DIY: Chain embellished blazer (Rachel Roy inspired)

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Hi everyone!

I'm sure this DIY will seem familiar for some of you guys. I finally made my own Rachel Roy inspired embellished blazer!! I came across this perfect blazer at Zara a few weeks ago, when I went shopping sales. The moment I saw this jacket on the rack, I instantly envisioned the result of this project. I loved the color and the lapels, it was exactly what I was looking for.

However, the process hasn't been a bed of roses... To be honest, it took much longer than I expected and my fingertips are aching a little bit now. But once I started, I simply had to finish... If I had to start over now, I'd probably apply the chains on a smaller surfaces. Anyway, I think it's worth it. I looove the way my blazer looks now. What do you guys think?

Blazer: Zara

How would you guys customize a blazer? On which kind of garments would you apply chains? Hope you guys liked it!!

Kisses!! <3 <3 

Sylvia

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Customize your denim shirt: change the collar!

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Hello my dear DIYers!!

A few days ago, when I published an inspirational post about shirts with contrasting collars, opinions were very diverse. Some of you guys thought it was a little bit too much, or didn't like to wear shirts, and some of you guys loved it. Therefore I tried to bring these opinions closer together by using a denim shirt on this DIY. Why? A denim shirt is one of those garments that everyone should have. They look great on any outfit and they're so easy to wear, as they can fit any style.

To achieve a professional result on this project, the best option would be to create a new collar. But you need to have good patternmaking skills to do that... I decided to make it as simple as possible, even though I didn't want to give up a good result. In the end, I think this project works really well and it's quite accessible, even for beginners. And I love the way it came out! I encourage you to try it, because it's much easier than it seems. Hope you like the video!!

What do you think? Would you dare to do this yourself?  How would you wear this kind of shirt? What kind of print would you chose? 

xxx

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Denim & leather patchwork: customize your jeans

Hello my dear DIYers!!

Today's DIY is a little bit risky, I'm aware of that fact. I know you guys might love it, or might hate it... Who knows? I personally love the way it turned out, it's been a useful DIY for me to renovate my favorite jeans. I loved the way they fit but they were a little bit worn out, so I decided to use them in this fashion experiment. Thus I made my first project with jeans, can you guys believe it? I've DIYed almost every type of garment, but this is my first time with jeans... Hope you guys like it!

If you've ever used a sewing machine, it won't be difficult for you to follow up this tutorial. However, this DIY takes a little time, so I advise you to use a pair of jeans you really like on you. Otherwise you won't make the most of your new-old jeans. On the other hand, I advise you to use good quality materials, because the result depends on that. I used real leather and thick denim.

When it comes to the design, I wanted to make asymmetric and random shapes, different on each leg. This is a very useful tip if you are not an experimented seamstress: it's always better to do something intentionally irregular, than trying to make it symmetrical, because flaws will be more evident. Would you like to know how to make this jeans? Just play the video!

As you know my videos are in Spanish, although I think the process can be seen very clear in the video and it doesn't really need an explanation. If there's anything you don't understand, just ask! I'll be pleased to answer all of your doubts. By the way, I'm seriously thinking of starting an English Youtube channel, would you guys be interested on watching my videos in English?

Original jeans: Levi's Curve ID

What do you guys think? Would you dare to make this DIY? How would you adapt it to your style?

xxx

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DIY Tutorial: contrast sweater

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Hi everyone!

After some crazy busy days, I'm back again with a new project. It's been an odyssey to upload this video... After 7 hours and three attempts, here it is! This customized sweater is going to be the first project in a series of ideas to customize knitwear, that I'm planning to make this season.

As you can see, I painted this sweater with textile paint. It's the only way we can achieve a clean straight line, but there's inconvenient: when you use it on a light fabric, it provides a rigid finish.  However, once you iron the paint and wash the garment, it looks much softer. If you are looking for a more blurred effect, you can directly go for the dip dye technique. But keep in mind that home dyes can be used only on 100% natural fibers. ¡Hope you guys like the video!

Do you Dare to make this DIY? Have you ever customized a jumper? What would you do to add your personal touch to your knitwear?

xxx

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The easiest DIY dress EVER!!

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This week I made a very easy DIY, which is prefect for sewing beginners. This is what I call "the easiest DIY dress in the world". Just sew a few straight lines, introduce an elastic band and, voilà! You can also add shoulder straps. Style it with a belt and it's ready to wear!

The hardest part will be to find a fabric you like. Lately I have a soft spot for upholstery fabrics, because they look great on skirts and dresses. And prints are usually much more creative!! Do you guys remember my newspaper print skirt? The best part of this dress is that you can also wear it as a high waist midi skirt. Hope you guys like the video :) You'll see that it couldn't be easier!

