Start the year in style!

Erdem Spring/ Summer 2017

DIY Turn a T-shirt into a dress

What if your favourite T-shirt could become a dress?! Here it is how you can do it.
You need:
- a T-shirt
- fabric for the skirt. You can use whatever fabric you want, 1 m is enough.
- thread, scissors and a sewing machine

Step 1 - the T-shirt and the fabric

Step 2 - Use an old skirt to take measures and cut the fabric accordingly in 2 parts.

Step 3 - Sew the hems of the upper part.

Step 4- Make some tucks for the front and the back. Pin them and then sew them by hand.

Step 5 - Pin the front part on the T-shirt and then sew it.

Step 6 - Pin and sew the back part.

Step 7 - Try the dress on and pin the side hems accordingly. Sew them.

And there you have it. Your T-shirt proudly turned into a dress.

I wanted side slits, but you can sew all the way down.

Gifts, gifts

That time of year is approaching as you read these lines. A lot of gift recommendations around, which one to choose?!
Try making it personal. A personalized gift, actually.
Here is an easy one: a napkins holder.
For this DIY project you need the following:
- a simple wooden napkins holder (you can buy it from art supplies or hobby shops)

- acrylic paint
- a brush
- glue
- a piece of adornment (in this case, a flower)

Start by applying the acrylic paint. You can make the background as complex as you want.
I applied on both sides dots of white acrylic paint, and on one side I painted a white flower on a blue background.

I let it dry for ten minutes, and then, on the other side, I glued the adornment. Voila!

I told you it's easy.

Rachel's skirt

Ever since I saw Jennifer Aniston wearing a particular black skirt in one of Friends episode, I decided to tailor one for myself.
To make one, you'll need:
- a black gusset pencil skirt
- 20 cm of red fabric
- red and black thread
- [optional] a sewing machine.
I found an old and large skirt.

I made adjustments in order for it to better fit me, but if you can find one that already suits you, no need for extra work.

The red fabric I was telling you about.

Measure the gusset and cut the red fabric accordingly. After cutting it, you can sew it by using the sewing machine. For me, it was easier to sew it by hand.

Tadaaaam! And there you go, you've got your own Rachel's skirt.

You too can make embroideries!

For some years now embroidery is in fashion, which explains the fact that the items of clothing with embroideries are more pricy. If you are in money shortage or just considering making your own embroidery, here are some tips from me.

1. Don't overthink it. Really, it’s easy! You do not need special skills to use the needle and thread.

2. Choose the item of clothing you want to embroider.

3. Decide which part of the item you want to embroider, and if you want your embroidery to have a certain shape. Tip: you can draw lines with a pencil and then sew over them.

4. I’m going to show you the easiest type of embroidery there is. Let’s take a simple T-shirt.

5. Find the thread you want to use. Tip: consider the color and thickness of the thread.

6. If you drew lines with a pencil, sew over them.

7. If you want your embroidery to be thicker, then continue by sewing over the lines you have already sewed and tie knots over them just like you see in the picture below.

8. Continue until you finish sewing (with or without the drawing on the item of clothing). 

9. Mine is a little abstract, but just for you to have an idea. 

10. After you have finished, iron the embroidery. Thus, the thread and the material are leveled and the embroidery looks better.  

Pear time

I had this simple black dress that I wanted to make wacky.

What I used:
- sewing machine and some things laying around in my house, like yellow thread, green silk ribbon, fabric to make shoulder boards and some pear stickies.

Firstly, I used stitch number 22 from my sewing machine, and sewed the end sleeves and the hem line.

Then, I made the shoulder boards. You can make them as large as you want, but I would advise you to measure the shoulders and cut the fabric accordingly.

I sewed the margins, and there they are.

To match them with the stitch, I sewed them on the dress with yellow thread.

Then, I sewed the silk ribbon on the waist line.

Finally, I sewed the pears.

Tanaaaa!

And it matches my pear jacket, too!