Jun 1, 2020 | DIY
It’s June and Summer is coming! For many, hot weather is already here. I’m dipping into my archives today to share with you 10 no-sew DIY Summer projects for t-shirts and tank tops – so you can look cool, calm, and collected despite the rising temperatures.
10 Easy No-Sew DIY Summer Projects for T-Shirts and Tank Tops
1. Cut Out Skully T-shirt
Although the skull-back style is a little dated by now, you can accomplish the same things with just a pair of scissors and your imagination – butterfly and ladder shapes are always popular! Choose a t-shirt or tank top made of thin, stretchy fabric so the cut edges don’t unravel.
2. Petal-Front Top
This is one of my most popular projects – it’s so charming and ladylike! All you need is a fabric flower (or two) and fabric glue to recreate the look. So pretty peeking out from under a cardigan!
3. Avant-Garde Artistic Button Embellished T-Shirt
This is a time-consuming project that packs a ton of visual punch with buttons and fabric glue again. Try different images (a rainbow, a flower) to make out of buttons – and choose colorful ones from your button stash! Also a fun project to make with kids.
4. Happy Ice Cream Face Applique T-shirt
If you have some fabric scraps on hand that you love and want to showcase – this applique t-shirt project is for you! All it requires is iron-on fusible web and an iron to attach.
5. Patriotic Punky Iron-On Tank
For a punk look you can go old school, slash a tank and safety-pin it back together. I had a military-style iron-on that was begging to be used for this project!
6. Butterfly-Embellished Tanktop
A cute applique like a butterfly or other insect is made more adult by adding a studded trail behind it…you could do rhinestones instead and a unicorn applique for complete over-the-top girliness!
7. Scribble Tee
This was one of my first T-shirt makeover projects – super-easy and hides the flaws on an old dingy T-shirt pretty well!
8. Corseted T-Shirt
9. Tribal-Print Festival T-Shirt
10. Sequin Trompe L’oeil Peter Pan Collar T-Shirt
Hope that gives you some ideas for your next Summer T-shirt or tank top makeover!
xo
Carly
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May 28, 2020 | DIY
If you follow me on Instagram, you would have seen the DIY No-Sew Face Mask I posted a quick video tutorial for the other week. Even though some states are lifting stay-at-home restrictions and people are beginning to venture out again, I figure better late than never! And it’s another way to use up shirt scraps from any DIY men’s shirt makeover you do. This tutorial is super-easy and makes a double-layered mask, and although I find it difficult to breathe through for long periods of time, it’s great in a pinch. Plus – no sewing required! Just a pair of scissors…and a shirt sleeve. It should take you less than 5 minutes to make!
How to Make Your Own DIY No-Sew Face Mask from a Men’s Shirt
You Need:
scissors / top of a shirt sleeve
How To:
1. Start by cutting the shirt sleeve from the body of the shirt around the armscye.
You’ll want to cut around the armscye seam so it is a loop.
2. Cut another loop of fabric around the circumference of the top of the sleeve.
Now you have 2 fabric loops.
Trim any raw or ragged edges around the edges of the loops.
3. Place the sleeve on a flat surface, and your palm on top of it with fingers outstretched along the sleeve seam. Measure the distance from your outstretched thumb tip (at the top of the sleeve seam) to your outstretched pinky tip, and cut the sleeve at that point.
4. (Optional) Tuck the raw edges of this piece of fabric inside to hide them.
5. Cut the loops you made in Step 2. open.
Tie one pair of their ends together in a square knot.
6. Thread this long tie in a U-shape into the large piece of fabric cut from the sleeve in Step 3, so the bottom of the U extends below the large fabric piece.
When you go to wear the mask, place the bottom of the U at the back of your neck and the fabric piece at the front of your face. Pull on the end of each tie to tighten the mask placement on the bottom of your face. Then tie the ties in a bow over your ears and at the back (top) of your head. Scrunch the mask fabric so it sits properly on the bottom of your face and covers your nose and mouth.
And you’re done! Simple, right??
Check out my video below on Instagram and follow me there!
Also…this article here has a lot of great information about how to keep your mask clean, so definitely check it out too!
xo
Carly
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May 27, 2020 | DIY
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Disclosure Policy is here.
Quick Links from Photo: 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 / 5 / 6 / 7 / 8 / 9 / 10 / 11 / 12
So far on this site I’ve shared my Must-Have DIY Tools for Sewing, Embellishing, and Jewelry-Making. Here is my roundup of the must-have tools for DIY Shirt Makeovers:
Tools for DIY Shirt Makeovers
1. Seam Ripper
You.Must.Have.A.Seam.Ripper. You need it to remove buttons and take apart shirts to be cannibalized, to fix stitches…this is vital to prepping your shirt for a successful makeover.
