DIY Denim Cutoffs - Sequin Party Shorts

          The final pair of denim shorts I made this summer took the longest to make. I must have spent at least 12 hours sewing each individual strand of sequins on one side...then again on the other side.

          Needless to say, I did not tackle this project all in one day! I spent a few hours a day on my bedroom floor stitching sequins and listening to a Pandora station of The Weeknd, Trey Songz, Drake and Miguel. The perfect music, of course, to listen to while embellishing what I have deemed my Party Shorts. Since sequins aren't a typical, everyday adornment, I designed these for special occasions and nights of dancing. I discovered they look best with a simple tee to offset the sparkle and low heels so as not to look too "club-y."

DIY Denim Cutoffs - Rockstar Style

          The next pair in my series of DIY denim cutoffs was a rockstar style, complete with studs, dye and a little sparkle. For a grungy look, I ripped the bottom edges and dip-dyed the bottom of the shorts. Then, I covered one back pocket with trim and glued star studs to the front with fabric glue. It was a pretty simple design, but time consuming no less.

DIY Denim Cutoffs - Hippie Style

           I've had less time for sewing this summer (as well as blogging) since I've been freelancing, interning and endlessly apartment hunting for the upcoming school year. However, I still managed to make a few pieces before I left home for a month with my older sister in NC. My first projects were actually due in part to my sister, as I found a few pairs of her high school bell-bottoms in a pile of  old clothes. I've wanted to revamp old pairs of jeans into embellished, cutoff shorts for a while, so the hardest part was deciding which of my ideas I would choose.

            For the first pair, I created a hippie-inspired design with trim, embroidered flowers, iron-on appliques and lace. I had a little trouble with some of the iron-ons sticking, so I secured them with fabric glue. Other than that, I was really happy with how they came out!

DIY: Valentino SS14 Embellished Leather Headband

        One of my favorite Spring 2014 collections as a whole was Valentino. It had all the cornerstones of my spring wardrobe -- lace, crisp collared shirts, bohemian prints, suede and strappy sandals. But what really finished every look was the red headband atop each model's head, embellished with studs. The studs reminded me of some gold crest buttons I had and I immediately decided to recreate the Valentino headband.

Photo credit: Style.com

        You can create your own embellished headband by following my DIY "how-to" below. To start, you will need a plain thick headband, red suede or leather fabric, fabric glue, a sewing needle, thread, fabric scissors, and gold buttons.

Step 1: Cut the leather fabric into a rounded strip that will cover the headband.

Step 2: Position the fabric on the headband and tack it in place with glue on just a couple edges. 

Step 3: Sew each button onto the fabric, matching the Valentino pattern. The number of buttons you use is up to you, depending on how closely you space them. Make sure they are sewn securely. 

Step 4: Once all of the buttons are sewn, glue the rest of the fabric edges to the headband. Pull the fabric taut as you glue to ensure everything will stay in place. 

Step 5: This is an additional step, so you may not find it necessary. The buttons I used are a bit bulky so they moved around and jingled on top of my head. Since I'd rather not sound like a Christmas caroler, I tacked each button in place with fabric glue.

       Once I finished my headband, it was time for a photoshoot! I put on my most Valentino-esque outfit -- a sleeveless oxford, a new patterned maxi dress and t-strap pointy toe heels. I figured I couldn't go this far without the ear-covering, low ponytail, so I sprayed back any flyaways and completed the look. Thanks to my talented brother for the photos!

Photographs courtesy of J. Ortakales Photography

Throwback Thursday: Bottle Cap Tee Inspired by Jessie J

          I meant to post about this DIY project many months ago, but alas, I've been crazy busy with fashion week, two internships, several trips to Boston, and launching my Etsy shop! So what better way to finally show you my bottle cap tee with a Throwback Thursday!

           It was probably over a year ago when I stumbled upon a picture of Jessie J wearing a cutoff sweatshirt adorned with bottle caps. Now, I love every fashion decision this girl makes. I dressed up as her last Halloween (right down to the Union Jack lip tattoo)! But this one was beyond perfect. It wasn't a stunning red carpet gown or elaborate performance getup, but it was pure genius! I'd never seen anything like it! Sure, people add studs, jewels, and leather to shoulders all the time, but you rarely see them using their old bottle caps on clothing. I knew right away that this was going on the top of my DIY to do list.

My inspiration...

