DIY SCARF SHORTS

With the rise of the all-over-print and the pyjamas-as-outerwear trends, scarf prints have been showing up on fashionistas everywhere. Not just reserved for grandma’s neck and the lining of a luxury purse anymore, designer scarf prints are showing up on all types of clothes!

With designer-inspired satin scarves being readily available all over the place (from your fast fashion retailers to vintage shops), the materials for this DIY should be easy to gather up. I’m going to show you today how to transform any giant silk scarf into a cute pair ofscarf shorts.

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- an oversized “designer inspired” satin scarf
- a pair of old shorts
- pattern paper
- scissors
- pins
- sewing machine
- elastic

TUTORIAL:

[ TRACE SHORTS ] – Take an old pair of woven shorts with an elastic waistband to make your pattern with. Ideally they will be the exact shape and fit you want your new shorts to be! All I had were some mini boxer shorts that I wear to sleep. Fold your shorts in half and then place them on your pattern paper. Trace the outline of the shorts, making sure to stretch out the waistband when tracing. I wanted to make my new shorts high-waisted so I altered the pattern a bit (by making the inseam rise a few inches higher).

[ CUT PATTERN ] – Cut out the paper pattern, making sure to add a half inch seam allowance around the entire piece & a one inche seam allowance at the top to allow for sewing in a waistband.

[ FOLD & CUT ] – Fold your scarf in to quarters and place the pattern on top. Pin the pattern piece down and cut all 4 pieces together. If you’re finnicky about pattern matching, you can cut each layer separately.

[ PIN PIECES ] – Carefully pin the pieces face to face & along the curved line. I illustrated some pink lines on the photo to indicate where you need to be pinning. This is when you need to be careful with matching the patterns of both sides, because these seams will be your center front and center back seams.

[ SEW ] – Sew along these two curved seams. I serged the seams to prevent fraying but if you don’t have a serger, you can just sew along the seam and then zig-zag stitch over it after.

[ PIN & SEW AGAIN ] – Now take both your front and back pieces of the shorts and lay them face to face. Again, I’ve drawn pink lines on the photo that indicate where you need to pin & sew.

[ PREP ELASTIC ] – Measure your waist & subtract an inch; this is the length that you should cut your elastic. Take the elastic and create a loop by sewing the ends together.

[ ATTACH WAISTBAND ] – Take your loop of elastic and pin it inside the top hem of the shorts. It is going to be MUCH smaller than the length of the fabric at the top, so pin it at 4 equal increments along the top. Then attach the elastic to the top using a serger or a zigzag stitch. You will need to stretch out the elastic while sewing it to the fabric.
After attaching the elastic to the inside top hem, then fold over the hem (with the elastic sandwiched inside) and use a straight stitch to finish the elastic hem. Again, you’ll need to stretch the elastic out taut while sewing.

If necessary, hem the bottom of the shorts with a rolled hem technique. Then finish by ironing & you’re all done!

DIY STATEMENT CLUTCH

It’s that time of year when invites start to pour in for summer weddings, showers & engagement parties. And even if you’re not invited to a million weddings, you’re probably anticipating a graduation, prom or going to someone’s communion. Yep, you’ve got a ton of events to go to & surely that means picking up new outfits & accessories.
One thing’s for sure though, a classy statement clutchcan go a long way as an accessory & makes sure that you’re only carrying around the bare essentials. Today we’re going to make a minaudiere-style clutch inspired by an Alexander McQueen skull clutch. The great thing about this DIY is that it can cost under $20 and you can be completely creative with how you embellish it!

WHAT YOU’LL NEED:
- a large glasses case (mine was $6 from Aldo!)
- a fancy cabinet knob
- a power drill
- goop craft glue
- embellishments (like rhinestones, beads, studs etc)
- chain (optional)
TUTORIAL:
[ DRILL ] – Figure out which drill bit to use based on the size of your hardware & pick your spot to drill! You might need a friend to hold onto the case while you drill. Be careful!
[ ADD HARDWARE ] – Insert your hardware into the hole you drilled. Most hardware simply comes with a screw; I had to grab an extra washer & nut just to make sure the hardware could be screwed tight onto the thin case (because most of this hardware is meant to be set onto a thick cabinet door!)
[ PICK DESIGN ] – I started off thinking that I would use rainbow rhinestones but then I changed my mind because… I’m more of a black and white sorta girl.
[ FIND INSPIRATION ] – I ended up finding inspiration from this McQueen Skull Clutch because I loved the two-tone style & the mix of jewels & natural shell beads
[ GLUE ] – Carefully glue on your beads and studs a few at a time. I applied glue in one or two inch sections and then carefully placed the beads on a few at a time.
[ COVER ] – Completely cover the case with your embellishments! This took me over 6 hours in a couple sittings because I was being really meticulous with bead placement but it was relaxing & not difficult at all. Make sure to let the glue dry for 24 hours before using it.
[ ADD CHAIN ] – This step is optional but if you hate having your hands full, it’s nice to have the option of pulling out a shoulder strap! Just glue the chain to the inside top of the clutch & you can tuck the chain away when you’re not using it :)