A little inspiration.

Here's a few awesome DIY/fashion/awesome websites that I get some of my inspiration from!

1) Threadbangers - This site has easy videos, a sweet blog, helpful forums and everything is so cool and interesting. It was definitely my catalyst for joining (if still slowly) the DIY movement.
2) Adventures in Dressmaking- This blog is...ADORABLE. Suzannah (is it weird that I call her by her first name...?) comes up with awesome ways to replicate expensive tees, tanks, dresses, skirts and more. This summer I will be definitely trying out some of her tutorials. So amazing.
3)Ravelry- Ravelry's a knitting website that's a worldwide community of knitters (ok, crocheters too!). It brings together patterns from all over and it shows what happened when other people tried the same patterns. It's search filters make it really easy to find the pattern you want and is really my go-to when I start knitting. If you're a knitter (where my stitches at?!) then you will love this site and if you've never picked up a pair of needles, go to your local craft store, pick up a pair, and find an easy pattern on Ravelry to try. I honestly can't rave enough.
4) Alisa Burke's Blog- Alisa Burke has a cool combination of tutorials, inspirational photos, daily musings and more that provide a good amount of inspiration. My favorites from her include a refashioned vest and a cute petticoat. Her style is fun, colorful, and a little bit messy which I totally love.

That's about it for now. What are your DIY inspirational go-to sites?

-Katie

Hats!

Ooooo....Hats! So I finally braved looped knitting needles and *drumroll* they weren't that scary! It's just like knitting, but faster...and easier. So less scary. My first project was a super cool slouchy beret, a pattern of which I picked up over at Ravelry, one of my new favorite project sites (but more on that later...). Anyways, the pattern can be found here BUT I have a few adjustments.
1) I used Thick and Quick Lion's Brand to get the gauge right and to knit these up thick...and quick...ok..self-explanatory.
2) I cast on between 55 and 65 stitches according to head size. I guessed and checked with some fixing at the ends so I don't have exact measurements...sorry!
3) Other than that I sort of used this pattern as a guide. I made a brim of about 7-10 rows (based on request by hat recipient) and I knitted the body until it looked about right, stopping with about 4 inches to go for the decrease.

Other than that, it was a really great pattern. It took me between 2 and 3 hours to do each hat and they were super cute. The fit is slouchy, fits on the back of the head and is perfect for gross hair days. I am selling them to friends for about $10 even! It was a quick and easy project that I HIGHLY reccomend for new knitters. Here are some pictures for your enjoyment!




Knit on!
-Katie

Making a chic little headband.

I love those cute little feathery headbands, but the only ones I could find were selling for about $40...No thank you! So I hit up my local Joann Fabrics (I swear I'm putting Joann's children through college) and stumbled upon some materials to make my very own headband.

Tutorial:
Materials- Headband, glue, ribbon, feather, binder clips, jewels or other add-ons (this totalled around $10 for me)


1) Ok first you need to glue the ribbon to your headband. Work slowly,wrapping the ribbon around the headband in a spiral motion and adding glue as you work. Don't add to much or else it will bleed through. As you glue, attach binder clips to hold the ribbon in place while the glue dries. Let the glue dry



2) Now attach your feather. Mine came with felt backing, but if yours doesn't have that, I would reccomend adding it, so as not to clump the feathers. Clip a binder clip where you can to hold the feather in place. Now is when you would attach any other decoration to your headband.



3)Finally, where and show off your adorable headband!



Enjoy! More to come soon.

-Katie

Headbands, Headbands, Headbands!

I've made more headbands. I'm totally addicted. My friends keep asking for them, so I'm just cranking them our as fast as I can. I made one with flowers based on these Lydia flowers. Then I made two based on an adorable and simple pattern from a common thread blog. The flowers one went to my sister and the two bows went to friends for their birthdays.
Here are some pictures.



More headbands should be coming as well as a few other projects. I'm thinking pom-poms for my next headband. Any requests,Chloe?
Read. Think. Type. Rock. Knit!
-Katie

I made something!

So I've been into DIY for awhile and I've done a little dabbling, made a few things, but I've finally made something that I think someone would want to wear! The pictures are of a purple headband I made for a friend (I'm modelling it, though). I'm already planning on making a few more, but maybe with pom-poms or flowers. I hope you like!




[The headband is a knitted version of a project from Threadbanger...this video specifically]

Alright - I have to admit: I've really become DIY-obsessed. I'm not really sure how it happed...it seemed like one day I was just doodling around in a notebook and the next I was spending joyous hours beading my own keychains and necklaces, sewing my own purses and wallets, decopauging' personal postcards and binders, and my favorite - making buttons.

I know how THAT obsession got started. When I first got into zines and started distributing them, I found out that zine people really dig pinback buttons. It was odd - I never really expected that to completely go hand in hand with the "zine scene".

I noticed that the "button professionals" all used a Button Maker, you know, those fancy lever-things that pops the button into a clear plastic cover. (I wasn't really planning on buying one...I check em' out on Ebay...surprisingly expensive...) The time came for me to make some merchendise for Nick and I's little punk band, Fading Anchor, and buttons were the way to go. I've gotten a lot of questions on how I make these bad boys, so here's the recipe! Like I said, I really LOVE DIY, and I'm here spreading the love.

Make Some....
All you need to make some slammin' buttons of your own is well...some buttons. :) I love the fact that my buttons are completely recycled and reused. You can find pre-printed buttons everywhere, (oddly enough, when making some for my friends, they've given me a lot of 'Jonas Brothers' buttons to repaint...) Next grab some acryllic craft paint. Any color you want. Then some fancy-schmancy colored paper or stickers. (I like to type words out on my old-school hammer typewriter and then just stick em' on.) Finally, you'll just need something clear and shiny to seal the paint and pictures onto the button. I began using clear fingernail polish, but the strong smell and the fact that it's pretty chemical-filled and not so hot for the environment pushed me to look for an alternative. Ta-DA! Enter this amazing gel-like collage-sealant, simply picked up for $5 at a craft store. EASY. FUN. COOL-LOOKING. I LOVE BUTTONS.

(Picture: All buttons I made...)