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Bondage Inspired Sweater

September 1, 2011 11:38 am

I had a cozy, lounging sweater that was on it’s last life. It was too oversized and kept falling off. But I couldn’t let go of it.

In comes two sources of inspiration.

One- This sweater I saw on pinterest. I just loved it.

via middlechildcomplex.tumblr.com

Second- this bondage trend I saw in Elle this month.

So here’s what I did with my sweater. I cut the back into a deep v. Then I sewed it wround the opening so it wouldn’t fray.

Then I just added three leather straps to the back.

(ps- do you know this is me? I think a lot of people think the blonde that I have modeling all the time for me is Lex. But it’s actually my sister. She is living close by in San Francisco so she can’t model at my disposal anymore. I have to do it myself a little now. yikes!)

I love the edginess of it. To do it over, I wouldn’t have cut it so low. But it stretched FAR more than I thought it would, so keep that in mind if you try it.

I love the ease of oversized sweaters. They’re so versatile because you can wear them as loungewear or style them up a bit for an “I-don’t-care” kind of look.

Hope you all like this one!

And don’t forget my fall line of scarves is 25% off for a bit longer.

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Tags: bondage, DIY, fall sweater, leather, sweater, tutorial, women's clothing
Posted in Original Designs, refashions, Uncategorized, women's clothing | 6 Comments »

Recycled Lunch Bag Tutorial

August 20, 2011 1:35 pm

It’s that time again! School supplies, backpacks, lunch boxes, etc… This year I gave the girls a choice. They could buy either a backpack or lunchbox and I would make the other. They chose to buy backpacks so I researched exactly the type of bag I wanted to make. My goal was to make it with recycled materials. I decided to do a fused plastic bag “fabric” and embroider it with scrap fabric. Instead of showing you my own ways of doing it, Dana at MADE did a great synopsis of how she did her recycled grocery bags and referenced some other helpful sites. My only other addition is that to fuse them, I used butcher paper to sandwich the bags. It worked just great. Also, I didn’t want to go out and have to shop to get my plastic bags. That just seemed wasteful to me since I was trying to make something recycled. We already use recycled bags for any shopping so I didn’t have any around. I used freecycle to get bags and ended up with all I needed!

So to begin my tutorial, we’ll start with your already fused bags.

I let the girls choose whatever fabrics they wanted and shapes and embroidered them right on to the plastic. It’s extremely easy to sew on so don’t be afraid.

Next, I prepped my bag. You need a bottom, two sides and a front and back. ( you also need a flap over, but we’ll get to that later.) This isn’t rocket science. Sew them all together. I serged mine with colorful thread. If you don’t have a serger, use a thick zig zag stitch.

Next I made a strap out of fabric and attached it securely to the sides.

For the flap I cut out their names and did a stitch around the edges.

Then sew them on then attach it to the back piece of the bag so it folds over the front.

Add some velcro to the flap and the bag to keep it closed and you’re good to pack a lunch!

I love it with our reusable snack bags and lifefactory water bottles. So cheery!

Here is the back of them.

And most importantly, don’t forget to include lots of love notes.

Coming next- loungewear revolution!!

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Tags: childrens, fused plastic bags, lunch box, recycled lunch bag, tutorial, upcycled
Posted in home, refashions | 9 Comments »

How to Make A Kaftan

July 20, 2011 8:38 am

You say caftan, I say Kaftan. I still don’t know which way to spell it.

One of my favorite summer essentials, a breezy kaftan. This is EASY! It’s just a giant, loose robe so follow along! I used this golden yellow RIT dye.

I knew I wanted something transparent for my kaftan, so against advice I used a polyester sheer material. I knew in my dying experience that it would still dye, just very light which was fine by me. So for the record, if you use a polyester it will barely pick up the dye. I got a large pieces and folded in it half over at the head. Here it is pinned on my mannequin so you can see what I did. (notice there’s no head hole yet)

I cut a slight shape out of the sides. After unfolding it, sew the sides together.

Next, fold it in half again and at the top folded corner, cut a little hole out for the head.

Now slip it over your mannequin or lay it on the floor.

Now I cut a diagonal slit across the front. I wanted the opening to be across and open at the leg.

Then I took some pins and opened it up the way I wanted it to lye on the front. Notice how it’s taking shape?

Repeat that on the other side.

Then from there you can cut off the excess and sew the openings, along with the hem and it’s complete! I love the way it covers and flows in the beachy wind!

For an optional belt I got two extra strips of the fabric along with some teal grosgrain that matched my scarf perfectly. I braided them all together.

For the ends I got a small piece of grosgrain and glued them closed.

Here’s the belted kaftan.

I have some more summer inspired tutorials coming so stay tuned!

Tags: beach ocverup, caftan, DIY, kaftan, tutorial, women's clothing
Posted in Original Designs, other, Uncategorized, women's clothing | 14 Comments »

Chan Luu inspired bracelet tutorial

July 1, 2011 8:53 am

I went to borrow some jewelry from my mom’s extensive jewelry collection and found these gorgeous bracelets by Chan Luu. She has a bunch of different versions but I love these single bands.

So I did a little research and found some great video tutoirlas on how to make them. Rather then doing my own I”ll just share a few links with you that I gathered info from to make my own.

Aunties Beads Video

Copy Cat Step by Step

I wanted to make one that was a little organic looking. I took this necklace that I had with some kind of stones and took it apart. I used the existing closures, the plastic jewelry rope it was on and added the leather. That way I didn’t need a big knot at the end.

After that I did the instructions that they said and added by toggle at the end.

Here were my problems:

1. My stones were very irregularly shaped. So it made it more challenging.

2. I ran out of my jewelry thread halfway so I needed to add more of a different one so the thread changed colors halfway through.

But I still love the way it came out. I just love the way the irregular stones look and I can’t wait to layer it with lots of other bracelets.

I’m totally hooked on making these and I can’t wait to try some more out!

Oh! And THANK YOU for all the closet ideas! They were perfect and I have tons of new ideas now. Also, the black maxi dress is done, I’m just working on editing all the pictures. Coming next week!