Tag Archives: Tutorial

DIY: Changing Cap Sleeves to Elastic Sleeves

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I’d had this tank top for ages.   While I loved how it looked with cardigans, I never liked it much by itself, because the cap sleeves were not so flattering to my arms.  A few weeks ago, I decided to get stitching and see if I could fix that.  Here’s my photo tutorial for what I did*:

Step 1: Mark where you will cut. I used pins to mark the cuts while wearing the shirt, so that I could see what they would look like.  If you have a dressform, that would work better, but I don’t (yet).  Make sure to leave about 1/2″ extra fabric to make an elastic casing.

Step 2: Take those scissors, and cut off excess fabric. But remember, measure twice, cut once.

Step 3: Press fabric to make casing. Your iron is your friend.  Use it wisely.

Step 4: Stitch, leaving a small opening for elastic. I think I used about a 5/8 hem.  How large yours is will depend on how wide the elastic you’ll be using is.

Step 5: Thread elastic through casing. If you don’t have one of those elastic threading things (sorry I don’t know the proper word), you should seriously think about getting one.  They’re insanely useful, and make working with elastic so much easier.

Step 6: Stitch elastic together, then place back in casing and stitch casing closed. Try to make sure that the elastic isn’t twisted.  It’s not very comfortable when that happens.

And…

Much more flattering.   Elastic sleeve holes make for a pretty casual look, but I think it fits the vibe of this top well.  I originally wanted to just do a regular hem, but without the elastic, the sleeve holes gapped in a very unflattering way.  Now it fits just fine, and looks great.  Happy sewing!

*I should note, this tutorial will really only work for tops which have a similar sleeve design.  There are many, many different types of cap sleeves, and this won’t fix them all.  Plus, it works best with jersey fabric – woven cotton wouldn’t look the same.

Tutorial: Boot-cut to Straight Leg Jeans

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I posted a tutorial on flared to skinny jeans about a year ago, but it didn’t include any photos, and didn’t really go into detail.  I recently altered some boot cut jeans into straight leg jeans, and I documented the steps to create this more in depth tutorial.

Before

My Express Stella jeans have made many appearances on this blog before.  Lately, though, I’ve been tired of the boot cut leg, and I’ve been wanting a hem that would allow me to wear low-heeled shoes.  I decided to alter them to have them look exactly the way I wanted.

Please note: This is specifically how I altered this pair of jeans.  Different jeans may have different constructions, so this tutorial is no comprehensive.

Step 1: Rip out seams. Rip out hem with seam ripper.  Rip out inner and outer leg seams to about 2-3 inches above knee.  Generally, boot cut jeans start to flare out just below the knee.

Step 2: Measure and take notes. Remember that the front of the jeans and the back of the jeans will have different widths. The back of the leg is usually wider.  Keeping notes, measure the width of the jeans at the knee and at the hem.  Measure for the front and the back, and take notes on what you find.  The difference between these measurements will be divided by two, and that’s how much fabric you will take away at the hem.  For example, on the front leg, the knee is 8 3/4 inches wide, while the hem in 10 inches wide.  That’s a difference of 1 1/4 inches.  I decided to take out 3/4 inch on each side, which gives it a very slight taper.

Step 3: Mark your cuts and cut jeans.

Step 4: Analyze and plan for the different seams. In most jeans, the inner leg seams and outer leg seams will be different in construction.

Outer leg seam

In these jeans, the outer leg seam was made by first serging each piece of fabric separately, and then stitching them together with a sewing machine.

Inner leg seam

The inner leg seam is constructed in the opposite order.  First, both pieces of fabric are stitched together, then the seam is serged.  Finally, this seam is also topstitched on the outside.

Because the inner leg seam is top stitched, it’s better to sew it first.  I’ve done it in the opposite order before, and it’s much harder to topstitch a leg seam when everything else is already sewn together.

Step 5: Sew, serge, and topstitch inner leg seams.

Stitch front and back together at inner leg seams.

Serge inner leg seam, then topstitch on the outside.

Step 6: Serge front and back separately at outer leg seam, then sew together.

