How to Sew an Infinity Scarf

We're going to be doing things a little bit differently here today. I've written a post on how to sew an infinity scarf, but instead of reading about it here, you can see it over on Prim and Propah where I'm guest posting. Enjoy!

Cruella De Vil Costume

Well tomorrow is Halloween and I've got another costume to share for some inspiration. I made this Cruella De Vil costume a couple of years ago and it's another one of my favorites. If you're looking to take on an advanced (but rewarding) sewing project, then this is a great costume to try. I'll admit, sewing a fur coat from scratch isn't a quick process, so this might be an idea to put in your back pocket until next year. Or, if sewing isn't exactly part of your repertoire, you could always try finding a faux fur coat at a thrift store, or maybe improvise with a big bathrobe. Here's what I did...

1. Black and White Wig: To get Cruella's signature black and white 'do I just spray painted half of a black wig with white spray paint. 

2. Cruella's Fur Coat: Creating this coat turned out to be quite the undertaking. I used white fur fabric and dyed it yellow right in the washing machine machine using Rit Dye. I then created my own pattern for the coat and sewed it from scratch using red silk fabric for lining. I then stuffed the whole coat - except for the sleeves - with pillow stuffing to give it a more cartoony shape.

3. Cigarette Holder: I got this at a party store and I think they're pretty easy to find around Halloween time.

4. Simple Long Black Dress: I found this dress at a thrift store for a steal at $3!

5. Cruella's Jewelry: Cruella wears a big green ring and big green earrings. I made my own using beads that I bought at a bead store, gold artists wire, and earring hooks. 

6. Red Gloves: Also a very cheap find at a party store.

7. Fur Purse: I sewed this purse using the same fabric from the fur coat. The black "tails" were made by wrapping black pipe cleaners around strips of the yellow fur. I used the same technique on the tails on the back of my coat (see below).  I also lined the inside with the silk material, so the purse was actually usable for the night!

8. Red Shoes: I found these shoes (in my size!) with sheer luck at the same thrift store I bought the dress.

If you don't already have Roger's "Cruella De Vil" song stuck in your head after this post, then watch it here and plan on humming it for the rest of the day...

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Blind Melon Bee Girl Costume

Halloween really snuck up me this year, but I'm not worried about it because I'm going to be reusing a costume I made a few years ago. It probably won't surprise you, but I've never owned a store-bought Halloween costume. When I was younger my mother whipped up some really fabulous costumes for my siblings and I, and as I got older I began to make them for myself. This costume is definitely one of my favorites because it was really fun to make, really fun to wear, and it was inspired by my favorite song ever ... No Rain by Blind Melon! The iconic "Bee Girl" was made famous in the No Rain music video, a 90's classic.  

To really pull off the Bee Girl look, these pieces were all necessary.

1. Bee Girl Hat - I made this little hat by cutting the leg off a pair of black and yellow striped tights, sewing the top shut, and then attaching a heart that I made with a pipe cleaner. I also stretched the tights out before wearing the hat so that it wouldn't be too tight on my head. 

2. Signature Bee Girl Glasses - I bought these lensless glasses for a whopping $2.

3. Bee Girl Corset - I sewed this top from scratch and used sequined trim for the embellishment. If you look the photo below, it may appear that my top strayed from the exact look of the bee girl, but that's not the case! My costume was based on the Bee Girl from the music video. That Bee Girl was inspired by Blind Melon drummer Glen Graham's sister, the girl pictured on the self-titled album cover.

4. Bee Sleeves - I made these sleeves by cutting and sewing pieces from the same tights I used to make the hat.

5. Black Leggings - These I already owned. 

6. Bee Girl Tutu - Making this tutu was quite an experience as I'd never made one before. I made my own trim using the same fabric that I made my corset with. I applied the trim to pieces of tulle then layered and sewed them to make the final product. 

7. Bee Girl Tap Shoes - unfortunately I didn't have any tap shoes so I settled for black flats. 

Album Cover from Blind Melon Facebook Page

Handmade costumes are a tough job, but someone's gotta do it! I'm so excited to wear this costume again this weekend and to dance my little heart out to my favorite song...

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BCAE Jean Genie Class Part 2

I'm so excited that I can finally tell you all about the Jean Genie class i took at the Boston Center for Adult Education last weekend! If you've never taken a class at the BCAE, I have to say that you're missing out. They have such a wide variety of classes that you're almost guaranteed to find a class on any subject that you're looking to gain a little extra knowledge in. I took the "Digital Photography: The Next Step" class there in April and have to give a lot of credit to BCAE for my improved photography skills. 

