Cool DIYs!
iPhone Case DIY
Bleach Black Coolest.DIY.Ever. Valerie and Kristin are those cool girls from school that you wanted to be best friends with. Their DIYs are original and edgy and their blog is full of gorgeous photos. If you ever need inspiration, Bleach Black is a great site to visit.
Anchor Bracelet DIY
Ramblings of a Designer Charlotte Tang is a fellow Torontonian and fellow graphic designer! A girl after my own heart she has “caught the DIY bug” and created some really cute bracelets. Visit her site for more!
The Yellow Clutch DIY
Style Scrapbook Andy is always chic and provides us with amazing and simple DIYs that we can’t wait to try. This clutch DIY is on my to-do list!
Balmain-inspired mini DIY
A Pair and a Spare Geneva’s site is one that I visit daily. Her blog is a great DIY resource and just happens to look amazing in all of her own creations including this Balmain-inspired mini skirt that she embellished herself!
The Weekend Bag DIY
The Weekend Designer is hands-down the best site I’ve found that include cute projects and very detailed instructions. The site is not updated much anymore but there are tons of projects including this amazing bag that I cannot believe he hand-made. It’s my favourite find this week!
(23 votes, average: 4.26 out of 5) Loading ...Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself
DIY: Contrast sleeves!
My Version/Their Version
Elle
I have been haunted by this cargo jacket (above right) with leather sleeves for some time now but I couldn’t remember the brand or price. So I was walking with Wes down Yonge street and I found it in the window of a boutique! It was clearly a sign. I went in and asked the sales person about it and she took the beautiful coat off the hanger and handed it to me to try on but then I saw the price… $396! I died a little inside and didn’t try it on, then slumped all the way back down Yonge. Later, I realized how easy it would be to replace the sleeves on a regular coat! All I would have to do is find the perfect coat and leather pants or a skirt from a thrift store for the sleeves. Here’s how I did it.
Sewing Level: Intermediate
DIY cost: $33.80 Jacket, Forever 21; $14.00 Leather pants, Double Take Thrift Store = ~ $48 vs. $396
Instructions:
- Find a jacket without lining that is suitable to your taste and budget. I wanted to look in second-hand shops for a cargo coat but I figured it would be easier to buy them in-store since they’re everywhere and because I wanted the body to be similar to the original Vedo coat. I found mine at Forever 21 (Fairview Mall) for $33.80.
- Using a stitch ripper, separate the sleeves from the jacket and then the seam of the sleeve, making it lay flat – make sure to note the front and back sleeve and mark.
- Create a pattern using packing paper, newspaper, gift paper or whatever you can get your hands on. Lay the sleeve on the paper and trace around it. Mark the seam allowance which you can see from the dismantled sleeve. Again mark the back and front on the sleeve pattern.
- Find leather for your sleeves. You can try the “big” name thrift stores but they usually charge a lot for their leather. Try to find a “mom-and-pop” second hand store. I got mine at Double Take for $14. Try to find leather that would be easy as possible to sew. Mine is calfskin so it’s nice and thin.
- Place the pattern on the leather pant leg (dismantled the same way as the sleeve). My pant leg was in panels so there were seam lines throughout. In this case I lined up the tip of the shoulder with the main seam on the pant leg so it would match up with the shoulder seam on the coat. (see below for how I positioned my pattern). If you are using a fabric other than leather make sure to match your grainlines.
- Sew up the sleeve seam.
- Attach the sleeve to the body of the jacket matching the back and front of the sleeve to the back and front of the jacket.
- Finally hem the sleeve hole.
- Be careful sewing with leather. Use a walking foot and a needle suitable for leather… unlike me, who broke four. Eeep!
Pics
For those of you interested in Veda Jackets (which are awesome!) they can be found online at ShopBop. If anyone knows of any boutiques in Toronto that carry Veda let me know and I’ll post them.
(13 votes, average: 4.23 out of 5) Loading ...Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself
DIY: How to make your own Shearling boots!
So ever since I saw these burberry boots from the Fall ‘10 collection I’ve been obsessed with finding my own version, ie. cheaper and flat. BUT after searching high and low I can’t find any! I’ve seen many similar styles but they are all either heels or just ugly so I’ve taken it into my own hands (like any true DIY-er) and made my own. I took the boots I got from Common Sort last year and jazzed them up with shearling inserts. Check out how incredibly easy it is to make your own!
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(23 votes, average: 3.52 out of 5) Loading ...Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself
DIY Deer: How to Add a Leather Creature to a T-shirt
I started this project a long time ago. I drew a deer, photocopied and enlarged my drawing, cut out the leather pieces, taped them on (pinning through leather breaks nails), then started sewing… and promptly stopped. I realized what I was doing was impossible. Initially I wanted to sew around the edges of the pieces, outlining them (was I drunk?) but soon realized how difficult this was. This project laid on my “to-do” pile for about a month before I got a brainwave(!) last night and decided to just sew them straight on with diagonal top-stitching. I can’t believe how long it took me to come up with this super simple solution…
I hope you like my latest DIY. I’d love to hear what you think!
(14 votes, average: 3.93 out of 5) Loading ...Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself
DIY (in Progress): Patchwork Shorts
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(21 votes, average: 3.76 out of 5) Loading ...Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself
DIY Tuesday: Borrowed from the boys
Hello! You can find my DIY post over at Eat Live Shop today (an awesome Toronto-based blog). Check out my bow-tie necklaces!
(9 votes, average: 4.11 out of 5) Loading ...Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself
Guest Post at Get Craftee
Hello! Check out my latest tutorial at GetCraftee where I teach how to make this Turban-style headband. (It’s super easy!)
(4 votes, average: 3.25 out of 5) Loading ...Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself
How to Make a Lace Flower Necklace: DIY Tuesday
I’m going through an intense accessory phase! My brain is full of necklace, scarf, and purse DIYs and since I don’t have a lot of necklaces so I decided to make one. I love the lace necklaces that are trendy right now and after staring at a couple hundred figured that I could easily make my own. My lace flower necklace is a super easy DIY and a great summer accessory. Enjoy!
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(6 votes, average: 5.00 out of 5) Loading ...Categories: Blog, Do It Yourself