These rosettes can be used as embellishments however you like - turn them into hair accessories, attach them to a sweater or use them to upcycle another T-shirt. Dress them up with beads or ribbon. All you need are some scissors and a hot glue gun.
When you first buy a corset from a retailer, you will need to give the thread and fabric the chance to shape itself according to your own personal shape. Here is the best way to break in or season a new corset to make it last longer.
This is the perfect tutorial for beginners who are interesting in learning how to quilt. Start with a basic abstract pattern and your favorite colors of fabric (you can use scraps if you wish as well), then follow the video and make your first quilt!
This is a quick and easy shortcut that shows you how to simulate the needle turn effect when you're attaching a fabric applique. This also helps you hide a raw edge, which gives your entire project a cleaner and more professional look.
A drawstring bag has a thousand different uses, and it's a great way to use up some of the bigger scraps in your fabric stash. This tutorial shows you a quick and easy way to sew a lined drawstring bag.
You barely even need a sewing machine to make this dress! All you need is a length of your favorite fabric. Wrap it around yourself, tie one shoulder and then sew up the side seam. Now all you need is to pick which shoes you're going to wear with it!
Scraps and fringe are in! You can make your own scrappy necklace, just using scraps or remnants (which you might be able to get for free from your local fabric store!). Cut them and assemble into your own scrappy statement necklace!
Make your own environmentally friendly dye at home, out of strawberries! You'll also need some vinegar, salt and old nylon stockings. Mash up your strawberries, strain them in the nylon and then boil your strawberry puree with salt, vinegar and your fabric.
Latex can be a sexy and cool material to make fabric out of, but a plain black latex shirt can still be a bit boring. You can create your own appliques that you can apply to latex clothing using sticky paper.
Turn yourself into an Aphrodite or Artemis this Halloween! You don't even need a pattern to make yourself a sexy Greek goddess costume! All you need are a few yards of your favorite fabric, some chantilly lace for a wrap, and a laurel leaf crown to top it all off!
Hairbands are alluring rip offs of headbands. Made out of real hair rather than fabric and synthetic elastic material, hairbands cost just about nothing (you do sprout hair organically from your head, after all) and look far more mature than their plastic counterparts.
DIY fashion guru Gianny L is well known for her ability to turn very blah-looking t-shirts and old pants into stylish, body contouring bikinis, bags, and even Halloween costumes.
Yarn is certainly not the most expensive fabric-making material world, but why would you spend $5 for a roll when you can spin together yarn yourself?
In this tutorial, learn how to make your own fabric that you can use to make bags, clothing and many more items! Etsy Labs technician, Anda Lewis shows you how to fuse plastic bags (from the grocery store or trash bags) in this quick clip. You can even use these bags to create your own reusable, Earth friendly shopping bag!
Ear muffs are handy for snow days (or in L.A., cold-ish days) and for eskimo dress-up days at school. Learn how to craft your own ear blankie with this tutorial, which shows you a cheap way to make ear muffs out of a coat hanger frame.
When fitting clothing, or ordering fabric, you will need to know your body measurements and proportions. In this tutorial, Rita, founder of Tourdephat.com, shows you how to use a basic tape measure to calculate your body size. This will help you get clothes that fit like a glove every time.
Thread and clothing designer, Kenneth D. King, give quick instruction to us on the importance of our cutting tools, more especially the serrated scissors. Here we learn what makes this particular style of scissors so efficient and necessary to our sewing work, as well as what types of materials they ought to be used on. He also gives warning that we should never use our fabric scissors on paper. Great tips for the beginning designer in us all.
Check out this video tutorial on how to make cheap dragon wings, controlled by body posture. You can do this project for $18 if you use plastic garbage bags and Scotch tape for the membranes. You'll see how to make very light and strong costume wings. How strong? That strong.
Baby showers can be a lot of fun, make it even more fun by making a diaper cake. This Cake Decorating how to video demonstrates how to put this diaper cake together for any baby shower. All you need for the diaper cake is: diapers, rubber bands, white fabric elastic, safety pins, ribbon and white tool.
Beautify those plain white sheets with master designer Todd Oldham. Watch Susan Sarandon discover the wonders of the modern age, by custom printing those bed sheets with fabric paints.
The helpful folks over at Threadbanger take today to teach us how to make a tote bag. And not just any tote bag, but one made from recycled material. It's stylish, environmentally conscious, and...actually that's it. Just those two things.
