Welcome to another installment of Chic for the Week, where I share a couple shopping picks that have been on my mind lately.
Did everyone have a good weekend?
I had a blast at the Portland Bloggers’ Annual Picnic, and then took Lil Tot to a screening of Despicable Me 2 out on the Commons after dusk, eating buttery popcorn are laughing at Steve Carrell’s accent. It was a surprisingly fun movie!
And can you believe July is almost over??! This Summer is just flying by! Here are a couple items on my wishlist for the week:
1. Lately it’s all been about the juxtaposition between ladylike and edgy. These shark tooth-shaped ear cuffs from Nasty Gal are just what the surfer babe in you ordered.
2. These Lola Coral Patent Ankle Strap Sandals would be a fab pop of color at the feet. (Wouldn’t they just sing paired with some trousers in a neutral color like black or tan?)
3. This Choies flowered sheath dress is so prim and proper – and I think it would look just as lovely paired with some flat and casual sandals.
4. I can’t stop thinking about this ASOS Leather Bag; the shape is so fashion-forward, I love the handles…and it’s the perfect size for my laptop when traveling. GORGE!
Mine was filled with firsts: my neighborhood’s first-ever block party on Friday with a huge July 4th celebration and amaaazing fireworks (they’ve never had one before in all the 6 years we’ve lived here)…and Lil Tot’s first-ever sleepover at a friend’s house. (He’s only ever had a friend sleep over here before, so it was a huge milestone for my little boy! Can’t believe he’s now EIGHT…I started this blog when he was TWO so it’s been quite a journey. *wipes away tear*)
We decorated our bamboo stalk with paper decorations and wishes for Tanabata (Japanese Star Festival) yesterday, and now the week has begun.
And so has a new series of mine: Chic for the Week. A couple items I’m crushing on this week…
1. In Summer you have to go breezy and easy with your choice of tops. This Choies Crop Top may be a play on words, but is also a chic option.
3. A striped skirt is an essential Summer piece and when the shape is billowy and ballroom it’s so now. This ASOS woven midi skirt looks super-cute with a crop or tank top – can’t wait for mine to arrive so I can rock it out!
4. The Limited Pearl Collar Choker is so minimalist and modern – and totally affordable too. I think this would be an easy and quick DIY once you can source the main metal choker part.
My mother taught me to sew back when I was 8 or 9 or so. My first project was a lopsided white stuffed bear with a face that looked both happy and sad at the same time. Since then, I’ve graduated to using and eventually purchasing a serger, learning how to use an industrial sewing machine, and even sewing my prototypes for my short-lived clothing line back in 2007. I love using patterns and making patterns, stitching things together from scratch and upcycling pieces, and basically letting my imagination run wild. Some of my favorite projects that I’ve shared on this blog have been my Cute Summer ShirtDress (the very project that launched my focus on DIY here on Chic Steals!), my Men’s XLSweatshirts to Blouson Top project, and more recently my Ballroom Skirt from a Shower Curtain. Here is my recommended list of really great tools for DIY Sewing Projects:
You.Must.Have.A.Seam.Ripper. You need it to rip back or to take apart pieces to be cannibalized, to fix stitches…this is vital to creating a perfectly-sewn piece (even if it didn’t work out the first time around).
Perfect for cutting uber-straight lines, this is my favorite tool to get things cut out in a flash. (Don’t forget the cutting mat to go with it!) I like the OLFA but Fiskars makes a good version too.
Who ever has enough bobbins when they’re sewing?? (I’ve been known to wind a new color thread on top of a half-filled bobbin when I’ve run it…which is definitely not a best practice.) Though you of course have to get the correct type for your machine, these ones are my favorite for my Singer. Plus a little case to keep them in will keep them neat and tidy instead of a tangled mess!
El-cheapo scissors won’t cut it (literally) if you do a lot of cutting and sewing. 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]…this will dull them like nobody’s business.
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 to keep them all corralled is a must. You can also DIY your emery pincushion by following a tutorial here.
Though I prefer to sew whenever possible, some stitchery DIY’s can be accomplished quite easily with permanent Hem Tape instead. (See my DIY J. Crew Sporty Pants and my DIY Windowpane Sweatshirt for example.) This hem tape is just great.
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).
I fell in love with this tool when creating my clothing line, and again at the clothing factory I interned at in Portland. Normally you’d notch your patterns and fabric at center front and center back, and when matching sleeves. I don’t like using the scissors to notch, because often the cut is not easily visible in the fabric, and sometimes I notch too deeply, straight through the line of stitching. NOT GOOD. With a pattern notcher, it goes through the fabric in a lovely V- or rectangle shape and won’t go deeper than 1/4″, so no chance of ruining your stitching. It’s easy to see and looks professional, plus it can be used to notch the seam allowance of curved stitching. I LOVE IT and highly recommend it.
Usually I’d use any old thing laying around (my water glass, the sleeping dog, my glasses, the very scissors I actually need to cut with)…but having a group of dedicated pattern weights is extremely useful. You could of course DIY them and make them utterly cute, too.
Though the project will often dictate what feet you need, I find myself reaching for the same ones over and over again. My Zipper Foot, Ruffler, Narrow Hem Foot, Butttonholer, and Teflon Foot (for leather/suede) help me stitch up a variety of projects with professional results. (the pack pictured is for low-shank machines)
I absolutely adore this kit I bought awhile ago. It’s for turning thin tubes of fabric (like for spaghetti straps, waist-ties, decorative tubing, and more). I often use the long thin metal rod in place of an awl for holding fabric under my machine foot, and for poking corners out and turning pieces right-side-out in general. I highly recommend this!
Any extra sewing tools that you can’t live without? Let me know in the comments!
xo
Carly
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FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that I receive a small commission if you click through and buy something. To read my full Disclosure Policy, click here.
Yup, the weather’s finally warming up and I’m in the market for a brand-new bathing suit. But nothing boring, nothing run-of-the-mill. I want a statement-maker. And Nasty Gal has some amazing options (even some that are more conservative than the usual fare). Check out my picks to outfit you and your unique style this Summer:
Hello friends! Today I’d love to walk you through all the fashion and cool watches we featured in my recent Show Your Colors Modify Watches x Chic Steals Promotional Video. Some people have asked me: “Which Mod is she wearing?” or “Where did you get that dress?” so I’d love to do a look-by-look breakdown with links where to buy everything. This post may get a little long, but here goes!
**All Modify watches that we used were the “Mini” sizes!!
To let you guys in on a little secret: There were actually 10 outfits we had planned to shoot for this video. On the shoot date, we were losing light quickly and had to cut 1 (a Nautical look) in order to get some of the more important ones in before the light changed too dramatically. In the edit, we also removed another 1 (Yoga Outfit) because we felt it didn’t add anything to the piece. So we ended up with 8 outfits, all seen above.
Plus, Modify is doing a Kickstarter right now where you can order a watch with your own custom face (above discount code not applicable). You can get EXACTLY what you want on the face – which sounds pretty cool!
Carly J. Cais I am a DIY’er, designer, sewist, maker, and marketer. Chic Creative Life is where I share what I do, and help others bring their unique style into their own lives.
How was everyone’s holiday weekend?
to go with it!) I like the OLFA but Fiskars makes a good version too.
+ Emery-filled Pincushion
FTC Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links, which means that I receive a small commission if you click through and buy something. To read my full Disclosure Policy, 
