10-Minute DIY Tassel Earrings

Work is a bit calmer these days and I'm able to have some time to be creative.  I've MISSED this!

I was shopping on Amazon and they showed me some gorgeous Rebecca Minkoff tassel earrings as part of their new Fashion offerings.  I loved the way they looked, but felt like the color options and sizing weren't quite right for me.

I decided to see what I could dig up from my giant stash of DIY supplies.  Earring hooks and jump rings were pretty easy to find, but I wound up having to visit Joann's to find embroidery thread in the colors I wanted.  I bought a BUNCH, but ultimately wanted to go with a more neutral, understated look and chose a medium gray color.

See the full tutorial after the jump or on my Instagram!

Scarves to Maxi Dress DIY Tutorial

I know I spend an insane amount of time making maxi dresses, but I can't seem to help myself.  This one is very simple - you're essentially sewing the sides of 3 scarves (or 3 fabric squares together) and adding straps.  See below for steps!

3-Scarf Maxi Dress DIY

Difficulty: Very Easy

Time: ~1 hour

Pattern:  None - use 3 squares

Materials:

• 3 square scarves OR cut 3 squares out of lightweight fabric - I'd recommend something silky
• For maxi length - I'd recommend 34.5" squares so that the diagonal running from shoulder to hem is 48" (keep in mind to adjust if you're taller!)
• Because I used grid fabric, I had to follow the pattern for my squares and wound up with 37.5" squares - hence the floor sweeping length
• Strap material - I used black bias tape, but you can use fabric, leather, etc.  Braided straps would be SO cute

Steps:
1.)  You're going to need a person or dress form for this, but position 1 scarf point at each shoulder and pin where these meet for the placement of your neckline

2.)  Place 1 point of your 3rd scarf at the center back right at the base of the neck

 3.) Pin under the arms where the front meets the back

4.) Play with strap placement and mark with chalk (I didn't actually go with the one shown below, but it was fun to experiment)

5.)  Sew down the center front from your pinned neckline all the way down the edge.

6.)  Sew down each side from the underarm pin all the way down the edge.

7.)  Pin your strap placements and carefully try on your dress.  Make sure straps fit comfortably and make length adjustments as needed.  Sew straps in place.

And you're finished!

Questions?  Please feel free to leave me a comment below or send me an email!  :)

Finished Scarf Maxi Dress

Striped Racerback Maxi Dress DIY

We're seeing warmer weather in the Bay Area and it's time to start sewing some maxi dresses again.  Comfortable and cool, this is my uniform for the summer and I especially love knit versions for both ease in sewing and in wearing.

Material:  Stretchy knit from Michael Levine, 2 yards

Difficulty: Easy, all serger construction (you can also use a twin needle on a regular machine)

Time: ~3 hours

Pattern: Patterned bodice based off of this previous Racerback Maxi Dress DIY minus the gathering at the bust, self-drafted skirt (just a rectangle)

Striped Racerback Maxi Dress DIY

And in case you ever wondered who was catching my attention...

:)

Hope everyone had a great weekend!

10 Minute Lariat Necklace DIY Tutorial

Wednesday is mini DIY day!  Ok, not really, but here's a quick and easy necklace to whip up:

Nautical Lariat Necklace DIY

(Eep, apologies for the dusty necklace display)

Difficulty: Very Easy

Time: ~10 minutes

Materials: ~$3 in materials

• Necklace Chain in your preferred lariat length - mine was about 24"
• Pendant Charm - anything you'd like as the centerpiece - I chose an anchor 
• Circular Charm - I found a little ring charm in my jewelry supplies
• Coordinating jump rings
• Jewelry pliers and wire cutters - you can get a kit at your local craft store for under $10 (Joann's and Michaels always have some kind of 40% coupon!)

Steps:

1.)  Measure out the length of your lariat and snip with your cutters.  It's helpful to drape it around your neck to see how long you'd like it to fall.

2.)  Attach a jump ring to the end of the chain and add your ring charm to the same jump ring

3.)  Thread the other side of your chain through your ring charm.  Alternatively, if your pendant charm fits through your ring charm, please feel free to skip this step.

4.)  Similar to Step 2, add a jump ring to the end of threaded chain and attach your pendant charm

Simple and inexpensive!