In this video, we learn how to design your own clothes with ombre dying. Start off by mixing up a dark color and a light color in 2 gallons of water each. Now, take your piece of fabric and place it into warm water until it's covered. Now, place this on a hanger, then dip the top into the dark color for eight minutes. Then, place the fabric in the lighter color for one minute. Then, place this under cool water upside down until it runs clear. After this, wash it in the washer and dry it, then...
In this tutorial, we learn how to make a vintage inspired vest. First, measure yourself around the bust waist and hips. After this, write down what your measurements are, then mark them on a piece of fabric you want to use as your vest. Cut out the shape and then fold in the edges and sew the sides to hem them and reduce and frays. After this, add in any scrap pieces of fabric you have laying around and sew them to the vest to make your desired look. After this, sew on buttons to the front of...
Make a creative and fun felted cuff bracelet! This could be a difficult task for beginners, but overall it's an easy craft. You'll need a needle felting machine for this though, which means you might have to hunt one down or improvise. Watch and learn how to use the needle felting machine to create a cool felted cuff.
Hemming a pair of dress pants is no longer a mystery. Karen Schmidt demonstrates step-by-step what is needed to get professional looking results. Measure the length that you would like to trim and pin the new hemline in place. Use an iron to mark the new pant length with a crease. Then unfold and rip the seam out of the original hemline. Cut away excess fabric sew a protective zigzag seam along the trimmed fabric. Refold the new creased hemline. With a matching thread, sew a single line to ho...
In order to hand-wash your clothes, you will need the following: a sink with a stopper, a laundry detergent designed for hand-washing (e.g. Woolite), a stain remover, fabric softener, and a drying rack.
We've already told you how the Japanese pioneered growing specially shaped watermelons (including square, heart, and Godzilla egg). Now it turns out an organic farmer just north of Los Angeles is doing them one better.
Unless your work clothes require dry cleaning, you probably only go to the cleaner a few times a year. And for those few items in your closet for which you do, you have to then find the time and extra budget to make a trip all the way to the cleaners and back again. In the end, it can be quite the hassle.
This tutorial works best with soft fabrics, like jersey or terry cloth. You can even cut up old flannel to make the stuffing! This is a simple project that won't take longer than an hour or two to put together.
Don't be intimidated by this couture technique - it's actually quite easy! Sew a silk ribbon binding to your project as a way to stabilize it. All you need is the ribbon, your fabric and a few extra sewing notions.
These ornaments make a great embellishment to any Christmas gift or present, and are easy to make out of scrap fabric. You can also use them as a tree decoration! All you need, besides a few sewing notions, is some heavy cardstock.
A quillow is a blanket that, when folded, can serve double duty as a pillow. You will need fabric for the front and back as well as some batting and regualr sewing notions. This is a great Christmas or holiday gift even a beginner can make!
Even though this method does not take very long, you can still use it to easily and quickly make a large number of Christmas stocking. You will need strong polyester thread and size 90 or 100 machine needles along with your favorite Christmas fabrics.
This tutorial shows you how to make a Renaissance or medieval costume blouse. You will need a sewing machine and about a yard and a half of fabric. You don't need a pattern, just one of your own shirts to use as a fitting guide.
With Halloween costumes retailing upwards of $100, it's easy to get into debt just because you're feeling in the festive dress-up mood. But Halloween costumes are only worn once (maybe twice) and are almost always made of cheap fabric that rips and tears easily.
Not just for Halloween, this tutorial is great if you want to cosplay Kitana, too. All you need to put this costume together is some black pants, and then a little blue and black fabric. This tutorial shows you how to make an amazing Kitana costume - all you need now are her fans!
Make your own version of Lady Gaga's meat dress (with no meat). This tutorial shows you how to use a red and white tie dyed fabric (that looks kind of like meat) and then sew it together in the same style as Lady Gaga's famous dress.
When you've mastered the single crochet and have gotten a hang of the double crochet, it's time to really step up your knitting game and start the triple crochet, a more difficult but rewarding type of stitch that creates a very tightly woven fabric.
In this clip, learn how to add a little flair to your keyring with a cute and functional key fob. This accent is super easy to make and will add a personal touch to your otherwise cold and boring keys. This fob only requires a couple of pieces and easy cheap and easy to put together, so why not get started?
In this tutorial, learn how to make your very own A-line wrap skirt that will look great all year long. This classic piece is easy to make and doesn't require a lot of time. Follow along and get started increasing you summer wardrobe for cheap!
