Tutorial: How to make a poncho top

Hi! As I promised, here is the tutorial on how to make a poncho top from just a rectangle fabric! I meant to post this yesterday, but for some reasons, blogger wasn't letting me post.

I made some diagrams to show how to cut the fabric and where to sew. You can click the image above to enlarge.

Material needed:
❤ 1-2 yards or fabric, depending on the length of the top/dress. I recommend fabrics that flows well, and avoid stiff fabrics, such as denim, 100% cotton, linen or wool. I used very light weight polyester fabrics for my top and dress. I recommend light weight poly or rayon blend.
❤ thread
❤ elastic band. This is what you use to cinch the waist part. Cut two elastic bands, in length that's half of your waist. For instance, if your waist measurement is 28" around, cut two 14" elastic bands.


I'm pretty bad at writing instructions - so if you have any questions, please post a comment! I will try to answer as much as I can:)
Hope you enjoy this and please do share some photos if you make one!

Guest blogger: Detachable crochet collar pattern by iro iro

Hello! I'm Sophia from 'iro iro' and I'm really happy to be writing a guest post for Chie today, whilst she looks after her own little Sophia. This is my first guest post and to be writing it here is wonderful, thank you Chie!

If any of you have stumbled across my blog before, you may have noticed a recurring theme: collars. I love 'em. Sweet peter pan collars..long bow-tie collars..vintage lace collars. They can completely change the look of an outfit. So let me not disappoint, here is a little tutorial to make your very own collar.

  This is a simple crochet detachable collar I made the other day. It is made with standard DK yarn for a more chunky look than those delicate lace ones found stashed away in vintage shops. And don't worry, it takes a lot less time to make too. You will only need scraps of yarn: it didn't even dent my 100g ball. Mine is made with acrylic (it was on hand..) but I think a cotton yarn would make a good alternative.

Ok, you will need:
- Yarn (see above)
- 4mm crochet hook
- Small popper (for back closure)

Abbreviations: ch - chain, sc - single crochet, dc - double crochet, sl st - slip stitch, tog - together.

Let's begin: ch 72  (72 chs)

Row 1: ch1, sc in every st  (72 sts)

Row 2: ch2, *dc in st, 2dc in st* repeat to end  (108 sts)

Row 3: ch2, dc in every st  (108 sts)

Row 4: ch2, *dc in 3 sts, 2dc in next st* repeat to end  (135 sts)

Row 5: sl st 1 st, *5sc in st, sl st 3 sts tog* repeat until 2 sts remaining, sl st 2sts. Pull yarn through loop to finish off.

To complete your detachable collar, sew a popper at the back and enjoy wearing it!

This is not only my first time guest blogging, but also writing out a pattern like this, so please bear with me. Hopefully it will all make sense, if there are any problems please leave a comment below or send me an email ([email protected]).

 If you have never tried crochet before, I recommend taking a look at these easy instructions or popping onto youtube. It's a really fun hobby to have that you can pick up anywhere - I often crochet on the bus to college! Thanks for reading ^.^


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Be sure to check out her etsy shop full of cute crochet goodies! 

Guest blogger: Free PDF downloadable bag pattern by Nette

Hi everyone. My name is Nette and I am from Germany. It is so nice to meet you! Usually, I write a blog over at nettevivante all about my sewing projects and other creative output. Anyway, you might wonder why you do not get to read anything by lovely Chie?! That is because she asked me to write a little guest post for her readers, while she is taking a break welcoming her little baby girl! 

Having been inspired by Chie’s beautiful dresses for a long time already, I was really flattered to be able to jump in for her! Thank you Chie! ❤

This is a double premiere for me. Not only because this is my very first guest post, but also because I intent to keep you busy during Chie’s absence with my very first self drafted epattern and how-to.

So today I am presenting you a pattern for a simple, yet, highly versatile tote bag. I made several versions of it for ‘Pay it forward’ and am so glad that Chie is going to use hers for the baby! ;)

As you can see, this bag is just full of endless possible variations and I hope you are going to enjoy letting your mind wander and making one!