Interested in more jewelry and accessory DIY tutorials?  Check out my Pinterest board for links to other projects!  :)

Easy 30-Minute DIY: Slouchy Tee or Sweater

I LOVE that I'm seeing more slouchy, comfortable clothes popping up in stores.  They work perfectly for weekends with the kids, and now that I've gone from conservative corporate to a more casual workplace, slouchy works there too :)

This one is a very easy and quick DIY.  The best part?  You get a short-sleeved look without actually having to attach sleeves into an armscye (not my favorite task).

Difficulty: Very Easy

Time: ~1/2 hour

Pattern:  Make your own from an existing tee

Materials:

• Existing blouse to pattern your top - drop shoulder is easiest 
• BUT you can also use a regular tee and just extend your cut from the shoulder to the arm as one continuous line instead of cutting out separate sleeves.  From neckline to end of sleeve should be about 7-8".  Make sure you keep the torso pretty close to the end of the sleeve (see pic below under step 1) if you want the slouchy feel.
• ~3/4 yard fabric - sweater knit or any other stretchy knit

Steps:
1.)  Fold your shirt in half and align that fold with the fold in your fabric.  Use your shirt as a template to cut out the front piece and back piece (more details below).

Align shirt fold to fabric fold

2.)  The back piece can be cut exactly as laid out above.

3.)  For the front piece, simply push the back collar inwards so you can get clear access to cut the neckline of the front (shown directly below).  Cut the front piece as you did the back after you've made the neckline adjustment.

Tuck the back neckline inwards

4.)  You should now have 2 pieces as shown below.   

Back piece on Left and Front on Right

5.)  With the front and back cut out, place the right sides together and pin at the shoulders.  Sew each shoulder and each side.  

6.)  Fold in your raw edges at the sleeves, collar, & hem and sew down.

(Apologies for a not so great pic)

And that's it!  Call it a slouchy tee or a summer sweater if you used a sweater knit like I did (perfect for breezy SF summers).

Questions?  Please feel free to ask in the comments below or send me an email :)

Hello and a Mini DIY

Hello!  It's been a long while since I've last posted (some ramblings on why below), but let's start with a quick and easy mini DIY.

I have a number of bib-type necklaces that rest on the collar.  If I wear a collared shirt or turtleneck (it's been in the 50s-60s here lately), I feel choked when wearing a necklace.  So though this may be a DUH to many of you, I wanted to share how to quickly extend a necklace if you're like me.

Necklace Extender - just add a bracelet!  

This gives you the adjustable length you need and a bonus of a cute dangler to hang down your back.  Particularly useful when you were thisclose to leaving for work when realizing your necklace was too short.

And then some rambling - please feel free to skip :)

So where have I been?  It all started with a trip to Hong Kong during Thanksgiving last year.  It was both a very good trip and a very horrible one.

The good:

• FOOD!
• Fabric shopping
• Seeing Jay Chou in concert

The bad:

• 4 out of the 5 of us got sick.  Our 5 year-old had his first febrile seizure and went to the emergency room.  Thank goodness we still have family in HK to help us navigate through the healthcare system.  Poor guy had to spend the night for monitoring, but thankfully was ok to come home to the hotel (and back to the US a couple of days later).
• Broke my toe on Day 3 of our 12 day trip and limped around for the remainder.  And to be a little whiny (a lot whiny?), we walked 5-8 miles per day anyway.  

Once we came home, I spent quite a bit of time being inactive while waiting to heal.  Inactivity plus good food equaled 7 lbs in rapid weight gain. The extra weight on someone of my stature was...ahem...noticeable, to say the least.  Sewing was the last thing on my mind - I didn't want to sew larger items only to alter them later so I threw my focus into getting back to my normal weight.  I first started watching what I ate on weekdays while indulging on the weekends (a compromise I knew I could realistically stick to) and as I healed, I started getting active again.  It took FOUR months to lose the weight I gained in ONE.  But I'm now back to normal and hope to start sewing again!

While I get back in the swing of things, you can always find me on Instagram under the name, "SewEatRepeat."  I'm still toying with the idea of changing the blog name to reflect this as well, but I'm also kind of lazy, so we'll see :)

DIY Roundup: Holiday Decor & Gifts

I found these beautiful holiday DIYs and couldn't resist sharing these!

Glitter Mason Jar Candles DIY (cakerypapery tutorial here)

High-impact, gorgeous candles in only 5 minutes!

