J. Crew Inspired Knotted Crescent Necklace DIY Video Tutorial

I like a good DIY challenge.  So when Jen asked if the J. Crew OGJM Hyacinth Necklace was DIY-able, I gave it a shot.

J. Crew Inspiration ($150) ----> DIY Creation ($6 in materials)

Don't be scared off by crochet, there are no hard maneuvers in this tutorial.  The crescent is created with a series of repeated stitches.

Diagram of Crocheted Crescent

Want a more dramatic / thicker necklace?  Just increase the # of loops added.

Then I went a little crazy and made more colors.  Next up, yellow :)

Jen had also asked if this could be made by hand.  Technically, yes, but it looked horrendous when I tried.  Kelly found this tutorial if you'd like to try it by hand.

Yay or nay on these colorful necklaces?

Handkerchief Peplum Dress DIY + Mini Tutorial

Have you seen Jean in her white dress?  If you have, you can guess why I all of a sudden wanted one too :)  Shopping for a white sheath can be a bit of a nightmare because I need a dress with the following qualities: must not be see-through, must fit proportions well, must hide tummy, and must be a "deal" of some sort.  That's a tall order, and one unlikely to be filled without a good deal of shopping around, so I went to the fabric store instead.  While searching for a white ponte knit (and getting disappointed by the $13/yd price tag), I found a heavy white knit instead (on crazy sale for $2.50/yd).  It's a little thicker than ponte and a little less stretchy.  Both qualities help in the "hide tummy" camp :)

I started with the white sheath and felt like it needed a little extra something when I finished.  I decided to add a removable handkerchief peplum.

Dress with and without peplum - I prefer the "with" (at least for now)

DIY White Sheath Dress w/ Removable Handkerchief Peplum

Amrita Singh Sag Harbor Necklace, Lapis 

Gucci d'Orsay Pumps, Camel
Michael Kors Watch
Hermes & J. Crew Bracelets
Melie Bianco Ariana Bag (giveaway win via Kileen of Cute and Little)

Handkerchief Peplum Tutorial

So how do you make a handkerchief peplum?  Remember my pencil skirt + removable peplum tutorial here?  Follow the same instructions to determine the radius for your waist cut-out.

Cut out that arc and then hem your edges.  Voila, handkerchief peplum!

(Note: Since this fabric was a plain white solid, I folded it into quarters and cut out the waist.  This results in a large square with a circle in the middle.  Simply cut from one edge of your square up to the circle, hem the cut edges, and add closure to get your removable peplum.)

What kind of peplum do you prefer - round, handkerchief, other?