Serge each panel of fabric separately.  Do not serge them together.

The edge of the front and back are serged and separate.

Stitch both panels of fabric together.

Step 7: Hem both legs. If you’d like your hem to be shorter, cut it now.  I shortened mine by half an inch.  Then fold under about 1/4 to 1/2 inch of fabric, and press.  Fold under to create hem (I prefer a 1 inch cuff) and press.  Top stitch through all layers on the outside.

And voila!  New jeans!  I’m considering going back and making them slightly tapered and slightly shorter, but I’m happy with them for now.

After

Green D.I.Y.- Cloth Napkins

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I’ve been trying to find more ways to eliminate waste in my daily life, and one easy change I’ve made is switching from paper napkins to cloth napkins.  There’s really no need to throw out another napkin every time we eat, when cloth napkins are so easy to make (or buy).  To keep them clean, I just wash them with my dish towels, and I keep enough on hand to last for about five days to a week.  Even if you only have minimal sewing skills, cloth napkins are super easy to make.

Step 1: Start out by making sure all your fabric is pressed.  Wrinkles will mess up your cuts.  Once your fabric is nice and smooth, cut out squares of it.  I decided to make mine 8″ by 8″, but you can make yours at whatever size works for you.  I chose to have patterned cotton fabric for one side (which came from a vintage pillowcase) and plain white cotton for the other side.

Step 2: With right sides together, stitch the two squares of fabric together on three sides and part of the fourth side.  The picture makes it more clear.  By leaving the gap, it makes it easier to turn the napkin inside out (or rightside out, depending on how you look at it.

Step 3: Clip the corners so that they will turn out neater.  Turn the napkin inside out.  Press the heck out of it.  It should be nice and smooth, with crisp edges.


Step 4: Topstitch on all sides, close to the edge.   This will close up the gap left earlier.  Press again.

Step 5: Repeat steps 1 -4 until you have the desired number of napkins.  Prepare a delicious meal, and enjoy your new eco-friendly napkins!

Before and After: Mlle Gabrielle Dress

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Before

Sometimes an alteration will dramatically change the look of an item.  And sometimes it is more about making something more comfortable.  Today’s post was more the later.  I adored this dress as soon as I tried it on at Revolve, but while everything else fit just fine, the sleeves were painfully tight.  As in, I really couldn’t move my arms tight.  I decided to take my seam ripper to the task, and see if I could make them work.  If I couldn’t, I was going to make the dress sleeveless.

This is the sleeve inside out.  When I went to alter it, I noticed that the sleeve is gathered at the hem.  I decided to take apart this section, using my trusty seam ripper.

Turns out that the sleeves had what I will call hem tape, because I’m not sure if that’s the right term.  Because of the bias of the fabric of the hem tape (maybe this is bias tape?) it made the sleeves have less give.  It also revealed the gathering stitching.  Gathering can be a lot of fun in some areas, but here, it is making the sleeves fit tighter.

I took out the gathering stitches, and pressed the sleeve with my iron.  You can already see a noticeable difference between the altered and unaltered sleeves.

The hem tape wasn’t long enough to cover the newly altered sleeve, so I folded over the hem twice, pressed the heck out of it, and stitched it down with black thread.

And now, the finished results. The sleeves don’t look extremely different, but they fit SO much more comfortably.

Circle Shawl Wrap Tutorial

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Curious to know how I wrapped my circular shawl in the outfit post from earlier today?  Here, I’ll show you how I did it.

First, you fold the shawl in half, with the right side on the outside.

Then, drape the shawl over your shoulders, with the two ends hanging in front.

Tuck one of the ends over behind your shoulder, underneath the shawl.

Then drape the other end over the other shoulder, on top of the shawl.  Secure with a shawl pin or brooch, or leave it loose.  Voila!  You now have a chic circular shawl wrap!

New ways to wear a scarf

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I recently received a request from the awesome Katrina of Pugly Feet to do a post on different ways to wear a scarf.  Way back in January, I did two posts on layering necklaces and scarves, which focused on long, winter-ish scarves.  I’m planning on a new tutorial for tying scarves in more traditional ways soon, but for now I thought I’d put together some ways to wear scarves when it’s not quite fall.