Snow Globe Terrariums (pinkpistachio tutorial here)

Create a stunning scene on your mantle!

DIY Cone Trees (Bella Nest tutorial here)

Add your personal touch to cone trees - great for decorating or gifts!

Happy DIY'ing!

DIY Roundup: Upcycle & Refashion

For those who celebrate, I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday!

If you're looking to breathe new life into older items, here are a few fun ideas to try out :)

Repurpose a sweater for a cozy, luxe feel on your footstool (source and tutorial here)

Paint a border on your dress for an edgier look (source and tutorial here)

Add elbow and back patches to your sweater for a whole new look (source and tutorial here)

Happy DIY'ing!

DIY Roundup: Cold Weather Wear

It's been a week and I'm no closer to finishing my projects.  Rather than wait, I'd like to share some great-looking DIYs around the web:

DIY Poncho (source & tutorial here)

I'm looking forward to giving this a shot!

Arm-knitting an Infinity Scarf in 15 Minutes (source & tutorial here)

I've never tried arm-knitting before, but it looks fun to try and the result is so pretty!

Cowl Scarf from Old Sweaters (source & tutorial here)

Always love a good upcycling tutorial

Keep warm and happy DIYing!

Brocaded Box Pleats & Future Posts

The holiday season is here, and along with that, comes holiday sewing.  Right now, I'm working on a new winter coat, a brocade skirt, and a hooded cape.  I have a tendency to get to a certain point in the project and then need to stop and reflect, hence the partial projects.

Anyhoo, here's a look at the brocade box pleats project:

Thinking this might work well for a holiday party

I'd also let to get back in the groove of sharing some of my favorite Mom's Kitchen recipes like Chinese Fish Fillets, Black Sesame Dessert w/ Glutinous Rice Balls, Homemade Rice Noodle Rolls, etc.  If there are any Cantonese / Chinese recipes you'd like to see, let me know and I'll see if Mom has one to share :)

Have a lovely week!

15-Minute Turtleneck Cape DIY Tutorial

This tutorial is perfect for beginner sew-ists.  It consists of 2 simple shapes sewn together with 2 seams.

15-Minute Turtleneck Cape DIY Tutorial

Difficulty: Very Easy

Time: ~15 minutes

Materials:

• 1.5 yards Fleece or heavy knit fabric
• Bonus: Fleece does not fray so you may opt to leave the edges raw / unsewn

 Steps:

1.) First, fold a 40 x 40" square in 1/2 twice so that the resulting square you see is 20 x 20"

2.  From the folded corner, use your measuring tape to measure out 20" all along the edge of the fabric and mark (I use regular chalk, but there are also marking tools in the notions section of your fabric store) as you go to form an arc.  This arc will result in the circle you'll use for your cape.

You can see my blue chalk lines in the above photo from the arc markings.

3.  Cut along your arc lines.

4.  For a typical turtleneck, measure out your radius at the folded tip as 2.5" in the same manner as you did for the cape edges and then cut.

5.  Your turtleneck piece is a 14 x 17" rectangle.  Make sure your 17" edge is the stretchy side of the fabric so that you may easily slip your cape on and off.

If you're using the same type of fleece I am, you'll find that the selvedge edge does not stretch.  Use the selvedge edge for the 14" length.

6.  Fold in half with the right sides together and sew down (use a twin needle or serger for stretch) the open edges.  

7.  Turn your cape pieces inside out and place the turtleneck portion inside your cape.  Line up the edges and sew (twin needle or serger for stretch again - a regular straight stitch would snap).

If you're using fleece, you can leave your edges unsewn since it won't fray.

(You can choose to sew the edges if you'd prefer though!  Just fold inwards and stitch.)

You're finished!

Alternately, feel free to vary the measurements to your preferences.  Here are some ideas:

• Cowl Neck - cut a larger neck opening and a correspondingly longer rectangle (on the stretchy side) for the cowl

• Full-sized Long Cape - Cut your circle as 30" (should essentially by your neck to wrist length + 2.5") instead of 20"

• Capelet - Make your circle 15" (should essentially be your neck to elbow length + 2.5") instead of 20"

Happy sewing!

DIY Script Shift Dress

I originally bought the Ikea Britten Nummer fabric a while ago, but it wasn't until this pin that I finally made up my mind on what to sew with it.

