Jul 12, 2010 | Beauty, From You
img from giftofhair.org
from formspring.me (continued from an earlier question):
I will be shaving my head in a couple of weeks for charity and as I will be pretty much bald (eek!) I was wondering if you had any ideas for cool hats or headscarves to cover me up during the hot summer. For more info on the cause visit my blog: www.susanna-d.blogspot.com
Wow! Good for you! That takes guts to do, though it’s certainly for a great cause.
If you’re looking to cover up and aren’t into purchasing a wig while waiting for your hair to grow back, either a hat or a head-scarf (or a combination of the two!) will probably be your best bet.
clockwise, from green hat:
Right now is a really great time for hats, as Target currently is stocking their Eugenia Kim for Target line of stylish, chic hats – for a fraction of the cost of what Eugenia Kim hats usually sell for. Kim, who shaved her head after suffering a bad haircut, found there was such a lack of stylish headgear on the market that she designed her own cover-up. Thus, she’s certainly no stranger to your dilemma – and I love that this wide-brimmed straw hat has its own scarf built in to it – an added plus. This green fedora is super-cute and city sassy, which would look great paired with a floaty tee and bermuda shorts. You could also try different shapes to see what works with your body type and style; military-style caps, wide sunhats, and boater hats are all on-trend options.
If you’re uncomfortable about a lack of hairline showing, then a head-scarf underneath your hat may be a good (though warm) choice. You could also, of course, wear the head-scarf on its own, tied in a chignon, bow, or donut shape. A fun print (like this monotone faces print) can look summery or sophisticated depending on how you tie it. Here is a video showing 3 variations of tying a head scarf and here is a list of links to other headscarf-tying resources. If you’re daring, you could also try a turban, though you’d have to pick and choose your coordinating outfit carefully to avoid it looking too matronly.
A cloche is always a great option since it covers your head completely, though they’re often made of felt and may be too warm for summer. A cloche-shaped straw hat, though, has a slightly retro-feminine feel to it, and looks super-sweet with any casual, breezy outfit. As the weather cools down you can also go for bucket-shaped and fuller hats made of thicker materials. Small details like ribbon trim, a flower or rhinestone clip, bows, or tiny fabric flowers elevate something that looks like you’re desperately trying to cover your head up…to a stylish accessory in your ensemble.
Excellent sources of such accoutrements (besides the obvious like department stores or boutiques) are places that specialize in headgear for people who have suffered hair loss for medical reasons, like chemotherapy, alopecia, or trichotillomania. Headcovers Unlimited and Hat, Scarves, and More are two great online places to start. (The reversible soft hats from Just In Time are super-chic too!) And since I’m suck a DIY maniac, I might try my hand at sewing up my own head-covering, choosing from the wide variety of patterns for hats and scarves from Brimming with Love.
As always, the more confidence you have, the less people will notice any lack of hair – and most people will just assume any head-covering is part of your stylichly chic ensemble anyway!
Best of luck-
xoxox
Carly
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Jul 1, 2010 | DIY
Uber-simple. (So simple you don’t even need step-by-step photos to illustrate!)
You Need:
*2 silk flowers (I chose cream-colored peonies)
*small piece of stiff felt
*2 shoe clips
*scissors
*glue gun
How To:
1. Pull the flowers off their stems and trim off any jutting plastic from the underside.
2. Cut two small circles from the felt – large enough to become the base for each flower, but small enough to not show through in-between the petals.
3. Use glue gun to attach each felt circle to the underside of each flower and press the felt to cup the flower’s shape. In order to stop the top layers of petals from falling off, you may also need to glue in-between each layer, near the center.
4. Open the shoe-clips, place a daub of hot glue on the felt (I chose near the top of the circle to minimize the amount the flower protrudes from the edge of the shoe), and press the non-toothed side of the shoe clip into the glue. Squeeze more glue over that part to firmly attach it to the felt.
5. Allow to dry and remove gluey strings.
I’m liking this girly look on chunky clogs at the moment – found this pair at my local Goodwill and wanted to soften them up for the romantic look that’s so in right now. I love the flower as juxtaposition to the organic wood of the soles. Speaking of clogs, I also have a different pair [brown] of size 7 Nine West clogs up for sale here if anyone is interested.
Happy DIY’ing!
xoxoxo
Carly
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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!
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Jun 25, 2010 | DIY, From You
from formspring.me:
Could you do a tutorial on how to make one of these headbands?
That’s an easy one! They’re exactly the same principle as the instructions for making the main fabric part of my DIY Jennifer Behr Spiked Turban, except these headbands use a slightly wider piece of fabric, folded over and knotted in the middle. (You don’t need to do an underpanel like in the Jennifer Behr turban; that was merely to protect the forehead from being scratched by the spikes. For this version, “fluff up” the center knot to give it more volume so it doesn’t cinch the fabric too tightly.) To me – it looks like one of the headbands is a stretch black velvet, but that could just be the lighting. Definitely use a piece of fabric that has some stretch to it (i.e., lycra).
Hope that helps!
Have fun making your own-
xoxox
Carly
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