2. Awl
Though not completely necessary (I often use my nail scissors or metal rod from my Turn-It-All
), an awl is a very helpful tool for creating perfect holes, and using as an extra finger to keep fabric down as you feed it under a moving machine needle. I’ve saved many a finger with this!
3. Chalk Pencil
This marking pencil is my absolute favorite since it makes super-precise lines and works just like a mechanical pencil. LOVE.
4. Tape Measure
Or is it “measuring tape…?” I never can settle on how to refer to it! In any case, having a flexible measuring tool is essential for measuring yourself and ensuring a perfect fit as you makeover your shirt. I don’t recommend the cheap paper kind – get yourself a nice one made out of soft vinyl that will not get twisted with use.
5. Sharp, Sharp Sewing Scissors
El-cheapo scissors won’t cut it (literally)! Prepare to spend around $30+ for an excellent pair of Gingher or Singer scissors, and they will last you a lifetime. (Just never, ever, EVER cut anything else besides fabric with them [especially paper]…which will dull them like nobody’s business.
6. Sharp, Sharp Pins
+ Emery-filled Pincushion (or strawberry)
I’ve found that certain “decorative”-style pins aren’t all that sharp, and the round-headed ones tend to cause bumps when pinning a pattern to fabric in order to cut. I prefer the extra-sharp flower-headed pins so the pattern isn’t puckering and lifting, and they don’t get in the way of the machine foot so much. Plus an emery-filled pincushion/emery strawberry to keep them all corralled and sharpen them is a must!
7. Sewing Machine
I use a Kenmore 16231, and it’s a real workhorse! I had a Kenmore my mom and I used while I was growing up, and I just stuck with the brand. Even with the amount of sewing I do, it really wasn’t necessary to get anything super-expensive! – and it’s held up great since 2009.
8. Iron
This is another MUST in creating successful projects – the iron will turn hems, set seams, and give everything a crisp and professional look. You don’t need anything fancy, just a basic off-brand one will do.
9. Ironing Mat
Though I have an ironing board that I photograph on, I find myself using my ironing mat on a hard surface far more. It’s portable, light, heat reflective, and it’s much less clunky and space-consuming than a standard ironing board.
10. Curved Nail Scissors
I love love love these scissors! (They also appear on my Must-Have Tools for Jewelry DIY’ing list…that’s how much I love them!) They work great as thread snips if you don’t feel like investing in those, and help you poke holes and cut perfect buttonholes (just be careful of the curved edges).
11. Poly-Cotton Mercerized Thread
This is the stuff sold everywhere, that you want to use to sew your shirt makeovers with. Make sure you get poly-cotton mercerized (even though your shirts will likely be cotton), as poly-cotton is stronger and less prone to breakage and fraying. “Mercerized” means it’s been treated to be stronger and have a slightly shiny appearance.
12. Sewing Machine Needle Pack
A standard 90/14 needle will do just fine for the majority of shirt makeover projects, but for different fabrics I like to have a needle variety pack on hand just in case.
And check out my DIY Resources page for more lists of resources to up your DIY game!
xo
Carly
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May 11, 2020 | DIY
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Disclosure Policy is here.
After 12 years of running my own sewing, crafting, and DIY blog, a lot of people ask me how they can improve their sewing skills. Many people want to know where to start, what to do next, what skills are essential, what skill do they need to add to their repertoire, etc. (Even after all this time there are some things I STILL don’t do well when it comes to sewing, and I’d prefer to focus on the essential skills that can make me a nice-looking outfit day in, day out.)
The cool thing is that ANYONE can get good at sewing through progressive practice – and it doesn’t take a lot of practice to sew a sturdy, good-looking garment! It’s a good idea to start simple and build your skills by tackling projects that, in succession, will teach you a new skill with each project, so you can build on your knowledge and abilities.
Here is my recommended sequence for anyone to improve your sewing skills:
7 Projects to Improving Your Sewing Skills
- A Pillow (New Skills: Measuring fabric, sewing in a straight line, trimming seam allowances, making perfect square corners, hand-stitching a seam closed)
- Simple Pull-On Top (New Skills: Taking your measurements, cutting pattern pieces, finishing seams for wearables)
- Simple Pull-On Elastic Skirt (New Skills: Cutting an elastic waistband, creating a fabric casing, sewing an elastic waistband)
- Keyhole Top with Gathered Sleeves
(New skills: Creating bust darts, setting a ruffled sleeve, creating a keyhole closure, adding a button)
- Lined Skirt with Zipper (New skills: Creating darts, setting an invisible zipper, creating a lining)
- Pocket Sheath Dress with Zipper (New skills: Finishing a blind hem, creating side pockets, adding a hook and eye closure)
- Pants with Waistband (New skills: Creating a curved crotch, notching curves, creating a front zipper with placket, interfacing a waistband)
Though we don’t get into jackets (and jacket linings!) just yet, the above is a solid way to flex your sewing abilities, polish those skills, and brush up on your construction techniques. Let me know if this helps you improve your sewing skills in the comments!
xo
Carly
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Apr 22, 2020 | DIY
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Disclosure Policy is here.
