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Red Dress for a Special Occasion DIY

December 26, 2018~ SEWING

Red Holiday dress using the Vogue pattern V9267

Once in awhile, I make clothes from scratch, instead of refashioning. See what I made for my Holiday dress this year!

This DIY project was created on behalf of JOANN.

I wanted to make a classic red dress that I could wear for Christmas this year and found the most perfect pattern and fabric from JOANN. I also wanted the dress to be versatile enough to wear for other special occasions such as Valentine’s and the 4th of July, as well as to church or weddings, or wherever I fancy. When I saw this Vogue pattern, I knew it would be perfect for what I had envisioned.

Supplies:

2-2 1/2 yard of fabric(mine is from the outdoor fabric section)

*optional: cutting mat and rotary cutter

The pattern was well designed and it’s a beautiful pattern. My only problem was with the arm hole pattern. I cut the pattern and followed instructions perfectly but when I tried it on, the arm opening was so tight and small, I couldn’t even lift up my arms. So I had to seam-rip the sleeves, then I cut the arm hole opening a lot wider to match the length of the sleeve opening. This part took me a good extra 45 mins. so if you use this pattern, be aware. Make sure the arm hole opening matches with the sleeve opening.

Other than that, I really enjoyed following this pattern, it’s been a very long time, I would say at least 5 years since I sewed a dress from scratch using a pattern and surprisingly, I loved every process! Refashioning doesn’t require as much precision and detail as a dress like this so I learned a lot and I plan on sewing a lot more with patterns.

So here is the dress! The dress is a cherry red color but in these photos it looks more orange-red.

Estimated time: 5-6 hours

Budget: $30-$40

Skill level: Intermediate

Let me know what you think of this dress! As I stated in the supplies, I bought this fabric from the home decor section since I wanted a heavier, thicker material for this dress. I am excited to wear this to church for our Christmas program!

If you post a project on your Instagram that’s inspired by my tutorials, tag me at @sarahtyau in both the captions and the photo to be featured on my Instagram stories!

Pin & share!

DIY: Upcycle an old bag into a faux fur bag

November 28, 2018~ Refashion Revision, SEWING

Faux Fur Handbag Refashion Tutorial

Learn how to make this no-sew, faux fur handbag that is super easy to make!

This Refashion Revision tutorial was created on behalf of JOANN, all thoughts, ideas and writing are my own.

This DIY tutorial is super easy and super fast, you are going to love it! I found some beautiful faux fur fabric at JOANN and immediately had a vision of a faux fur handbag. I usually find an item from a thrifted store or my closet first and then go fabric shopping but this time, it was the fabric that inspired me first and not the other way around! Adding faux fur is a great way to make an old, outdated bag look sophisticated and chic. It makes a bag instantly look more posh and upscale. And the best part? No sewing is required!

Faux Fur Bag Refashion Tutorial

Supplies:

Instructions:

1. Trace the bag on a paper.

2. Using the traced circle pattern, cut out a circle from the faux fur fabric.

3. Shake out/gently pull out any loose fur.

4. Dab generously around the edges with fray check.

5. Cover the entire side of the purse using the fabric fusion stick-n-peel tape.

6. After making sure it’s well pressed, peel out the top of the tape so that both sides are sticky.

7. Place the circle fabric on top of the taped side of the bag and press it firmly all around.

That’s it! Easy, peasy!

I also refashioned this backpack below using the same method as above.

Estimated time: 15 minutes

Budget: $10-$15

Skill level: A beginner

Do you think you have any old bags in your closet that you can refashion into a sophisticated and posh faux fur bag? Would you try it?

If you post a project on your Instagram that’s inspired by my tutorials, tag me at @sarahtyau in both the captions and the photo to be featured on my Instagram stories!

How to Make Easy Felt Feather Wing Costume

October 30, 2018~ DIY CRAFT, SEWING

Easy Felt Feather Wing Costume Tutorial

Learn how to make this beautiful feather wing costume in this easy, DIY tutorial.

This DIY was created on behalf of JOANN, all thoughts, ideas and writing are my own.

Kids are going to love these feather wings, made from felt fabric from JOANN! These wings don’t have elastic bands but instead has arm holes your little ones can easily slip in and out of, helping them to feel more independent and it also feels like a big blanket wrapped around them!

