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

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 :)

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!

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!  

20 Minute Convertible Maxi Dress / Skirt DIY Tutorial

The fall magazine issues are starting to roll in, but I'm still on a summer maxi dress kick.  The bonus to this one is that you can fold down the top portion to wear as a skirt AND it only takes 20 minutes to make.

Difficulty: Very Easy

Time: 20 minutes

Materials:

• 2 yards stretchy knit fabric

Due to the length of the post and number of pictures, please see the rest of the tutorial after the jump.

Easy Infinity Maxi Dress DIY Tutorial

I've long been enamored with the concept of infinity dresses, but was a little wary of the open back.  So instead of the typical 2 strap version - I used 4 straps - 2 in front and 2 in back - for more complete coverage.  I also made the fabric overlap deeper to ensure the "v" didn't cut too low on any given side (the thought of wardrobe malfunction terrifies me).

Difficulty: Easy

Time: ~2-3 hrs

Materials:

• 4 yards 56-60" width chiffon fabric (I wear a strapless dress or full slip underneath)
• 1/4" elastic

Due to the length of the post and number of pictures, please see the rest of the tutorial after the jump.

Maxi Makeover w/ a DIY Scarf

Inspired by Blake Lively's Gucci dress, I wanted to try a simple overlay effect.  For this, I chose a print to contrast with my solid maxi dress:

Difficulty: Easy

Time: ~20 minutes

Materials:

• 3/4 yard of 52-60" width chiffon fabric

Pattern:

• Scarf tutorial here, but modify the measurements as follows: 
• Narrow the width - I used 10" by measuring at the base of my neck from one shoulder to the other 
• Mirror the length of your maxi * 2 for the length (mine was 104" so I connected 2 rectangles of 10 x 52.5")

Once the scarf is finished, simply cut a hole in the middle for your head and finish the edges with a rolled hem.  I used an existing slip-over type top to get the proper size.

That's it!

Other scarf-as-clothing ideas HERE and HERE.

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

DIY Ruffled Hem Shirt Tutorial

When I saw Wendy wear this ruffled cami, I fell in love with the romantic cascade of fabric and decided to attempt my own.  I went for a more casual look with a shorter ruffle and stripes for visual interest under solid tops.  You can also certainly wear it on its own.  The concept is simply a peplum top with a dropped waist.  The peplum is also modified into a hi-lo type of hem.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: ~1.5 hrs

Pattern:

• Basic Tank Tutorial for the sleeveless top
• Peplum instructions below

Materials:

• 1 yard knit fabric

Steps:
A peplum is essentially composed of circles.  The outer circle is the peplum ruffle while the inner circle is cut out to fit your torso.

• Use the Basic Tank Tutorial from above to create your top.  You may need to shorten the length to slightly below your belly button in order for your ruffle to hit where you want it.
• Measure the hem of your top and divide it by 6.28 (this is essentially 2 * pi) to get your radius and then determine how long you want your peplum to be.
• My radius was 6".  I wanted the longest part of my peplum to be 9" and the shortest to be 6".
• Add your radius to your peplum length to get your circle size.  Mine was 15".  Using your measurement, cut out a square (mine was 15x15").
• Fold your square in half and in half once more.  Using a ruler, measure out your desired radius from your center point (where all the folds connect) and mark with chalk all around until you get the semblance of a quarter circle.  Do the same thing for your peplum length.  Cut out the inner circle and outer circle.

• If you were making a normal peplum, you'd be finished.  In order to create the hi-lo hem, you'll shorten the peplum length of one side.  To do this, fold your peplum in half once.  Using the same method as above, mark 6", 7",  and 8" to gradually meet back up to your 9" length.  Cut.

•  You'll wind up with kind of an oblong donut:

• Connect your peplum to the hem of your tank and then finish your edges.  I folded mine inwards and sewed.

Side view

You're finished!

Draped Neck Maxi Dress DIY Tutorial

Maxi dresses top my list for summer weather.  I love the comfort / ease associated with them and thought the draped neck might be a good variation from ones I've made in the past.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: ~1.5 - 2 hours

Materials:

• ~2 yards knit fabric (56-60" width)
• Existing sleeveless shirt that fits you well

Due to the length of the post and amount of photos, please see the rest of tutorial after the jump.