I just LOVE ruffles – and always struggled how to sew a ruffle since I didn’t have a ruffler foot for my sewing machine. (Those things are expensive and complicated, man!) Though I eventually made the plunge and bought a ruffler foot sewing machine attachment, I can seriously count the number of times I’ve used it since then on one hand! I simply prefer a quicker, easier way to make picture-perfect ruffles – that is completely adjustable to my garment – and comes out great every time. Plus, ruffles are so IN this Spring & Summer for 2020 – check out the pattern trends for McCall’s Patterns for example – and a lot of my DIY’s use this method, so I figured it was high time to walk you through how to make them! Ruffles look so pretty especially using shirting fabric – and they’re amazingly simple to make using this method.
How To Sew a Ruffle Without a Ruffler Foot
You Need: sewing machine zigzag foot / long length of elastic cord (doesn’t matter what color) / pins
How To:
1. Switch your sewing machine foot to a zigzag foot, and change the machine settings to as wide and long a zigzag as it will go, with a looser tension.
2. Place the straight edge of a piece of fabric you are wanting to create ruffles in, wrong side facing up, under the machine foot.
3. Knot a long piece of elastic cord at the end, and place it on top of the fabric, about ⅜” from the edge.
4. Lower the zigzag foot down in front of the knot, backstitch a few times over the cord (do not go through the cord), and proceed to stitch in a zigzag over the cord down the length of the straight edge.
5. When you stitch all the way around and are nearing the knot in the elastic cord, go as far as you can without hitting the knot, and backstitch a few times over the cord.
6. Remove the ruffle piece from the machine. Pull on the un-knotted end of the cord, gathering the fabric underneath it.
7. Gather the ruffle piece until it is basically the same length of circumference as what you want to attach to, pin it to the other piece, right sides together.
8. Stitch ruffle below the elastic cord to secure it to the other piece, and remove the elastic cord by pulling it out from under the zigzag stitching from the knotted end.
And that’s all there is to it, friends! I’ve created the graphic below for easy pinning so you can save this post and come back to it.
By the way, elastic cord is hard to come by lately – but I’ve had really good luck with searching for elastic cord sold by Etsy sellers. Try them instead of Amazon or the local craft store!
As long as you can sew in a zigzag – you can create a ruffle. Hopefully this will ease any worries you might have about creating the perfect ruffle – and next time when it comes to it, you will know EXACTLY how to sew a ruffle the easy way!
xo
Carly
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Dec 29, 2017 | DIY
It’s officially Party Season (TM) – and that means glittery, festive, fun, loud, joyful celebrations!
I really love making my own party hats (or putting children to work making party hats 😉 ) because they’re easy, cheap, and I can make them to completely coordinate with the party theme. Plus I can make them from scraps lying around! Perhaps you’ve never tried making your own, maybe because you don’t have time or it seems like a pain. But you may find that once you get [that party] started…you can’t stop! Now, let’s all hum that tune as we head on down to the how to…
How to Make a DIY Party Hat from Cardstock and Ribbon
You Need:
8.5″ x 11″ cardstock // Party Hat Template (click to download the PDF) // tinsel garland (I found this star version at Michael’s) // ribbon (not pictured – I used silver curling foil wrapping ribbon) // pen // scissors // stapler // box cutter // tape (not pictured)
How To Make a DIY Shooting Stars Party Hat:
1. Trace Party Hat Template onto the back of your cardstock.
2. Cut out the template from the cardstock. Use the box cutter to slice where indicated.
3. Curl the cardstock into a cone shape, and slip the edge tab into the slit you cut. Secure with some tape on the inside.
4. Thread one end of the ribbon into one of the small slits at the base of the hat.
5. Secure with tape, and then cut to desired length. (Make sure that it’s long enough to tie under your chin!) Do the same for another piece of ribbon and the other side of the hat.
6. Now the fun part: decoration! Staple the garland to the bottom of the hat.
7. Twirl the garland around the cone hat, securing with staples if necessary. At the top, twist downwards and tuck into the hole at the top of the hat. Secure with more tape on the inside.
And that’s it! It will take you less than 5 minutes tops – with a fun and unique party hat!
Have a Happy New Year’s, everyone! I just love a glittery beginning!
xo
Carly
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