Erica re-purposes a scarf.

I was just thinking to myself that I haven't posted any DIY projects in a while. I have tons on my "things to sew" list but I guess sewing for craft shows, gifts and custom orders takes precedence over projects for myself. And, to be honest, I've also become a little lazy on the weekends. A few months ago, I reconnected with an old friend who recently split from her long-time boyfriend. She went through her closet and gave me a bunch of clothes that reminded her of him. She thought I would like the bright colors and could use them as fabric for my pillows & stuffed animals. Around this same time, I was looking though some pictures that I had pinned online. One was a quick three step picture tutorial for a kimono. Time for the stars to align...

As I am writing this, it is currently a causal Sunday afternoon, which is the best time for me to open up the blinds, let the sunshine in and get creative in my sewing room. The tutorial I came across showed three pictures: a photograph of a stylish woman posing in a cute kimono, a large piece of patterned fabric, and some dotted lines with the words "Cut Here". I thought I would try to create the kimono from those pictures and also provide a little more instruction. I am using one of the scarves my friend gave me as the fabric. I chose it because it is trimmed in lace and fringe, which I thought could add some nice detail. If you are purchasing fabric (instead of re-purposing an old scarf), I would get at least two yards; more or less depending on how big you want the finished project to be.

1. Turn the fabric inside out, fold it in half and lay it on a flat surface. Make sure the creased side is facing the top. Measure 1/2 yard from the top and 8 inches from the outside. Draw a line from those measurements on both sides of the fabric.

2. Draw a straight line from the first line down to the bottom of each side of the fabric. You should have two upside-down "L" shaped lines; one on each side of the fabric. If you use your imagination, you can already see the outline of the finished kimono.

3. Pin along the drawn "L" shapes and cut.

4. Sew along the pinned lines. Sew one straight line from the bottom of the kimono to the edge of the sleeve. I actually sewn twice, one straight stitch and one zigzag stitch, to make sure the finished project wouldn't fray or tear.

5. Draw and cut out a neck-hole shape. Only cut through one layer of the folded fabric.

6. Draw and cut a straight line through one layer of fabric only from the bottom of the kimono to the neck-hole. Once cut and turned right-side-out, the fabric should open up and resemble a kimono.

7. Hem both sides of the cut line. I started the hem at the bottom of one side, sewn around the neck-line and all the way back down to the bottom of the other side. One nice, long, frustrating hem. LOL

And there it is... a fun summer kimono to throw over all of your casual outfits. Its not perfect but I think the fact that it is billowy hides all the crooked lines and the uneven hem. God bless loose & flowy fabric to hid all my sewing flaws! I used a Pashmina scarf as my fabric. If I had to do it again, I would chose a light cotton or jersey; only because it would be easier to work with. What do you guys think? Was it worth cutting up a nice scarf?

Erica made an infinity wrap last year.

I've only sewn a couple pieces of clothing...my most impressive being a skirt -- read about that here. I usually just hem up pants and skirts (because being short blows) and mend holes in clothes. I would like to start sewing actual articles of clothing but I haven't had much time. My mom sewed all of my clothes from birth until about 6th or 7th grade. At the time I hated it because it made me stand out even more as "the weird sheltered Chinese girl" but looking back at old pictures, I now see that I had some pretty bitchin' outfits. Popular kids and bullies be damned. I wish I still had a homemade wardrobe but I sadly have not been able to wear or make any more Ngo creations.  

I made this "Bina Brianca" infinity wrap last autumn but never got around to blogging about it (I think I started it the night I made the wrap but never finished it). It's getting chilly now and I'm wearing it again so I thought, "Hey, what a great time to bring this blog entry back out!" 

I saw the wrap online and kinda stole the idea but homemade infinity wraps are everywhere so I'm not the only one ripping off the Brianca company. It took a ridiculously long time to make because I took a really long time to measure the cloth properly but it's a really easy project. It literally can be done in two steps. 

After reading chapters about my honeymoon vacation, you guys need a break. So here's a short and sweet (and easy!) tutorial for this week.

INFINITY WRAP TUTORIAL:

     Materials needed- cloth (preferably jersey or something "flowy"), scissors, tape measure, sewing machine, pins

1. Section out your cloth into three pieces. 

     One for the middle (back) and two for the sides. 

     The middle piece should measure four times your body width (aka you can wrap it around yourself 4x). 

     Each of the two side pieces should be half the size of the middle. So, each side piece should be able to wrap around your body twice. 

After this is all measured, cut the cloth into the three sections.

2. Now you will pin the pieces back together (yeah, it sounds a little silly since we just cut them all apart).

     Before doing this, I folded & sewed a hem along the inner edges of each piece of cloth to keep it from fraying in the future. After you have your hems sewn, pin the two side pieces to the middle piece.

Sew each side piece onto the middle piece from the top to about a third into the middle, then sew from the bottom until about a third into the middle. 

     You're basically sewing it back together and leaving ample room for arm holes.

As promised, done in two steps. There are infinite ways to wear the wrap (see what I did there?) and you can google them all but I mostly like to wear mine as either a scarf or a shawl. Keep warm and happy late Thanksgiving!

Erica would love for you to meet Keni...

...that's short for Kenmore Ultra-Stitch 10.  My beautiful and wonderful sewing machine. She's an oldie but a goodie, handed down from my mother and used regularly to live out my dreams. That sounds super cheesy but its true; I LOVE this thing.

As you probably know, I started an Etsy shop about a month ago. I've already gotten 3 sales. If you didn't know, check it out www.etsy.com/shop/RagsRebornGifts

                                     

My first sales!! Thank you, thank you Vietfil and Michelle (I also got a sale from a lovely lady out-of-state who bought a pillow for her daughter but I don't know her well enough ask for a photograph)!! : )

I just realized that I don't have any blogs that showcase Keni's magic. Well, its time to change that! Here's a simple sewing tutorial for a homemade scarf.

                                       Made one for my mom's boyfriend and one for Wes.

DIY Scarf Tutorial --
    Materials needed: sewing machine, one yard of cloth, scissors, ruler

1. I chose a pattern that is already lined so measuring was a cinch. Call it cheating, call it genius, call it what you will but it made this project a lot easier.The length of the scarf will be one yard. The width can be however wide you want. I made mine 8 inches. Fold your cloth in half lengthwise (hot dog style). Cut along the fold so you end up with 2 long strips of equal size. Cut off any excess, if necessary.

2. Sew the two pieces together along the sides of the length.
           Leave the first and last 6 inches of the two pieces unsewn. We will use this part for the tassels at the end.
           Face the pattern to the inside (so its essentially inside out).
           Sew about a centimeter in so the seam isn't too close to the edge of the cloth. That will help with it coming apart or fraying.
3. After sewing, turn your scarf inside out (so now the pattern should be facing the outside like its ready to wear). It should look like a tube.
4. Sew the two loose ends together so now it should be one whole piece of cloth (a very long rectangle). The only things that aren't sewn are the 6 inches you left free for tassels.

5. Time for tassels!! Cut the excess 6 inches into little strips. Mine were about 1 centimeter (maybe a bit thinner). Cut the same amount on the 'front' and 'back' 6 inches. After cutting them, tie two at a time into a knot at the top.

And that's it. Bundle up and enjoy the winter. Almost time for 2015. Another year for new adventures! : )