Striped Tulle Skirt DIY Tutorial

I fell in love with the striped tulle skirt on Jenny of CrazyStyleLove in last week's preview post and decided to make my own rendition.  If you'd like to make your own, please see tutorial below :)

Difficulty: Easy

Time: ~1.5 - 2 hours

Materials:

• ~3/4 yard base fabric (the navy blue underskirt and waist band - I used satin for relative weight and stiffness to give me some volume)
• ~1/3 yard contrast stripe fabric (teal stripes - also used satin) or less if you use more than 1 type of contrast like Jenny's skirt
• I used one contrast since I couldn't find any other satin color that I wanted to incorporate
• ~3/4 yard tulle fabric 

Steps:
1. Cut out your pieces - all are easy rectangles.

• Skirt Base = I went with a 1-seam skirt and used my desired length x fabric width for my skirt rectangle.  
• In this case, 22 x 56"
• Skirt Waistband = Use your waist size + 2" in your desired width * 2 + 0.5" for seam allowance. 
• I like a 2" band, so my rectangle was 4.5 x 29"
• Tulle Stripes = Depending on your # of stripes, your width will vary, but your length should be the same as your skirt base.  
• I had 3 stripes.  Two stripes were 12 x 56" and the other was 2.5 x 56"
• Contrast Stripes = As with the tulle, the width will vary on your # of stripes and desired end result.  The length will be the same as the skirt base.
• I originally went with one stripe at 12 x 56", but felt like the tulle wasn't noticeable enough, so then went with two stripes at 6 x 56"

2. Sew your stripes together by placing the right sides together (note: tulle is the same on both sides) and sew along the long side of each piece.

Another note on tulle, it stretches quite easily, so be sure not to pull it during sewing, otherwise your lengths will be mismatched.

3.  Due to the sheerness of the tulle, you'll see some unsightly stripe connections.  To mitigate, fold your contrast stripe inwards and topstitch it down.

4.  Place the right sides of your skirt base with your newly striped tulle panel and sew along the long side with a long stitch for gathering.

5.  Fold your skirt in half on the long side and mark the center point.  Fold in half again on the long side to mark your quarter points.  Do the same thing for your waistband.  Line up your marks and pin them right sides together.  These reference points will help you gather your skirt evenly.

6. Tug on your bobbin thread to gather between all of your markings so that the gathered length of your skirt now matches your waistband.  With the pins still in place, sew along the length.  This will join your base skirt and striped tulle overlay to your waistband.

7.  Insert zipper using this tutorial and hem the base skirt to your desired length.  The tulle does not need to be hemmed, so if you'd like it shorter, simply cut it to your desired length.  I kept mine longer than the base skirt for a little bit of a peek-a-boo effect.

You're finished!

30-minute Removable Headboard Cover DIY Tutorial

I can be a bit fickle and love to experiment around with different things.  As such, I am particularly partial to impermanent items - removable peplums, reversible dresses, and now a removable headboard cover.  Making one is not only simple, but quick as well.

Difficulty: Easy

Time: ~30 minutes

Materials: ~2.5 yards of fabric (easiest if width is 55-60") for a King-sized headboard

Since this is picture-heavy, please see the rest of the tutorial after the jump.

Sew Easy: Pillow Cover DIY Tutorial

We're starting to get settled in the new place and now adding some finishing touches.  One of the items I wanted to update were some old pillow covers.

Easy Pillow Cover DIY Tutorial w/ Envelope Closure

Difficulty: Very Easy

Time: 30 minutes

Materials:

• 1 yard of fabric (this one is Premier Prints Penmanship) for 2 18x18" pillow cases

How to:

• Cut rectangle of fabric for your desired pillow size and add 7" on one side
• I wanted my finished pillows to be 18x18" so cut a rectangle 18x25"
• Hem your short edges.

• Fold your rectangle into a square with overlapping edges (this is where the extra length is used) and sew down the sides

• Snip each corner right above your sewn edge so that when flipped outwards, the corners will be crisp instead of slumped inwards from the excess material

• Turn inside out and stuff - you're done!

What the back of the pillow looks like

I prefer these pillows:

to these:

Easy update!  :)