DIY Archives | Page 10 of 27 | Life is Beautiful

DIY: tailor & add sleeves to a dress

August 13, 2012~ REFASHION RUNWAY, SEWING

I don’t know about you, but I prefer to wear dresses over pants or skirts any day in the summer since it’s much cooler, and way more comfortable. I got this dress at Kohl’s(for $4!) but the chest/waist part was a little loose. So I tailored it smaller and used the lining of the dress to make the sleeves.

Before:

*I just cut the back side of the lining and used this tutorial to add the sleeves.

*I made the sleeves too small(short) for my liking, so I plan on making a bigger one. But in the meantime I’ve been wearing a cream colored cap sleeves under it which works fine too.

After:

{Dress: Lauren Conrad by Kohl’s | Shoes: Payless(really old)}

Skill level: a confident beginner

Estimated time: 30 minutes

Budget: none

The after photos by Jessica Peterson. She is amazing!

DIY: a thrift find dress to a peplum dress

July 30, 2012~ SEWING

I got this dress at a thrift store for $4. I liked the color and knew it had potential.

I tend to go through “obsessions” with clothes, like two years ago, it was ruffles. Starting last year, it’s been peplum. I already own 9 items of peplum clothing but it’s just not enough! So I had to make this into a peplum dress.

My favorite part? I made the peplum detachable so I can wear it two ways:

Directions:

*with the peplum design, I used a pattern similar to this one, except I didn’t round the edges of the fabric.

After:

Photographs by Jessica Peterson.

What you’ll need:

-bigger/longer dress

-hook & eye closure

-matching thread

-scissors

-a sewing machine/needle & thread

Estimated time: 1.5-2 hrs.

Budget: $4

Skill level: intermediate

DIY: waypoint ponte dress by Anthropologie.

July 23, 2012~ DIY DREAM HOUSE

Inspiration: waypoint ponte dress by Anthropologie $168.

My version:

Before:

and with the extra fabric from the sleeves and the bottom I cut out, I made the bow. It’s detachable so I can wear it with or without the bow.

After:

{Dress: Purchased in Korea, Shoes: Oasap}

Project cost: FREE(since I already had the dress)

Skill level: a confident beginner

Estimated time: 40 mins.

I saved over $170!

Photos by the talented Jessica Peterson.

DIY: a women’s skirt to a girl’s skirt

July 16, 2012~ SEWING

If you have some skirts that you no longer wear because it’s too short for you, then you can simply narrow the side(s) to make it into a little girl’s skirt!

before/after:

This skirt is a side zipper so I took the other side in.

then cut the excess fabric, with enough to later alter/make it larger as the girls get older.

This skirt is a back zipper so I took both of the sides in.

This skirt is a side zipper so I took the other side in.

and didn’t cut the extra fabric off so I can alter/make it larger as my girls get older. It saves a lot of money!

What you’ll need:

-a skirt

-thread & needle or a sewing machine

-scissors

Budget: FREE

Skill level: very beginner

Estimated time: 5 mins.

The after photos by Jessica Peterson.

DIY: lengthen a short dress part two.

June 25, 2012~ SEWING

This week I’ll show you how to lengthen a short dress in a different way.

I bought this dress from F21(stripes and mint? how can I say no?) and put it through the wash cycle. When it came out, this is how it looked.

I went back to the store to see if they would exchange it, but they pointed out that on the tag it said, “hand wash only”. Shucks, my bad! So I bought another same exact dress and took it home with me(the dress was only $10 each).