minimeg: Handmade Books The last couple weeks I have been learning how to make books as part of my internship at the Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory. One of the most basic sewn bookbinding structures is called Japanese Stab Binding. It involves lining up the pages and covers of the soon-to-be book, making a series of holes, and sewing along the edge of the stack. These books are all made using scraps of leftover and recycled paper. The smaller books are made using lined notebook paper, pieces of scrapbook paper leftover from making cards, and empty Kleenex boxes. Summer of Skirts - Circle Skirt Tutorial Some announcements first: The Dorothy Dress Giveaway will be ending Sunday (6/27) evening. Check the post for rules to enter- but remember, if you don't leave a comment you aren't entered in the giveaway! Circle skirts are awesome. However, you obviously make them whatever length you want (and by the way, can you imagine buying a pattern for anything like this? Also - I don't know why I never though of this before! Now on to the tutorial! Before I even tell you what you need, we need to do a little math. ***If any of this doesn't make sense, leave a comment and I'll clarify!! There is one decision to make first though: You can either make this with an elastic waist or a waistband with a zipper. Measuring steps: Step 1: If you are making a waistband, measure around your waist where you want your skirt to sit. If you decide to make an ELASTIC waist, measure the widest part of your hips and add 5 inches to that. Now here's the key to the whole skirt: how you cut out your fabric. -Elastic
Old Hollywood Glamour ~ Lace Halter Bustier DIY * Black Bustier* Black Lace* Black Satin Ribbon * Needle/Thread/Scissors * Line your lace up with your bustier cups… make sure the pretty edge of the lace in on the outside closest to your arms. Decide how much lace you need by measuring or just eyeballing it and make sure to leave a little extra so the panels can overlap in the center. * Cut two pieces of lace at least 12″ long to be safe. * Flip your bustier inside out. * Carefully hand-stitch the lace to the inside of your bustier cup, right below the seamed edge… or about 1/4″ down. * It should look something like this lying flat. * Try your garment on. * Readjust your lace to make sure it’s crossed over neatly and with your needle and thread carefully hand-stitch the edges of your ribbon to your lace. * Trim off the extra lace at the top… this is a personal decision. * Stitch your two panels together only at the center, not all the way up {though I suppose you can if you wish} * Trim the excess lace in the cups Have Fun!
Day to Night Reversible Scallop Skirt Tutorial with Guest Megan Nielsen so excited to share today's guest blogger with you all today! when i saw her adorable tutorial i got super excited! megan nielsen is here today with us to share a tute for the day to night reversible scallop skirt! you may have seen a few of these popping up here and there if you're into fashion! i'm super excited that megan decided to whip up a tute for us all so we can make our very own!!!! i adore megan . she is one of the loveliest, sweetest, funniest & stylish bloggers i've had the chance to become friends with. when i first started sewing her easy to follow tutorials were super inspiring and her maternity refashions/ tutes were invaluable. her readers (including me) watched as she took the leap into starting her own fashion line and pattern business and she hasn't looked back since! so without further ado...let's get whipping up some scallop skirts! Hi everyone!! Want to make one with me? Here's what you'll need: What to do: 1) The first thing we'll have to do is cut our 2 fabrics.
DIY Dollhouse Jewelry Oh my god, you guys. Do you find yourself making squealy squee noises when you see dollhouse stuff, like you might die from how cute and tiny it all is? I do. I can’t walk by without picking up all the tiny things and admiring their perfect tininess. But I don’t have a dollhouse, so I don’t get to have the tiny things. This week, it was finally time to take some tininess home for myself. If you’d like your own necklaces to harness the power of all the tiny littleness in the world, here’s how I made both of mine! First, a tiny tea set is simple to make into a cluster necklace. A miniature tea set, or any set of tiny objects, ideally with handles or other loops.Jump rings.Two pairs of pliers (needle nose or chain nose pliers are easiest), for opening and closing your jump rings (here’s how).Additional charms or beads on head pins (optional).A long chain to hang your tea set on. Use the above photo as your guide. Piece of cake, huh? Some tiny tools or other miniature items.Memory wire.
Women’s Romper Refashion Tutorial April 15, 2011 6:53 am One of the things I love about fashion is things always come back in style. They may have minor tweaks and updates, but most things come back around. I love shopping at thrift and vintage stores because you can find so many great things. Often, they just need minor updates. For those of you that think, “I can’t sew!” I began with this sad dress. (If you’re new to sewing, I recommend using a cotton or cotton blend. The first thing you need to do is put the dress on and measure to your natural waist line. You will have the reamining skirt piece which we will make our shorts out of. Ok. Here’s what you’ll have. Sew each piece at the innerleg part. Then sew up the middle seams together making it you shorts! Now attach it to your top. Here’s what we have at this point. It needs definition. Make a stitch all the way around the waist band, about 1/4 inch above the waistline. This top had lining so I just made a little hole in that pocket and ran some elastic through.