Supplies:

2 yards of base felt

1/4 yard of 4 other colors

scissors

thread

2 pkg. bias tape

Instructions:

1. Lay out the 2 yard fabric, folded in half and draw out half a circle.

2. Cut the fabric.

*you can fold it in half to make sure both sides are the same.

3. Mark the arm holes. The two holes close to the center will be where their arms go in, then the holes to the edge will be the opening for their hands.

4. Cut through the tip of the half circle so it becomes two pieces.

5. Cut open the arm holes.

6. Sketch out a feather on a cardboard paper(I used the paper from the bias tape packaging).

7. Trace the feather cut-out on the felt fabric. I used a white crayon to draw out the feathers.

8. Cut the feather design.

9. Leaving 2-3 inches of space on top, cut out a strip long enough to go across the half circle.

10. Sew the feather strip onto the bottom of the half circle.

11. Repeat until all the half circle is covered with feather strips.

12. The very top feather strip will cover the top like this.

*This is how the back will look. Doesn’t look perfect but it’ll be covered so don’t stress!

13. Cover it with the other half circle.

14. Sew the edges across the bottom of the half circle.

15. Sew the bias tape across the bottom of the half circle.

16. Sew the bias tape on the top of the half circle.

17. Sew the bias tape around the arm holes. OR you can zigzag around the hole if you find the bias tape too difficult.

And you are done!

I didn’t have time to put the piping on the armholes in time for the photo shoot but you get the idea.

My kid loves it because it’s so easy to slip in and out of and he can hug himself in the wings like a cozy blanket!

Estimated time: 2.5 hours

Budget: $15

Skill level: A confident beginner

What do you think of these wings? Do you like the arm holes for the wings or do you prefer the elastic bands for the arms? Leave a comment below telling me your thoughts!

And if you post a project on your Instagram that’s inspired by my tutorials, tag me at @sarahtyau in both the captions and the photo to be featured on my Instagram stories!

Pin me, share me, I like to get around!

FEATURED Part 2

October 10, 2018~ Etc., PRESS, SEWING

*So this was a compilation I was working on last year in 2017 but I never published it! So here it is, a year later.

The features keep coming, this is so crazy(see the first set of features here)! And the comments are so kind and supportive, I’ve already cried twice while reading them, thank you so much! This is mainly just for me to keep track of all the places that I know of that has featured me. I know there must be other ones that I am not aware of so feel free to contact me when you see a feature, I’d appreciate it!

The biggest feature I got so far, which has given me 25,000+ followers on Instagram in just 2 days is from People.com!

People.com

The morning show was shown live on People’s FB page(shown at 21:46)

People Facebook Page(4.3 million views, 9253 shares, 1.2k comments and 40k likes!)

People on Instagram

I couldn’t help but crack up at their feature on their Instagram page, there’s Beyonce, Kate Middleton and Prince William, Jennifer Gardner, Kim Kardashian, and then wait, who is this random girl? She’s not a celebrity! Hahaha. 😀

Tip Hero Facebook page

In The Know Facebook page

Dude Perfect Facebook page

Nicer Days on FB

Nice Things Website

Merry Christmas FB page

Refashion Revision: Men’s Shirt to Dress Transformation

October 5, 2018~ Refashion Revision, SEWING

Make sure to follow along on Instagram at @sarahtyau to get sneak peeks and behind the scenes!

This tutorial will be up on my YouTube channel soon, make sure you’re subscribed to be notified!

Men’s Shirt to Dress Transformation

Make this fall style flannel dress from a large men’s shirt in this DIY transformation.

This DIY was created on behalf of JOANN, all thoughts, ideas and writing are my own.

I’ve had this flannel men’s shirt in my to-sew stash for awhile now. I had initially planned on using this, along with two other flannel men’s shirts and combine it to make a dress for me, but my daughter really liked this fabric and how soft it felt, and asked me if I could make something for her. She’s now almost too tall for me to make a dress for her out of a men’s shirt so I was a little nervous it would be too short for her but the length turned out to be perfect! I probably only have about a year left to be able to make dresses for her from a men’s shirt so I should do a lot more of men’s shirt refashions, don’t you think?

If you want to make one just like this but can’t find a men’s shirt in this fabric, JOANN has this exact flannel fabric in white buffalo check and other great selections of flannel fabrics in a variety of patterns.