Jul 15, 2010 | DIY
The other day I was just browsing in my local fabric and notions store, and something in the interior fabrics and curtains section caught my eye.
Yes, this little basket. Full of wooden and antiqued curtain rings for super-large curtain rods.
Gold, bronze, and bone craquel enamel carved rings, and dark wooden rings.
It was like a basket full of happiness.
Not that I was really looking for curtain rings. I just had my cheapskate ‘n’ DIY thinking cap on.
These curtain rings are so beautifully unique with the enamel craquelure! I’ll just remove the eye screws…
And now I have a one-of-a-kind pair of boho bangles!
You can also find large rod curtain rings in flea markets, antique stores, and interior hardware shops, so keep an eye out and your cheapskate cap on…
Though at $2.50 apiece maybe Forever21 is cheaper??
xoxox
Carly
Leave Comment
Jun 27, 2010 | DIY
As you may recall from a previous project I posted, we still have the rest of the thrifted leather jacket leftover to something fantastic with! So with my Hubby’s birthday quickly approaching, I decided to make him a homemade sleeve for his laptop computer. Sure you can buy one from the store – and I did scrounge up a tutorial for using some neoprene from an old wetsuit [and here, too!] (like I have many of those laying around!)…but I wanted to try a different material. Leather is cushioning and sleek – but if you prefer manmade leather or vinyl (or even fabric, corderuoy, or denim!) this project will work just as well. I was inspired by those wraparound manila envelopes – but you can always use a strip of material and velcro as a closure, or fashion a long strip with a parachute buckle around the entire laptop, or extend one side of the outer material and use it as a closure flap, or even add a couple inches to each end and use a zipper as closure, turning this sleeve into a simple zippered bag. The possibilities are endless!
You Need:
*leather jacket with lining (or leather/other material + lining fabric, if you are not repurposing a jacket)
*quilt batting (I used Low-Loft crib-sized batting, and had quite a bit left over)
*1 button
*black elastic cord
and…
*marking chalk
*leather shears
*fabric scissors
*matching All Purpose thread
*sewing machine needle for leather
*sewing machine needle for wovens
*hand-sewing needle (not needed if your button is not shanked)
*leather/vinyl glue
*tape
Optional
*matching upholstery thread
*walking foot or Teflon foot for sewing machine
*clothespins or binder clips
How To:
Prep Your Parts
1. Place laptop on your sleeve material, right side up, front edge facing away from you. Trace around laptop on all sides, adding 1″.
2. Lift and rotate laptop up on its back edge towards you, then wrong side up on top of the material. (Front edge will be facing towards you.) Keep drawing 1″ around all edges. (I know this sounds somewhat confusing, so I included the diagram above to show how the material was measured.)
3. Cut the rectangle out of the material (cutting through both outer and lining if you are using a jacket), using leather shears. If you do not have a lining, place this rectangle on top of your lining material, trace around, and cut using fabric scissors.
4. Cut a small piece of leather about 1″ square.
5. Unroll batting from package, and leave it doubled up as you flatten it out. Place rectangle of material on top of the batting. Cut a piece of batting the same size as the lining, then trim batting about 1/2″ on the sides only.
Time to Sew!
6. Fold material rectangle in half, and machine-stitch the edges together, using a needle for leather and upholstery thread. (Upholstery thread is not a must-have…but it is a lot stronger that regular cotton/poly mercenized, and is more suited to sewing leather and taking the stress of repeat usage. Also, f you have a walking foot or Teflon foot for your machine, it can help the leather from sticking.)
Clip corners and turn right side out.
7. Fold lining rectangle in half, and machine-stitch the edges together, using a needle for wovens and regular thread. This will make the lining into a “pouch.” Do not turn right side out; the right side needs to remain on the inside.
8. Wrap batting around the outside of the lining pouch. Fold upper edges of lining pouch down and overlap batting piece at top edges. (Trim batting top edges if they are too bulky or long.)
Machine-stitch the lining edges down over the batting, at about a 3/8″ hem.