          Unsurprisingly, I obtained the bottle caps for my DIY through some college kids who had hundreds saved up from all their parties. And luckily for me, they seemed to dabble in many varieties of beer. This made for great colors and some really cool designs! Of course, there were a few old-school soda bottle caps in there too, wink wink.

          Being the perfectionist that I am, it took me some time to plan out the arrangement. There was no way I'd have too many red ones together or two Bud Lights in a row! Other than that, making this shirt was pretty easy. I punched holes in the caps with tacks and stitched them in place with a needle and thread. Not many supplies needed, just a bit of patience.

My rendition...

Photography courtesy of Jeff Ortakales.

See more of his work at jortakalesphotography.com

Reconstructing a Shirt into a Skirt

       The last piece in my Summer Reconstruction series is a velvet shirt that was desperate for a makeover. When I found this top, I really liked the color and texture. The velvet has a cool squiggly imprint, however the style of the shirt was all wrong. Using this fabric for a top is outdated, so I realized that what this garment really needed was a total re-purposing. I envisioned a piece that I could wear going out or on a date and created a simple, fitted miniskirt.

 

        To transform this shirt, I cut the top half off just below the sleeves. This left me with a piece of fabric almost ready to wear as a skirt, but in order for it to fit better, I needed to do a bit of sewing. I put the skirt on, pinned one side to fit against my leg, and sewed a seam there. Next, I folded the raw edge of the waist and sewed it for a clean waistline. Because the fabric is very stretchy, I needed to take in each seam a little more than most fabrics.

Thank you to Naomi Kolok for taking and modeling in the photographs featured in this series! 

Reconstructing a Skirt into a Dress

      My favorite piece that I've redone this summer is a skirt that I turned into a dress. I had a bit of difficulty deciding on the style I wanted because the skirt had so much fabric to work with. There were many ways I could drape it or add sleeves, but I finally decided to stick with a very basic style that could be worn a few different ways. This way, I could wear it with or without a belt, move the straps to one side, or wear it without straps at all.

 

       The skirt originally had a lining, so I cut it all off to make the material lighter and easier to work with. Then, I added straps at the waistband with thick, black ribbon. Lastly, I cut a long piece of thin ribbon to use as an optional belt. 

Thank you to my beautiful cousin Naomi Kolok for modeling in these pictures!

Reconstructing Another Button Down

      Here's another button down that I transformed. This shirt is a pretty basic button down in a comfortable, stretchy fabric. It fit really well, but had horrible, poufy sleeves.

         This time, it was a very quick fix. I took out the sleeve seams with a stitch ripper, ripped off the outdated sleeves, then sewed new seams along the armhole edges. Now, I have a simple, tank button down that's a perfect basic for summer. I like wearing it with the bottom buttons undone and tying the ends in a knot, retro style!

 Thanks to Naomi Kolok for taking these photos!

Reconstructing a Scarf

         The next piece in my summer reconstruction collection is a shirt I made from a scarf. Technically, it was just a rectangular piece of fabric that I've had for a while, but this design could be made out of any large scarf.

         First, I cut the fabric into two equal, smaller pieces. I hemmed all the rough edges, and then placed the pieces on top of each other for the next steps. To create sleeves, I measured how wide I needed the neck hole, then sewed about two inches on either side. Then, leaving enough room for arm holes, I sewed along the sides about six inches from the edges (keeping in mind the shape of my torso). This makes the excess fabric flow down the sides and looks really pretty when it's belted.

Thank you to Naomi Kolok for modeling in these photos!

Reconstructing a Skirt

         For my second reconstructed piece, I altered a vintage skirt. I fell in love with the pattern and colors but when I tried it on, it didn't look quite right. I decided it would only need a couple adjustments before it would be a piece I'd be wearing all the time. 

         Skirts are my favorite things to get in thrift stores because they come in cool, unexpected patterns and there are a lot of ways to turn them into modern fashion. A few years ago, I bought a skirt in the same style as this one and simply pulled it up over my chest and belted it to make it a dress (see that post here).

           This skirt was a little big around my waist, so the first thing I did was take it in on the side. Then, I cut a slit on one side that reached about halfway up. Once I sewed all the necessary seams, it was finished! A very easy way to make an old skirt more wearable!

Thanks to Naomi Kolok for helping me with this photoshoot! She'll also be modeling in reconstruction posts to come!