If there are any questions, leave them as comments here or on my blog, I would love to help you out then. AND if you really are making a bag, I would love to see your versions! Have a lovely day everybody!

❤Download PDF Eva bag instruction here.

❤Download PDF Eva bag pattern here.

Guest blogger: Freehand machine embroidery by Paunnet

Hello, everyone! I’m Paunnet (but you can call me Anna) and I’m very happy to be here while Chie takes care of lovely little Sophia.

Today I’d like to talk to you about a technique I was introduced to about two years ago and that has been inspiring me a lot, lately. It is called freehand machine embroidery (if you’re a quilter you probably know it already) and it allows you to put your designs on anything you want without an expensive embroidery machine.

This is what you’re gonna need:

1.      A darning foot (sometimes called quilting foot): mine didn’t come with my machine, but I bought one for a few euros at my machine dealer. This allows you to move the fabric while you sew and to stitch in any direction you want.

2.      Water soluble stabilizer: it’s a plastic-y film on which you can draw you design. When you are done, you just wash it and will dissolve. I used Madeira’s Avalon, which comes in a roll of 5m x 25cm.

3.      A permanent marker: make sure it’s water resistant or the ink will bleed on to your fabric when you wash it.

4.      Tape: to tape the stabilizer on the fabric, so that it doesn’t move around.

5.      (Optional) Embroidery thread: I had some in my sewing box, but regular thread works great too.

Now you can choose your design and transfer it or drawing it on the stabilizer. I chose this sketch of three little girl dresses that I found a long time ago on the Internet.

The next step is to prepare your machine: put on the darning foot, set a low thread tension and lower the feed dogs (my machine has a button on the back, check your machine’s instructions if you don’t know how to do it).

Now start following the lines of your design. You’ll need some practice to adjust the movement of the fabric and the speed of the pedal, but it’s not too hard to get a good result. If you really can’t figure it out, there are a lot of Youtube videos in which you can see the machine in action, which might be more useful than my written explanation.

In the picture you can see I finished the the first part and I left a long tail before cutting the thread and moving to the next little dress.

Once you have finished, turn your fabric, with the help of a seam ripper, pull the threads on the wrong side and knot them, so your design won’t unravel.

Now you’re almost done! Rip the stabilizer and wash away the remaining.

I used my little dresses to make a zippered pouch (and I made a matching pencil case with an ice-cream design that I found here).

Aren’t they cute? They are for sale in my Etsy shop.

I also decorated a plain t-shirt with some butterflies going from the front to the back.

                                                            

I hope this little tutorial will inspire you to create something beautiful. If you try it, I’d be delighted to see your results!

Braided hair tutorial

I've been doing different hair arrangement using braids lately. I like this one since its easy yet looks like I spent more time on it than I actually did :p I hope you like the tutorial!

1. You need two elastic bands and a couple of hair pins.
2. I like to start by curling my hair slightly with a curling iron, but this step  is totally up to you! I think this braided hair is great with straight hair, wavy or curled, as long as your hair has enough length to wrap a braided piece around the back of your head :)
3. First part your hair in the center. Then take a strand of hair right above your ear, leaving your bang, if you have it.
4. Then braid tightly.
5. Braid till the end, and tie it with the elastic band.
6. The side will look like this.
7-8. Do the same for the other side.
9. Take the braid, and wrap it around the back of your head and pin it right behind your ear. Make sure to hide the end under your non-braided hair.
10. Do the same for the other side.

And tada! It's so easy and takes less than 3 minutes:)

Saturday date in Machida and thrift shopping

Hi! I hope everyone's weekend was nice and relaxing. My husband and I went out a little date on Saturday to a city called Machida. It's close to where we live and has two fabric shops that I like, Yuzawaya and Okadaya. Besides going to fabric shops and grabbing a bite, we stopped by at a thrift shop called "390". Literally everything they have is 390 yen (about less than $4). I like the shop because they actually have vintage clothing imported from the U.S. and Europe, not just someone's old clothes from GAP. Besides vintage clothes, they have new scarves, i-phone case shaped like candy bar, head phones and other cute goodies.