Closing It Up
9. Sew button to the material pouch you made in Step 6), about 2″ down from the top edge on the front of the pouch.
10. Slide the lining into the material pouch, and slip the laptop inside to check for sizing. On the back side of the material pouch, tape one end of the elastic cord to the center, about 2″ down from the top edge.
11. Wrap elastic cord around button, and bring the other end to the back, cutting it and gluing it down next to the other end. Make sure the cord is taut around the button and will keep the laptop from falling out.
12. Trim the cord to meet the taped-down end.
13. Re-tape cords down with the ends free. Place a dab of glue under the ends and press them into it.
13. Remove tape and glue the small square over the ends of the cords.
14. Remove laptop and lining from the material pouch, and machine-sew the square over the elastic cord ends, first sewing a square around the edge, then an “X” shape in the center.
Finishing
14. Spread glue on the inside of the outer pouch, close to the top edge. Turn down top edge about 3/8″; clamp until dry.
15. Slip the lining back inside the outer pouch, pushing the corners all the way in.
Stitch around upper edge of laptop sleeve to secure the lining to the outer material, using a needle for leather and upholstery thread.
Et voila!
Finally, a homemade FUNCTIONAL accessory that my husband will actually use! (And it’s unisex, so can be a great gift for a man or woman!)
Happy DIY’ing and Happy Birthday, Hub!
xoxox
Carly
This is my last post for Threadbanger – wish I could do more! Hasta la vista, TB!
Save
Leave Comment
Jun 16, 2010 | DIY
While I am still distressing over our lost family pet (now missing for over a week), the only thing I have been able to do besides put up posters, hand out flyers, and spend hours staring outside and waiting for the phone to ring…has been to watch reruns of Law & Order. They always find the missing person in the end.
And blog-land wise, the only thing I have been able to do on the computer is indulge myself in a blog I cam across called Tea Rose Home. The writer of it, Sachiko, is a stay-at-home mom with 3 children, and she blogs about beautiful items: ruffles, quilts, t-shirt makeovers, children’s clothing, and home decoration projects that add beauty and happiness to her life. I’m amazed at the number of creations she makes, and the feminine quality to each one. Plus her attitude (in the face of 3 rare disorders that have had her in and out of the hospital her whole life) is inspiring and uplifting. Reading her words about how much she loves her family, the happiness she finds in crafting, and her positive attitude has really helped lend me strength in this dark time. Plus, her projects are just beautiful – and she loves forming baskets into handbags – something I love as well!
I made this basket after seeing something similar in a Japanese magazine awhile back. It is real fur, sadly – a rabbit fur that I had bought a long, long time ago and had put in my materials bag to try and figure out what to do with it. In the years after I began to feel disgusted about using real fur, and so couldn’t bring myself to use it in anything. But I also couldn’t bring myself to throw it away, which would be so disrespectful to the life of the animal.
Muffin [our lost cat] loved it, and often pulled it out of my bag, playing with it, stroking it, and sometimes sleeping with it. So I put it on a basket, kind of like a good-luck charm. It’s removable for when Muffin comes back, and now sits on my desk so I can stroke it and remember how much she loved it, while I am willing her quick return.
A cheap basket from Michael’s which didn’t have a lid was transformed into this by cutting two pieces of foamcore that would become a hinged lid inside. I added hinges and a latch from the hardware store, securing the screws I drilled into the foamcore with hot glue. The latch I secured onto the basket with thin wire from the jewelry-making section.
I then hot-glued a layer of lace around the edge of the lid from a lace table runner I found at Goodwill for $1. (Come to think of it, Goodwill had TONS of baskets there too – I should have bought there instead of spending $6.99 at Michael’s. Next time.)
Finally, I wound a lace ribbon around the handle, and added some lace bows on either side. I then added a muslin liner, and my pretty bag was done!
Once Muffin returns and wants her fur back, I will probably replace it with a layer of pretty fabric, or some faux fur on top instead.