As someone who is already pretty familiar with a sewing machine, but not so much with sewing jeans, I wondered what knowledge this Jean Genie class would bring me. I think the words "ohhh, I didn't know you could do that!" came out of my mouth way more than I would have expected during the 3 hour class. 

One of the first things we learned in the class was how to take in the waistband of your jeans in a way that's totally unnoticeable! As it turns out, this technique is not only great when you've lost weight and don't want to lose your favorite jeans, but it also works for those jeans that fit amazingly in the morning but then you find yourself having to hike them up for the rest of the day. Below, our fabulous instructor Julia Yampolsky taught us the technique using scrap fabric.

I think that one of the most surprising things that I learned in this class was that patching a pair of jeans does not mean that you have to end up looking like a scarecrow with obvious patches that are 10 shades darker than your jeans. I found out that the secret to making your patches almost invisible is actually in the thread color choice! Imagine that?! And even more surprising was to find out that the thread you most likely want to choose will be grey, not blue. Fascinating!

While it's fairly common to require a patch at the knee, the jeans I brought with me to the class actually needed a patch at the hem. This giant tear is the result of wearing jeans that are far too long, so they dragged on the ground when I wore them with sneakers. Julia helped me to create a patch by cutting the bottom part off another pair of jeans and fitting it to the hole in mine. Then, using the patching technique, I was able to make my jeans whole again! I can't wait to patch up another pair of my jeans which have suffered the same fate.

Since we had a little extra time at the end of our class, Julia taught us how to hem a pair of jeans. The same technique can be applied to various types of pants, and oh my goodness it's so easy to do! While this lesson isn't usually taught in her Jean Genie class, you might consider taking Julia's Easy Alterations to Save you Money class if that's something you want to learn how to do.

Obviously I couldn't give away all of Julia's secrets, so if you want to learn exactly how to magically repair all of your jeans, sign up for the Jean Genie class which is being offered again in December! And  if you're interested in leaning basic to advanced sewing skills with other materials, BCAE offers so many other sewing classes too!

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Chevron Clutch Wristlet

I have been on the hunt for some awesome chevron fabric for what seems like forever now. I found that it was becoming impossible to scroll through Pinterest without seeing the pretty print, and it was a constant reminder that I wanted to get my hands on some. On Tuesday I finally succeeded in my search!

I knew I wanted to make a clutch wristlet, so I was psyched that I found the perfect material to do so. I got right to work, and in a couple of hours I had whipped up these funky clutches. I couldn't possibly keep these pretty little things to myself, so I've decided to share the wealth and make them available in my Etsy Shop. Yay!!

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Creative Friend: Joanne

Today's Creative Friend is none other than my BFF Joanne! The very same Joanne who helps me with my photo shoots and who made this awesome Stuffed Animal Craft. Joanne earns a living as a scientist in Boston, but crafting is one of her hobbies outside of work, and sewing is by far her specialty.

Joanne and I met in college way back when, and have been partners in crafting crime ever since. Dueling sewing machines are not an uncommon sight in our apartment! Here's what she has to say about herself:

"I learned to sew about 10 years ago and ever since I haven't been able to put the needle down. It still surprises me how accomplished I feel after completing a project.  Whether its sewing for myself or for a gift, I enjoy the entire process: the inspiration, the planning, the construction, the adjustments and yes, the final product (but usually not the seam ripping). I seem to have caught the re-fashion bug because a lot of my projects have recently involved turning trash into treasure."

She has been working on a lot of great projects lately, and I want to share a couple of my favorites with you. The first is a gift she made for a friend (she's very thoughtful with her talents!). 

I was really impressed with how easily she seemed to whip these up! It looks like she bought some really nice fabric to make these, but that's actually not the case! She actually created these using an old grey t-shirt, and old lace blouse, and colored scrap fabric! Pretty impressive, no?

Joanne bought the frame for this purse from Joann Fabric, but she suggested that using one from an old purse may have worked just as well.

I love the pop of color on the inside of the purse! I think the oversized clasp and the bold inside color are a perfect contrast to the delicateness of the lace exterior. Well done Jo!

Joanne's second craft was a project and a half and required a lot of thought and patience. She received an old lamp and wanted to re-vamp it by giving it a new handmade lampshade. This proved to be easier said than done as the awkward shape, curves, and angles of the frame were difficult to work with. I watched as Joanne brainstormed ways to make it work and was so impressed when she finally found a solution! Here's the old lampshade she started with...

So how did Joanne conquer the difficult task? 

