inexpensive decorative brass corners from the hardware store, we made our own Balenciaga-inspired collar tips that are to DIY for. Start by drawing 2 lines at 45 degree angles on the inside of each brass corner, creating a small wedge. Sandwich a brass corner between two pieces of fabric. Once you’ve flattened your corners, super glue a clutch pin back to each backside. Let it dry. Attach your new collar tips to any shirt! We’re excited to experiment with more fancy decorative corners and adorn our collared shirts! (top image from here, rest of images by Honestly…WTF)
DIY Bow Tie A couple of weeks ago, we celebrated FNO by DIYing bow ties and neckties from scraps of denim at Madewell – because honestly, who isn’t borrowing a bit of inspiration from the boys this season? Today we’ll be showing you, who may have missed the event, how to DIY a bow tie with luxurious, Dolce & Gabbana-inspired velvet. Before you know it, you’ll be well suited and ready to channel your inner Marlene Dietrich! You’ll need:a 6″ x 3.5″ piece of velveta 0.75″ x 2.5″ piece of velveta 1″ pin backa glue guna rulera pen Start by drawing a vertical line and a horizontal line, dividing the rectangle into 4 equal quarters. Flip the piece over, while still pinching the backside, and place a drop of hot glue in the center. Place another drop of glue on the front side and fold the fabric closed. Turn the bow on its backside and glue the tip of the velvet strip to the center. Glue a pin back to the back of the bow. Your velvet bow tie is finished! Boy, oh boy . . .
Natural Fabric Dye, Turmeric The first tutorial of 2011! The mild temperatures of the last couple of days got me all energized and in an early Spring mood. This was especially true at the beginning of the week when we had a lovely sun on top. I have been cleaning out closets, laundering sheets and blankets, doing lots of ironing, ... and a couple of early Spring crafts, one of which even resulted in this tutorial - the first one of 2011! So, yesterday when my hands were itching to make something I came up with this very simple, whimsical fabric sausage necklace. I decided to give the fabric ones a try. You'll need: - a couple of fabric strips of different length but same width - I used 4cm wide strips - enough to total (at least) 1m50 - matching thread, sewing machine - chopstick - wool roving or fiber fill ( I recommend using wool roving here as it's easier to manipulate down the tube and you'll probably need less to form a firm bead - trust me, I've tried both!) Instructions: 1. Isn't it lovely!?
DIY Bleach Tie Dye Last summer, we were obsessed with shibori indigo tie dying. No, really . . . we just about dyed anything white in sight. So when Free People asked us to include a DIY in their guest blogger series, we knew a new tie dye project was absolutely in order. And as the weather is beginning to warm up, what better time than now to start experimenting with reverse tie dye using bleach! Black tees and tops: watch out! To make a grid-like pattern, fold the shirt like an accordion and bind it between two pieces of wood or other flat shaped objects. Before you start bleaching, make sure you are wearing gloves and working outdoors or in a well ventilated area. The rusty brown color will slowly fade into a beautiful lighter shade as it begins to set. Your reverse bleach tie dye shirt is ready to wear! (top image from here, rest of images by HonestlyWTF)
Color Popped Collar + Glitterly Chunky Heels « {Photos Credit L to R}: Siliorona.com, Chloe Sevigny for S MODA Magazine, Equipment, Vince Camuto Because of the mild Winter across the US many weather ladies and gents have dubbed January 2012, Juneuary. I have to say I’m in love with the 76 and sunny and type weather we’re having in SoCal. Materials: Button Down Shirt, Stained by Sharpie Fabric Marker Be as creative as you wish! I paired my colorful button down with my pair of DIYed glitter chunky heels. Have fun!
Ökokott valge õmblusega This week, we're embroidering all kinds of shit. See yesterday's pin board project here. Today, let's embroider a tote bag. Read on for the full tutorial. MATERIALS: Pre-Made Canvas Tote Bag, Embroidery Thread, Embroidery Needle, Marking Pencil, Ruler ONE: Begin by drawing out a geometric pattern of your choosing using a water-soluble marking pen/pencil. TWO: Embroider over your pattern with evenly-spaced French knots. THREE: Be patient and keep chugging along until you've embroidered over your entire pattern. This is a great project for taking on the road.
DIY: Embellish I've got to say, Birmingham is lacking in places to buy jewellery making/haberdashery items compared to other big cities (other than The Birmingham Bead Shop of course), and I know it's a problem that many of our readers also have. This is one of the reasons I love this tutorial. We've sourced these materials from all sorts of different places. The massive chunky chain is actually a dog collar (this becomes a little problematic later... I'll explain further on in the tutorial), the spit rings/keyrings are from the key cutters and the embroidery floss is from the Birmingham indoor market. (Just a little note before we start; your going to need around 3/4 packs of embroidery floss. And there you have it. Hope you've enjoyed today's post!
DIY Studded Sneakers Studding sneakers has been on our DIY to-do list for awhile now. But the idea of hand piercing hundreds of holes through thick canvas was daunting enough to allow such procrastination. Enter E6000, the crème de la crème of adhesives. As you probably know by now, it’s our secret weapon for quickly and effectively attaching metal to fabric. So after the recent release of Vans‘ brushed twill pastel Authentics, we thought it was the perfect summer shoe to adorn. So grab some glue and let’s get studding! You’ll need:a pair of sneakers150 – 200 brass cone spikesE6000 adhesivea disposable container or popsicle sticktoothpicks Start by squeezing a small amount of E6000 into a disposable container or onto a wooden popsicle stick. Press the spike into the sneaker, holding it in place for a few seconds. Continue adding spikes along the shoe’s baseline and working upwards in horizontal lines. Arrange the spikes, without glue, into awkward spaces before attaching them.
simply screen DIY: Geometric Jersey Circle Scarf I'm super excited to share this project! Thanks to Plaid Crafts (which is home to many of the supplies both artists and crafters use) I was able to test out Simply Screen, an at home screen printing kit. I was really intrigued by the concept, and was 10x more intrigued when I actually received the kit. You basically create your own reusable screens, which I soon learned that I prefer much more over stencils. I made a circle scarf with Simply Screen, using a long strip of nude jersey & a geometric design that I made on Photoshop. Some of my good friends - hi, Abby! This screen printing kit is great for those of you who want to incorporate art into craft. The paint that's used for Simply Screen kits are both acrylic and non-toxic, so it's safe to use for all ages. You can also buy refill screens to create more designs, so you only have to buy the actual kit once. What I Used: I ended up using the 6.7in x 9.2in screen size. This is what the kit consists of. Pretty cool, right?