There I found this 70's (maybe 80's? tag was removed) dress. I love the dusty pale pink color, bat/dolmen sleeves and, peplum, but the dress seems to be able to use some tweaking.

So I removed the shoulder pads, shorten the length, and added lining for the skirt part.
It's kind of hard to see the difference between before & after in the photos, but I like after version much better, and I think it's more wearable!

One sweater, three gloves

I had a great luck at a thrift shop the other day. I picked up a Jill Stuart coat for 1500 yen (about $15). I was so thrilled! The size fit me perfectly too. Along with the coat, I picked up this sweater/vest thingy for 100 yen ($1). The sweater was in a good condition, but it sat in my closet for a bit, never been worn. So I decided to remake the sweater into something fun. The sweater has an interesting texture, three different knits.
First, I cut up the sweater along the seam line to see how much fabric I have. Then I used rib parts as wrist bands for the mitts, sewed it up with sewing machine and added a bow and heart charm.

This sweater was remade into three different mitts! Such an easy and fun project:)

Left: Light gray lace hand warmers, middle: Light gray bow mitts, right: Light gray simple hand warmers

Tutorial: How to make crochet fingerless mitts

Remember the crochet fingerless mitts I made before? I liked them so much I made couple more (here and here). They are so easy but really fun to make, and you can make different variations depending on buttons and charms you use. I made a tutorial for how to make crochet fingerless mitts below - hope you like it!

Bunny ear headband tutorial at Chich Steals

I posted a week ago about using scraps to make headbands here. Carly from Chic Steals just let me know that she has a step-by-step tutorial of how to make the headbands with wire in them at her blog. She has great DIY tutorials and DIY ideas at her blog!

Cherry blossom tree in my living room

One of the decorations that I really wanted for my new place was a wall decal. I saw a cute bird and tree decal at my friend's place in the past, and I really wanted one too.
I think wall decal is a great way to decorate the wall, especially if you rent. I rent, and I'm glad to be able to decorate the wall without making a bunch of small holes from pushpins.

I ordered my at Qinqin Decal on Etsy. I think their price is very reasonable, and the decal came right away from NY to Japan!

Here is what my living room looked before..
The package came with 2 sheets of stickers and instruction. I cut out the pieces smaller so they are easier to apply.
Then placed the stickers on the wall. I used a tape to figure out the balance of the trees and flowers first before actually applying.

Voila!

Using scraps

If you are a sewer, you might know how much scraps that can build up in your closet over time. Those scraps are not big enough to make a tiny camisole or shorts, but not small enough that you can just trash. I have a bunch of fabrics like that, piled up.

Over the last couple of weeks, I haven't had enough energy to work on clothes because of the move we did, so I worked on simple & easy project: headbands!

I love wearing headbands. Especially in the Summer, because I always put my hair up - it's too humid and hot in Japan to keep my long hair down, and I'm impressed if I see girls who have nice hair even on bad-hair day.

Making headbands are very easy - I just cut two strips of fabric in 30-33 inches in length and 2-5 inches in width. You can change the width if you want a skinny headband or wide headband. It's your choice. Then with the right side of fabrics facing each other, I sew around the fabric, leaving 2 inch window so you can turn. Then iron. For my headbands, I added a wire inside, then close the window. The wire helps the headband to stay on your head without slipping off and also allows you to shape the headband as you like.

Chie's sister sews - maxi dress

Inspired by "Juebejue's Dad Sews" post by Petite Republic, I'm posting about my sister's creation. Unfortunately, my dad is not as crafty and cool as Juebejue's dad, but my sister loves sewing and DIYing as much as I do!

My sister is 4 years younger, but sometimes people think we are twins. We do look a like, and we are pretty much the same size, I'm a bit taller than her, which is great, because I can borrow her clothes (and she can borrow mine).