She says "I tore off the white panels and border and added my own fabric by hand stitching fabric all around the rim.  I dyed the cording because I could only find burgundy but I wanted an eggplant purple to match my fabric.  I used blue dye and attached the newly dyed cording with hot glue."

This gorgeous lamp now lights up our living room with style! I feel really lucky to live with a fellow crafter in our homemade home. Joanne doesn't have a website as her crafting is just a hobby, but feel free to leave comments about her work here and I'll yell them to her in the next room over!

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DIY Fabric Mousepad Refashion

Would you believe me if I told you that my brand new mousepad was made out of an old dress? Well, believe it baby! While I loved the polka dot pattern and style of this dress, I had to come to terms with the fact that all good things must come to an end. Simply put, it didn't fit anymore. Rather than let the fun fabric go to waste, I chose to refashion it into a mousepad with the help of some shelf liner. It was really easy to do, and I'm going to tell you how to do it with any fabric you have.

You'll need: fabric / rubbery shelf liner / old mousepad / scissors / sewing machine

First you'll need to determine the size of your new mousepad. I just took a mousepad that I already had and laid it on top of the shelf liner then trimmed the liner to size. To make the sewing process as simple as possible I opted to keep the corners of the liner squared angles rather than curve them. To bulk up your mousepad a little bit cut 2 squares of liner so that you can layer them.

Next, cut your fabric to be about an inch and a half bigger on all sides than the shelf liner.

Lay your fabric down - wrong side facing up. Then, center your 2 squares of shelf liner on top of the fabric. Fold the fabric over the liner to create a finished edge and pin in place.

Last but not least, sew around the edges of your mousepad. I made a double stitch just to be on the safe side.

Now you should have a funky new mousepad! I've been using mine for the past 2 months and it hasn't failed me yet. The grip of the shelf liner really works perfectly.

After I finished my polka dot mousepad, I decided to make a few more using different fabrics. The blue mousepad below is one of my newest creations. Also, just to really show off some serious craftiness... check out the camera strap that I made using the same old dress fabric. It's easy being green when you know how to reuse and refashion!

Via Instagram @CSSpectrum

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Led Zeppelin T-Shirt Makeover

So, I've had this awesome Led Zeppelin t-shirt sitting among my t-shirt stash for years and years. I love the shirt, but because I don't tend to wear oversized t's out and about, it hasn't seen the light of day in quite some time. I decided that needed to change immediately, so with the help of my scissors and sewing machine, I turned this old T into a new tank!

To start, I used one of my favorite tanks as a guide to making the right fit. If you use this method, make sure your tank is perfectly centered on top of your T.

Using a sewing crayon, mark where you are going to cut.

To get a more feminine look, the wide sides, bottom hemline, and neckline had to go. But, save the sleeves, because they're going to be useful later!

Pin the sides of the shirt together (right sides facing) and sew. At this point I decided that I wanted the arm holes to dip a little deeper for a looser fit. That adjustment was easily made just by trimming a little bit.

Next, I transformed the sleeves into a funky little embellishment on the side of the shirt. Take one of the sleeves and cut it in half. Then fold each side in half and make 6 evenly spaced marks using the sewing crayon. Make a cut at each mark.

To get the final effect is really easy; unfold the fabric, hold it on both sides, and stretch it. Voila!

Pin these pieces underneath the arm holes and then sew them in place.

Finally, trim off any extra fabric from the sleeve material. Now your shirt has a little built in ventilation system, which is perfect because you need coolin', baby. 

This Zeppelin top has now made the official move from the depths of my t-shirt drawer to a much more desired spot hanging in my closet. It's perfect for the beach, for hanging out, or for going out. It's so much more versatile than it was as a t-shirt!   

Yours is the cloth, mine is the hand that sews... 

All of my love

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The Art of a DIY Business Card

I finally took the time to design my Creative Soul Spectrum business cards. But of course, I didn't want to make a typical business card, so I got a little creative. I wanted to give my card a personal touch and have it represent what I do. So, I took to my sewing machine. I figured, I sew everything else, why not sew my business card. Here's what I came up with...

First, I designed my cards in Illustrator and made sure to include all the information I wanted to supply. Then I brought the file over to Staples and printed them on a thick card stock.

I brought them home and went through the tedious process of cutting them all out with my trusty Exacto knife.

At this point, the fronts and backs of the cards were all separate. That's when my sewing machine came into play.

I sewed the two sides together - making sure they were both facing the right direction and weren't upside down. And that was it!

Creative Soul Spectrum business cards hot off the press!

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