Bohemian Chic Hair Pin Yet another DIY! Summer is a time to create and when summer hits I definitely put down my knitting needles a bit more…THE HEAT! It is hard to knit with even the softest wool fiber when it is close to the triple digits outside. So here is a fun tutorial for those of you who are taking a breather from knitting. This clip was designed using a button off one of my old sweaters and some feathers I already had on hand (from all the feather extensions I have been putting in). If you purchased feathers for feather extensions and you have some left this is a great project to use them up on. 1. 2. 3.Bobby Pin (or Alligator Clip) 4. 5. 2x2in square of felt 6. First, holding the button on top of the felt cut the felt to the same size as the button. Once you have cut the felt circle fold it in half and make two small incisions for your bobby pin to attach through. Once you have the holes cut for the bobby pin thread it through the felt. Flip your clip over and slip it in your hair.
LBP: Little Black Pinafore? with tutorial I've been dying to make myself a little black dress. I started constructing this without knowing how I wanted to fix the bodice, then decided I was too lazy to make one & was about to call it a night. However, I looked in the mirror with what was already done & realized, "Hey, Jessica, maybe you can just add straps & make it an extremely low pinafore!" & that is how my newest item was born. Of course, I have to wear something underneath to keep things appropriate. I'm not exactly sure if this would really count as a pinafore, I'm not super familiar with fashion lingo. Here is a link to my very simple, quickie tutorial. Thanks for looking!
Perfect Summer Bangle Here's a fun tutorial on how to make a message bangle that's one-of-a-kind, done in the sun, waterproof and weatherproof. Even after several trips to the beach, it won't fade or wash off! Essentially, it's the Perfect Summer Bangle. Used in this tutorial: Inkodye Red Prepare. Transcribe. Perfect. Pour. Brush. Wipe. Wrap. Tape. Expose. Develop. Cut. Reveal. Wash. Enjoy. Dress Tutorial by ~LauraTolton on deviantART
DIY Zipper Headband I guess this is a week of headbands. ;) Have you ever stopped to think about what a cool gadget the zipper is? You can close things with one hand, they make a funny noise, they have "teeth"... Zippers are such a fun material to use in crafty things, and I can't believe that I never thought to wear one as a headband before. What you need to make a zipper headband: - Zipper (I like the industrial-looking zippers, you can find them at sewing stores.) - Bobby pins You don't need much for this one. Pin one side of the zipper underneath your hair in the back. That's it!
Gold dots dress (and gathered dress tutorial) I love this dots fabric. I really do. It’s double gauze cotton in natural colour and those irregularly shaped dots are actually gold. The top bodice part is Indian cotton lined with the dots fabric, and the rest of the dots fabric goes to the bottom part of the dress. Making this dress was as easy as it looks, only the bodice needs some kind of pattern and the bottom parts are just a pair of rectangles. The tutorial My bodice pattern is developed from a basic pattern, but if you have a sleeveless top or pattern with the fit that you like, you can use them to make a new pattern. I’ve made some simple diagrams for developing the pattern. Disclaimer: You may use the finished products for both personal and commercial use (craft shops or markets only – no mass production). Materials: A sleeveless top or bodice pattern of your choice.Pattern paperFabric for bodice part. Bodice part: Sewing the dress Cut fabric using bodice patterns. Some ideas: How many dresses can you make with this technique?
does PINTEREST KNOW EVERYTHING? If you haven't read about why we do these posts, check out the explanation in our first "Does Pinterest Know Everything?" post. So Pinterest told me that if I braided my hair and then used a straightener on those braids, that I would end up with these beautiful waves. So naturally I click on the picture to see a tutorial and I just end up on an image. No tutorial. Here is my hair before, completely straight. Split all of your hair into two parts and then braid each part and secure with a hair tie of your choosing. Take one of the braids and twist it tightly away from your face. Place the straightener around the twisted braid and instead of just pulling the straightener down... Twist the straightener in the same direction the hair is twisted. This is what the braids looked like after being "straightened." When your hair has completely cooled, pull out your hair ties and run your fingers through the braids to release them. This is a front view of my hair. -Fast and easy -Inconsistent