6 January 2010 – Buttons, originally uploaded by academichic.Sources:
- Red and white eyelet top – from my grandmother’s closet
- Black cardi – Marona, thrifted (embellished by me)
- Jeans – thrifted
- Wool leg warmers – local drugstore
- Boots – Dillards
Endnotes:
This is something I wore during my break in Romania and never got to posting. I’m now back in Munich and back to work. When I wore this, I was just spending a casual day reading and hemming a dress of my mom’s that I found that she probably wore in the 70s or 80s. I can’t wait until it’s warmer out and I can wear it. I’ve been inspired by a plethora of sources lately to flex my DIY muscles a bit more. I will long not be the DIY queen that our E. is but I’m hoping to get better at handling a needle and thread (I don’t have a sewing machine) so that I can buy all those lovely garments I always see while thrifting and put back because I don’t know how to alter them.
Buttons, originally uploaded by academichic.
Buttons, originally uploaded by academichic.I’m starting small with a dress hem and this embellished cardi I’m wearing. I was inspired by this embroidered black cardi by the lovely remixer ‘The Frog’s Eyebrows‘ and the button embellished cardi crafted by the stylish Clodo to pull out my own thrifted black cardi and spruce it up a bit. It’s hard to go wrong with DIY’ing a thrifted item since it’s not likely to have cost much or be all too irreplaceable. I found a handful of pretty vintage buttons in my grandmother’s sewing drawer and grouped them in clusters of three in shades of red and whites to adorn the cardi’s neckline. It’s not much of a change but just enough to make the cardi feel a little more exciting and new to me. I still want to try my hand at embroidering a cardigan, but that will have to wait until I thrift a practice item and some embroidery ribbon.
How about you? Are you of the crafty sort and if so, what are your favorite kinds of DIY projects? For us novices, do you have any words of wisdom? Also, does anyone know of a site with great embroidery patterns for free? Thank you, as always, for your input! S.
6 January 2010, originally uploaded by academichic.
You are getting some of the best pieces from your mother and grandmother – that’s so cool! That shirt is fabulous. As for being crafty, I’m not so good in the sewing department but that’s on my list to work on this year. I would love to be handy like that!
I love the addition of the buttons to the cardigan! I want to learn to sew this year!
I can handle sewing on buttons or a little bit of hemming, but I’m not particularly crafty. I don’t have my own sewing machine. I have considered getting one, but we honestly don’t have room right now. Two academics = too many books.
I love the floral pattern with the black!
Your grandma must be a very chic lady! This is a great outfit!
I love love love that top. Such a great pattern and wonderful color. And I love how you embellished your cardigan – makes it very eye-catching and interesting.
I have ambitions to be more DIY this year and doing things like you’ve done with your cardigan to infuse new life into some of my older pieces. It’s sad, too, because I have a sewing machine that rarely gets used. I get anxious about tailoring my own clothes, but I think I’m going to start with making something relatively simple, like a skirt. If I’m successful, I might have more courage to try a bigger project. If not, well… I’ll just stick to knitting!
I love that embellished cardigan! So great. I also have hopes of becoming adept at DIY but I’m not sure they’ll ever come to fruition. I really just need to sit down and learn!
I have some really cute vintage buttons and some really boring cardigans and I had no idea what to do with them until I saw your post. Thanks for the inspiration!
Such a great way to jazz up a simple cardi! I’m getting more into DIY projects, but mine tend to be of the jewelry variety …
I love the button embellishments. What a wonderful way to jazz up a cardigan!
I am very crafty, but find that my “talents” are best used to embellish, rather than to alter or construct from the ground up (except for sewing handbags and knitting. I’m super finicky about fit, so that probably has something to do with it.
I often thrift or shop for buttons, trim, ribbon, etc. (my latest purchase is a set of pink metal vintage lingerie buckles) so that I have a “stash” of goodies at the ready.
My advice is to embrace the nature of experimenation. There will be mistakes and “wasted” materials, but it’s all part of the process!
Your hair is looking awesome these days! So full and beautiful!
If you are a complete embroidery newbie, get a copy of the book Doodle Stitching. She gives excellent instructions for different stitches, including how to embroider on clothing, and she has some very cute patterns.
This flickr group has free embroidery patterns:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/hooplove/
If those aren’t your taste, check out Sublime Stitching (not free, but very fun).
You can also make your own patterns by drawing them yourself, or tracing images out of coloring books, children’s books, magazines, or any image that pleases you. Check out clip art, too. Many of those images translate well into embroidery.
Good luck! I look forward to seeing what you come up with.
I love the little embellishments! I had a friend in college who sewed about fifty mismatched buttons up and down the side of an old cardigan and it looked FANTASTIC! i’d never trust myself to do it, but i’ve always wanted to.
Super cute outfit! I love the legwarmers with boots!
Thanks for the comments and especially the embroidery tips! S.
lovin all of these pieces from your granny’s closet, and their seemingly effortless incorporation into your modern wardrobe!
Cute outfit! Love the shirt and the diy buttons.
The buttons are the perfect and quirky touch!
Your outfit is really pretty and the buttons are a wonderful touch.
For free embroidery patterns, I like the Hoop Love group on Flickr and copying designs from needlework and children’s books at the library. But the best website for patterns is
http://www.needlecrafter.com/patterns.html
Your outfit is really pretty and the buttons are a wonderful touch.
For free embroidery patterns, I like the Hoop Love group on Flickr and copying designs from needlework and children’s books at the library. But the best website for patterns is
http://www.needlecrafter.com/patterns.html
which is where I got the pattern for my cardigan.
Your hair looks like a fantastic whirlwind of fantasticness (two fantastics in one sentence means it’s really fantastic).
I’m planning (which doesn’t always happen) on embellishing the complete sleeves of this dress I bought with an assortment of sparkly things. It’s amazing how much you can embellish while watching mindless tv…
Wow ! That such a nice compliment to me. I love how you pimped your cardi, Stylish you.
Clodo
What a cute idea – I love it! I may have to emulate you. (I also wonder how hard it would be to create a brooch with buttons so it would be removable?)
Cute look! Love those boots. I’m dying for the Frye equivalents, but not sure I can pull them off as well as you do. Plus, I’m short so I don’t know if tall boots like this make me shorter. Hmm…
The outfit is great but I’m hung up on your hair. If I had thicker, more textured hair I would be forced to consider ‘No Poo’ based on these pictures alone. Looks great! And while I love the cardigan, too, my favorite combination here are the boots with the eyelet shirt.
i always use leg warmers during the winter months to feel comfy.,*`
we often need leg warmers during the cold winter months in our place. we prefer cotton or wool*::
when i travel in Alaska, i always use leg warmers to get more comfortable`.*
leg warmers will be more useful in the coming winter months, i gotta grab one on the local store:”"
i often use leg warmers during the cold months and specially this DEcember *;.