Whitney SewsWhitney Sews - Wearable"

Wire Wrapped Jewelry Closure

Whitney — Mon, 02 Jun 2014 00:53:36 +0000

I purchased a beautiful beaded necklace at the Medieval Faire this year. After wearing the necklace only twice I knew the adjustable knot closure had to be changed. So I decided to use some wire and simple wrapping techniques to create a sturdier closure. It turned out really great so I wanted to share it in a tutorial.

Click HERE to see the video tutorial.

Scrappy Gibbous Inspired Skirt

Whitney — Thu, 29 May 2014 20:24:55 +0000

Several years ago I was introduced to an amazing website full of incredible, scrappy, pieces that are so inspiring to look at. Since then I have been wanting to make a skirt inspired by the ones on the site.

For this year’s medieval faire I finally got the perfect inspiration…I started the skirt late the night before the faire and made a super fun and scrappy skirt.

If you want to see more details of the skirt and how I made it then click HERE!

**Click HERE to see other ways I style my corset!**

Adjustable Steampunk Skirt

Whitney — Thu, 24 Apr 2014 21:39:32 +0000

A year or so ago my dad bought me two vintage curtains at a thrift store. They were really cool – printed with different trains and train signs. I was saving them; trying to come up with just the right project. I had been considering them for a feature segment on a corduroy bag, but after a lot of thinking decided the print was too large and too busy for a bag.

About three months ago I shared a pic of the fabric on instagram and someone commented that it would make a great skirt for my steampunk costume. The idea didn’t really stick with me, until a short time ago when I was inspired with a certain skirt shape.

Once the idea of the shape was in my mind the entire project fell into place! I jumped right into making the skirt and it turned out so awesome!

I filmed enough of the process that I was able to put together a tutorial of my impromptu project. You can find that tutorial HERE!

I hope you love the project as much as I love my new skirt!

DIY Leather Wrap Watch

Whitney — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 20:47:12 +0000

Last year I picked a watch up at a thrift store because I liked the watch face…the strap however was another story. I got inspired recently and cut the old watch strap off and revamped it into a new watch that I love!

I used a piece of red leather I picked up at a local leather shop (I got a bag of scrap leathers for $5!), a couple of D rings and the watch face.

This is a really easy, no sew project that I hope you like and will try! Check out the tutorial HERE!

DIY Valentine Ideas

Whitney — Tue, 04 Feb 2014 02:58:45 +0000

Since Valentine’s Day is quickly approaching I wanted to share a couple of fun and easy projects you can make for friends or loved ones.

The first are Artist Trading Cards, otherwise known as ATCs. They are 2.5 X 3.5 inch cards that can be made using just about anything. The cards are meant to only be given or traded so they make perfect Valentine cards. Because of their small size you can easily use any paper scraps, bits of lace, loose buttons, etc that you’ve been saving.

I made a few using the images from pattern envelopes, glitter, and buttons. They turned out really cute and I can’t wait to pass them out

Check out the video showing how to make them HERE!

I also did a tutorial showing how I make my message in a bottle necklaces. I wore one of them in a few of my styling videos and always get tons of compliments. I like typing the messages on my dad’s vintage typewriter on old book pages, then roll them up and tie with thread. It’s like carrying around a secret message that only the maker and the wearer knows.

See how to make the necklaces HERE!

Craft Fair Adventure

Whitney — Thu, 14 Nov 2013 01:45:05 +0000

Last weekend my mom and I had a booth at a local craft fair. It was our first craft fair in many, many years. We’re weren’t totally sure what to expect, but it ended up going pretty well and was a lot of fun.

My mom made tons of beautiful baby blankets and burp clothes to sell. I wasn’t really sure what all to make, so I made a little of everything.

I posted a video showing a lot of the items I made for the fair. You can check it out HERE.

I also made two money aprons for us to use from a pair of corduroys I was no longer wearing. They turned out super cute and were very useful the day of the fair. I have a tutorial for it that you can find HERE.

At the fair we had a great space heading into the main room, so we really had a lot of space to work with. We ended up setting up three tables and my mannequin.

I did a little recap video talking more about the fair, what the best sellers were, and included more pics. Check it out HERE.

Reconstructed Thrift Dress

Whitney — Thu, 17 Oct 2013 16:50:10 +0000

Several years ago I picked up a beautifully embroidered dress at a thrift store. I loved the embroidery, but didn’t like it as a dress. I recently went to my parents house and saw the dress hanging in the closet and was inspired to finally put it to use.

I love wearing jeans so I wanted to convert the dress into a top that would look great with a pair of skinny jeans. It was a pretty easy project since the dress already fit (so no resize was required).

Check out the video HERE to see how I did the reconstruction.

What type of reconstruction projects have you done or want to try?

My DIY Purse

Whitney — Mon, 30 Sep 2013 02:40:29 +0000

Ever wondered what you can make from some tiny corduroy upholstery fabric, a curtain, the sleeve from an old leather jacket, and the clip from a dog leash?

Well…those four things plus a zipper, thread, and some stabilizer are what I used to make my new purse!

I decided I needed a new bag and wanted it to be a crossbody bag, so I sat down one Sunday, sketched out my ideas and some rough measurements and got to work. I came up with a bag that I really love carrying!

If you want to see pics of the bag and hear more about it check out the video HERE.

DIY Retro Inspired Half Apron

Whitney — Tue, 10 Sep 2013 03:09:59 +0000

I’ve decided that everyone needs a cute apron in their life! Either for looking nice while company is over for dinner, the occasional kitchen photo op, or for its intended purpose of keeping your clothes clean while cooking.

Vintage apron worn over a dress I made using a vintage pattern.

I recently picked up a remnant of fabric unsure what I wanted to use it for, then realized it would make a beautiful, retro inspired apron!

The apron was made using 1 yard of solid fabric and about a half yard of the focus print. I’m in love with this apron so much!

(BTW this is my new friend! She happens to be my exact size…and vintage. My dad found her at an estate sale!)

I hope you will check out the apron tutorial HERE and give it a try.

Burlap & Blossoms Headband and Photoshoot

Whitney — Sat, 07 Sep 2013 14:32:31 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to create another project for Pellon using their ultra firm sew-in stabilizer. I had a lot of fun coming up with the project! I was inspired by a package of headbands I purchased at Dollar Tree and some really pretty flowers from the scrapbook section at Hobby Lobby.

You don’t have to use store bought flowers, you can definitely make your own flowers and use them to make headbands or hair clips.

The written and photo version of the project is available HERE on the Pellon Projects website.

If you would like to watch the video version then click HERE.

My hubby, Jeremiah, and I did a photoshoot recently modeling my DIY headband and a corset I got from the lovely Damsel in this Dress! *BTW her corsets are amazing and she is a super sweet person!* The photoshoot was a lot of fun and I put together a video from that day with some of the pics and footage. You can check it out HERE.