She made this maxi dress with the fabric she got from Hong Kong. Apparently, there is a huge fabric market there. Hong Kong is definitely in my list of to-go place.
She made the dress based on the Japanese magazine, called "Female". The magazine is about 840 yen, which is about $9 US dollars. The magazine comes with a lot of patterns, and tips about sewing.

Big Buttons Dress Tutorial

I love doing custom orders. Custom orders are a lot of work, but gives me different challenges, and a chance to expand different variations and patterns of work.
I was recently asked to make a modification of this dress. Her request was to keep the big buttons, add "rolled up sleeves", and big pockets. Before I made one for her, I made one sample to make sure if the patterns work. It ended up this dress was pretty simple, and can be adjusted in different sizes very very easily.
Although I added darts for the previous dress, the dresses above a very simple, no curves, all straight line dress. I'm terrible at explaining things, but I'm gonna try... here you go!

Here is a brief how-to to make this dress.
You need measurements of your:
♥ shoulder to shoulder measurement (16" for me)
♥ from your shoulder to the top of the bust measurement (mine was 9")
♥ desired length of the dress (in this case, I made it for 34")

Material:
♥ About 1.50m of fabric
♥ covered button kit
♥ invisible zipper

Pattern:
1. Top panels
♥ Take your shoulder to shoulder measurement (mine is about 16"), and add 3" each side. So the total width of the top front panel is about 23".
♥ The length of your top front panel is the measurement of your shoulder to the top of your bust.
♥ Now your have a rectangle fabric, 23" ×9". Cut two (one for front, and one for back)
♥ Adjust the neckline, you can make it like boat neck, or round neck.

2. Skirt panels
♥ Take the length of your shoulder to shoulder measurement (16"), and multiply it by 1.5. In my case, this is 24". This becomes the width of your skirt panels, front and back.
♥ The length of your skirt panels should be (your desired length of the dress) - (length of your top panel). In this case, 34-9=25.
♥ Now you have a rectangle fabric, 24" ×25".
♥ Gather the top of this skirt panel fabric, and shorten it (gather) so it becomes your shoulder to shoulder measurement (16"). Then sew this into the top panel, leave 3" both sides for the sleeve.

3. Pockets, roll up sleeves etc.
This is your preference. Make many different variations!

4. Zipper should be added to the back middle, and I would cut the back top and skirt panels 0.5" longer so it has extra seem allowance for installing zipper.

I know this is very brief and I skipped many processes, so please feel free to ask any questions! Please link to this post if you make a dress from this tutorial;) Happy sewing♥

Neck warmers

I've long forgotten how much I enjoyed knitting. I had not knitted for so long, perhaps more than 5 years, but I recently rediscovered the joy of knitting while my mother was in the hospital. I spent hours in the hospital, waiting, and I needed to do something with the time. I could have read, but I wasn't in the mood for reading, so I picked up a couple of yarns and started knitting.

The picture above was my second neck warmer I made. I first made the same one in white for my self. I used 100% wool white yarn to make a chunky neck warmer. I love it, and I take it with me everywhere I go now, except, 100% wool kind of irritate my skin a bit. So for the second one, I used 100% acrylic mohair yarn, and it came out much better - it is so soft! I added the second one to my shop. I didn't use any patterns and I can't read knitting patterns, they confuse me very much. So I just knitted in rib, and connected the ends at the end.

I think neck warmer is perfect for me, since I don't like wearing turtle necks. They choke me and I feel like I can't breath when I'm wearing them. So I always wear something open around neck, and I like the neck warmer since I can take it off easily, as oppose to turtle neck sweaters.


Oh, and by the way, I'm finally starting to figure out how to use twitter...I've had an account for months, but never updated it, but I'll be good and update it more regularly from now on... follow me on twitter♡

Pretty bow

From Left: Philip Lim Spring 2010 RTW from Style.com, Nightingale black dress from itsokmydear, & Sunshine's red dress from Nadinoo.

Influenced by above lovely sweater/dresses, here is my attempt to incorporate bows in my closet...