DIY Script Shift Dress

Difficulty: Easy

Time: 2-3 hours (I kept having to readjust the armscye after I Frankensteined a sleeve onto this bodice from a commercial pattern)

Pattern:  Dress from this tutorial and sleeves from a commercial pattern  (any will do, but just keep in mind the above for adjustments)

Materials:

• 2 yds of fabric (mine is Ikea's Britten Nummer - link above)

P.S.  Funny story about that giant shin bruise.  My 3-year old bounced onto our bed as she usually does, except that her knees hit my shin.  Her reaction?  "You should have moved, Mom."  I couldn't help but laugh.

15-Minute Reversible Infinity Scarf DIY Tutorial

It was starting to get chilly here and it put me in cozy clothing mode (of course, today will hit the 90s, but oh well).  I couldn't resist making this reversible for the versatility and visual interest.  :)

Reversible Infinity Scarf DIY

Difficulty: Very Easy

Time: ~15 minutes

Materials:

• 2 yds of 2 coordinating fabrics (would recommend soft, drapey fabrics like knits / silkies / chiffons)

 Steps:

1.  Cut each fabric into identically sized rectangles - you can customize the measurements to your preferences.  I'm using 14 x 80" for each rectangle.

2.  Put the right sides together and sew down each long side.  Flip right side out.

3.  Put right sides of the short ends together and sew.  Leave about a 2" gap and blind-stitch shut (great tutorial here).

Finished scarf!  

Colorblocked Maxi Dress DIY

So I'm still stuck on maxi dresses because they are so comfortable and work is business-casual (with a slight emphasis on the casual since jeans and button-downs are very common).  I've been wearing them on an almost constant rotation with blazers, sweaters, and cardigans whilst feeling like I'm lounging around in pajamas.  Nothing beats cranking on Excel in pajamas - I'm only kind of kidding.  :)

Anyhoo, I've been churning them out like a madwoman and this week was no exception.  To break it up a little, I colorblocked and made the hem asymmetrical.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: ~1.5 - 2 hours

Materials: ~2 yards knit fabric A + 3/4 yd knit fabric B for the hem colorblocking

Pattern: Modified neck and hem from the Draped Maxi Dress Tutorial.  The hem looks asymmetrical when wearing, but you can see in the above that it actually is a straight hem.  I cut more flow starting under the bust so that it would drape longer on each side for a little visual interest.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful weekend!

DIY Mini Fabric Bolts & Sewing Room Tour

Prior to having the mini fabric bolts, I'd store my fabrics in giant plastic bins and have to rummage through all of them to find something specific.  I love that I can now just see all of my fabrics at a glance.  I first saw the idea for mini fabric bolts at Iheartnaptime and thought it was genius to use comic book boards as the basis for the bolts.  Because I initially kept poking myself with pins, I modified her idea by simply folding and wrapping my fabrics around the boards instead.

Materials:

• Comic Book Boards - I used 8.5 x 11"
• Fabric

Steps:

Note - For thinner fabrics like chiffons, I'd recommend placing them in magazine holders to maximize shelf space and keep them standing better (see above pic, bottom right).

1.  Fold fabric into a size that is roughly 3X wider than your board (does NOT have to be perfect)

2.  Fold one side of the fabric over the long edge of the board.

3.  Fold fabric over both of the shorter ends of the board

4.  Roll board and fabric towards the loose fabric end

5.  Tuck

You're finished!  Now display your fabrics proudly!

On to the Sewing Room tour - so when I say "Sewing Room", it's really more of a sewing corner in a living room that also serves as an office.  Space is tight, but it's still nice to have dedicated space.  When I first started sewing (2 houses ago), I would haul my sewing machine and materials into the breakfast nook, sew, and then put everything away again.

My little sewing table holds my serger and sewing machine.  The OttLite in the middle is great for detail work.

Kitchen jars organize little sewing items like tape measures, zippers, etc.

My little sewing corner

Fabric Shelf (Ikea Expedit)

Most fabrics are organized on mini bolts and shelved (typically by material and then color) like books for easy visibility.  Solids are kept in the bins and organized by material - i.e. knits, twills, shirtings, laces.  Also in bins are bulky wools, remnants, and supplies.

Example of one of the fabric bins

If you have any good organizational tips (especially for small spaces), please do share!