Have any of you ever remade a basket before? Hope this gives you some ideas – and for more great ideas for basket makeovers, check out Tea Rose Home and all the beautiful basket handbags Sachiko creates there.
xoxox
Carly
linking to Tea Rose Home link party No. 12 and Avid Accents Make My Style Monday #6
Leave Comment
Jun 3, 2010 | DIY
Pillowcases come in a variety of prints that work just as well for pieces clothing. Plus, they have just enough fabric (and are roughly the same shape) as a cute little A-line mini-skirt – and can be transformed easily, with just a couple seams. (You can of course also transform them into dresses and skirts for small children.) And now there’s no need to worry when you have a lone pillowcase and can’t find its mate.
Take Exhibit A, a dot-printed piece that I pulled out of my 48-lb. haul of clothing I sourced at my local Goodwill Outlet. I was drawn to it because of the fabulous print – and I could only find one of them, so I had no intention of using it as a pillowcase…thus I thought it would work great as a skirt! The whole process took me maybe 30 minutes – a quick-sew project to be sure!
How to Make an Elastic-Banded Mini-Skirt from a Pillowcase
You Need:
*a standard-size (or larger!) pillowcase
*2″ wide piece of black elastic
*tape measure
*marking chalk
*pins
*fabric scissors
*thread and machine needle for wovens
*iron & ironing board
How To:
1. Turn pillowcase inside out and cut off all the sewn seams, leaving two large rectangles.
2. Turn rectangles sideways and fold in half. Cut edge on a slight A-line angle to the top. (I know in the photo above the fabric isn’t folded in half – but you should probably do that to ensure the right and left sides of each piece are at exactly the same angle.)
3. Unfold your pieces. Measure 1/2″ in from the angled edges of one of the pieces, and cut. This piece will become the back of the skirt.
4. Pin back to front of the skirt at the angled sides, and sew together.
5. Wrap piece of elastic at your natural waist (or where you want to wear the skirt). Make sure it is taut on your waist – not so tight you can’t breathe – but fairly tight. Overlap ends by 1/2″ and cut.
6. Sew piece of elastic in a circle on your machine with a 1/2″ seam allowance. (I used a straight stitch, then flattened each end and zigzagged over it to further secure it.)
7. Place elastic band over pillowcase top, overlapping about 1/2″. Match pillowcase skirt center front to center of elastic band, and skirt center back to the seam you sewed in Step 6). Pin the two sides as well.
8. Sew pillowcase to elastic band using a stretch stitch on your machine, with the elastic on the top and the fabric below being thread through by the machine’s feed dogs. Stretch the elastic between the pins so the pillowcase “gathers” naturally to the elastic.
9. Try on the skirt, mark where you want your hem to fall, and turn the hem (about 1″). Sew a 3/4″ hem on the bottom.
10. Iron to set the hem and remove any creases.
And that’s it! And the great thing is, the waist is elastic, so you can wear it belted higher up with a wide belt…or wear it lower near your hips for a different look. Hope you have as much fun making yours as I did mine!
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxo
Carly
~If you liked this post, please share it!~
Save
Leave Comment
May 28, 2010 | DIY
These sunglasses (a dupe of the Alexander Wang for Linda Farrow zipper sunglasses) are a bit fiddly to make, but the results are totally impressive! My tutorial was featured in Free Magazine, the official magazine of Club 18-30.
Those of us stateside may not be familiar with Club 18-30, but for our friends across the pond it’s sort of known as Europe’s version of Club Med (except catering to a younger clientele, hence the name).
My DIY Alexander Wang Sunglasses have been featured in the Summer 2010 issue, which is available in all Club 18-30 destinations from May – October. (Available in 10 countries, including Bulgaria, Crete, Cyprus, Turkey, and Ibiza.)
Unfortunately they spelled my name wrong (there’s no U in it) – but ohwell! A feature’s a feature!
Since I submitted this in February, in the meantime Style Hurricane also DIY’ed her own version using a real zipper around the edge of the sunglasses.
My version is a lot more labor-intensive, but I was going for as exact a copy as possible.:-) Whichever way you go, now these fabulous designer-style sunnies can be yours at a fraction of the price!
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxox
Carly
Leave Comment