I did not make sweaters themselves. They were ugly old turtle neck sweaters I found second hand. I cut off the turtle neck, and used that fabric to create bows. I made boat neck cut for gray sweater and back V line for purple sweater and finished them with black bias strips.
I like these much better than turtle neck sweaters, I do not like turtle neck very much... it makes my neck itchy and face look so big and moon-like!

floral + black + red

Wearing Vivat Veritas dress, wet seal leggings, vintage belt and gem pumps from Japan.

I did not go crazy on Black Friday, but I did make one purchase at edor. I love her tiny jewelries, and in fact, I've made one purchase at edor before and totally loved it. So I got another necklace for a Christmas gift.

Here is little diy I did the other day. I had this top in navy blue with a lots of floral, and it's cute but I thought I could add some more to make it little more stylish. So I cropped the top short, and added skirt part with black jersey to make a dress. With the left over fabric from the top, I made some covered buttons, and added three of them in the front.

diy leopard skirt

When I have some sewing idea, I get so jittery until I get it done. So, tada! I finished it. It was an easy & simple project. I cut the hem of the dress straight along with its lining, and added waist elastic to make the skirt.

I still think it is too much leopard for me. Maybe I should incorporate the leopard trend of this year in more subtle way, like jewelry and accessories and stuff.
Are you a leopard print fan??

Black jersey ruffle vest

New creation! Doesn't this look like the vest I borrowed from my sister the other day? The difference is that it has an open back. I like this way better.. what do you think?

I added this to my etsy shop today.

Outfit detail: Tank indio (japanese cheap brand), skirt handmade, belt my sister's, sandals bandolino.
I'm wearing this polka dot skirt here and here also.

Do you wanna know how I made this vest?

Tada!
rectangle and a small hole in the middle :p

credit: Wonderfulhm.

DIY: Vintage silk halter top

Naoko from Ultramarine Vintage had asked me to remake this oversized silk top into a cute wearable halter top. I don't have much experience in remaking stuff, so I was a bit nervous.
Here is what the top looked like before the makeover...
It is 100 percent silk, size L, and has a cute pocket on the left side. The fabric is very nice, but you don't want to wear this in 2009... it requires a bit more work.
I cut out the sleeves, and halt of the back. In the back, I made a loop for the elastic.
For front, I wanted to leave the pocket. So I cut the neckline little deeper, and made another loop for elastic in the front as well.
With the fabric I cut out, I made a strap to go around the neck.

Here is the result! It will be available at Ultramarine Vintage!

Check out her shop as she is adding many items daily!

DIY - Kimono top

I have been asked to do a how-to on this kimono top by Burdastyle members, and I finally got to it. I am not very good at explaining things, but I will try. This top is very easy to make, and once you get used to it, it takes less than an hour to make this.
1. There are two patterns you need. One is a back bodice pattern from Tara pattern from Burdastyle, and the other is rectangles. For size small, I use 10"×25" rectangles. You would need two bodice, and two rectangles. Cut out the fabric. You need about one yard of stretch knit fabric.

2. Sew bodice. Put bodice together, and sew side seems. I like to finish up with french seams, but if you want to serge, that would be find too.
Hem the bottom as well.

3. Sew the rectangles. On one side, add lace if you'd like. For the other side, I usually ruffle the edge to add feminine feel of it. You can make many different variation of this!

4. Connect the rectangles to the bodice.
Take the 10" long side of the rectangles, and sew it to the upper hem part of the bodice. Make sure to leave about an inch and a half as an allowance, so you can use the allowance to make a loop for an elastic to go through. Make sure that the right side of the fabrics are facing each other. Sew both front and back of the clothes.
5. Make a loop for the elastic band. Using the allowance of the rectangles, make a loop and sew it all around the shirt.

6. Cut the elastic band in the length of your under bust. Using bodkin, put the elastic band into the loop. and you're done!

I hope I explain this well.. Let me know if you have any questions! I would love to see how your kimono top turns out:)