(Click the photos to see the Flickr page, if you want outfit details)

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Tie one on the handle of your purse

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Wear as a headband


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Tie around your waist as a belt/sash


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Go for the classic neck scarf

Tutorial: Flared to Skinny Jeans

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A few weeks ago I posted an outfit where I wore a pair of Express jeans that I altered into skinny jeans.  I was asked for a tutorial, so here goes.  Note that I think a moderate amount of sewing experience is good for trying this.  If you’re a bit unsure of your skills, try it on a pair of jeans that you don’t care about, or get a cheap pair from the thrift store to experiment with.  And if your sewing skills are nada, you can always get your pants tapered by a tailor.  Also, it’s important that the jeans fit you everywhere else.  If they’re fit poorly in your rear, turning them into skinnies won’t change that.  All this being said, here’s the tutorial.

  • Measure at the knee, mid-calf and ankle of both your actual leg and the pair of pants you want to alter.  Note the distance between each of these three points.

Slide1

  • Rip out side seams.  Determine the difference between the measurements of the actual jeans with the measurements you would like them to have, making sure to leave enough ease for the largest part of your calf (at least 2 -3 inches ease).  Mark the new measurements on the jeans and cut/serge.

Slide2

  • Following the example of the original seams, sew up all seams.  Try them on.  You may have to fix the area around the knee by re-doing the seam there – for some reason I always have trouble with this area

And there you go – flares become skinnies!  Happy sewing!

And remember,  you have until midnight tonight (July 4th) to enter the Chickdowntown giveaway!  That’s midnight Eastern Standard Time, if you’re interested.

Layering Scarves and Necklaces: Part 2

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I recently posted a tutorial on layering scarves and necklaces, focusing on long necklaces and long scarves.  Here, I’m looking at short necklaces with long scarves.

There are several ways to make these two types of pieces work together.  The key is to make sure that your scarf isn’t completely obscuring your necklace.  Otherwise, what’s the point?

scarfshawl

Wearing a scarf as a shawl can be easy and fun.

 

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A simple single loop around the neck looks nice as well.  Just be careful the loop isn’t too loose, or your necklace might get covered up.

 

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This is one of my favorites.  I call it the peek-a-boo, since the necklace peeks out through the scarf.  It works really well with pendants.

 

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The European-style.  Make sure it’s set off to the side instead of down the middle.

I’m still experimenting with other combinations of lengths, but at this point, the two combinations I’ve shown (long scarf & long necklace, long scarf and short necklace) are really the only two that I like.  Short scarves obscure short necklaces and look kind of weird with medium or long ones.  Medium scarves work with short necklaces, but with basically the same ties shown here.  I think the key is that the scarf needs to be as long as or longer than the necklace, otherwise things look off-balance.

Layering scarves and necklaces: Part 1

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After a request for ways of layering scarves and necklaces, I decided to put together a few posts to show different ways you can pair these two accessories successfully.  There are lots of different combinations depending on the length of each part: short necklaces vs long necklaces, short vs. medium vs. long scarves.

When pairing scarves and necklaces, be aware of balance.  Keep the rest of your outfit, including other jewelry, relatively simple.  If you’re wearing a printed scarf, keep the necklace simple.  If you scarf is a solid color, wear a more elaborate necklace.  Style is all about balance.

First, long scarves and long necklaces.

There are many ways to tie a scarf, and I certainly don’t know all of them.  One important thing to keep in mind when layering long scarves with long necklaces is to make sure that the ends of the scarf don’t hang down the middle, or else your necklace will be completely covered up.

 

The most basic pairing is to simply let your scarf hang down your neck.  This obviously works better in milder temperatures, where a scarf is worn for fashion more than warmth.

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Next, the simple yet chic tying the scarf around your neck once, letting both ends fall in front.

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If you have a wide, rectangular long scarf, you can wear it as a wrap, with or without a brooch.

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Last is the “Boa constrictor”.  For this, you twist the scarf til it gets rope-like, then wrap it three times around your neck (not too tight!) and knot it in the back.

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