During the process I thought of making a maxi dress, but I'm afraid it would have been too much... What do you guys think?

Hope you guys liked it!!

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5 Ideas to customize a T-shirt: #3 Transparencies

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After changing the sleeves of a T-shirt and making a crop top with a "bow neckline", we are going to play a little bit with textures and transparencies. This could be a simple interpretation of the cut out idea. However, I'll probably make another version of this DIY to go a little bit further with the design. The process of this DIY is so easy and simple. I hope you guys like the video! :)

¡Have a great weekend!

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DIY Project: full pleated skirt (newspaper print)

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I don't usually make more than one DIY per "inspiration". But in this case, having a newspaper print skirt was more than a whim for me. It was a real need! I saw the original skirt by the designer Carrie Hammer at I Spy DIY, and immediately remembered this newspaper fabric from my favorite fabric store in Barcelona. Actually, I think it's exactly the same fabric! Great issues of globalization!

You guys probably saw this DIY a few days ago on Twitter or Instagram. But here comes the tutorial in pictures and the video step by step. It's a high waist pleated skirt, an easy piece for sewing beginners!  
I decided not to iron the pleats in order to get a fuller effect. What do you guys think?

Have a great weekend! Next monday I'll be back with some great, amazing news! Meanwhile, make sure you are subscribed to Dare to DIY's Youtube channel here.

xxx

UPDATE: I just found an spanish online store where they sell this fabric (actually it is the online store of the fabric store I went to) They ship internationally! http://www.tiendatelas.com/inicio/hogar/lonetas-estampadas/periodico

DIY Project: Kill Bill inspired trench coat

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So the movie that inspires this week's DIY is... Kill Bill!

I've been in love for years with the trench coat that Elle Driver wears on the famous whistle scene from Kill Bill. So, making this DIY means a lot fot me, I'm so excited with this. I love the imperfect effect of the strokes and that comic style. This trench coat appears just a few seconds on the movie but it's so eye-catching, I really love it!

And here's the DIY video tutorial. I'll show guys an outfit with this trench in a few days! 

Don't forget to subscribe to Dare to DIY's Youtube channel here

What do you guys think? Is there any garment from a movie you really fell for? 
Hope you guys liked this ;)

xxx
Sylvia

DIY project: japanese inspired floral print

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Bright colors and flowers for the winter? My answer is yes, definitely. I think we've had enough grayscales on our Fall/Winter clothes. As I said in my last post, I'm so glad to see that we're all leaving behind some ideas such as "intense colors are just for summer" or "flowers are for spring". With this project, I'm trying to demonstrate that cheerful patterns may work on winter clothes. I just used textile paint to update this skirt. What do you guys think?

And finally here's the first video I recorded, my hated 4 cameras video: I had to try 4 different cameras until I found The One, so I ended up exhausted. Hope you guys forgive me for the poor quality of the image in some parts of the video. Next ones will be better!

REMEMBER THAT ENGLISH SUBTITLES ARE AVAILABLE

(I'll be doing a video in english soon)

Want more inspiration?
Check out the work of the artist Takashi Murakami. You might have heard about him because he was the one who colored Louis Vuitton's  signature monogram.

As always, hope you guys liked it!

xxx

Sylvia

Spiked look

Pictures: Andrea Feldman-Grossman

Tie dye effect top: Asos

Spiked shorts: DIY

Necklace: DIY

Shoes: Sam Edelman

Envelope clutch bag: DIY

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Here's the outfit I wore for my MA farewell dinner. I decided to wear my beloved Sam Edelman spiked shoes with my new DIY spiked shorts. I was about to wear one of my favorite bags, which is all studded, but maybe it would have been too much metal.

Even though I love spikes, I have never done a DIY with them (everybody has already done that, so... what's the point?). However, I'm doing a post in order to clear up all the points about this kind of hardware, which is not always as simple as it seems. 

Have you guys ever used spikes or studs? If so, where did you applied them?

DIY Project: Can't stop weaving

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Here's one of the projects I've done with weaving technique. But this dress is actually made of two DIY's: it has a cut off on the waist and weaving on the back. Let's get started!

SUPPLIES: Basic cotton dress (mine is from H&M), scissors and optionally thread and needle.

WEAVING / Braiding

Simple technique: Start off taking the second strap under the first strap, then turn it over. Grab the third strap, take it under the second, and turn it over. Repeat this process until you get to the end.

Twisted technique: Do the same steps than in the other technique, but twist the strap before introducing the next one. 

To close the weaving: There are a few options, what I did was cutting and tying the strings with a double knot. You can also stitch it or use a safety pin.

We can't talk about weaving without mentioning Adam Saaks, a fashion designer or a "scissor master", as he defines himself. Saaks is a kind of fashion version of Edward Scissorhands who travels around the world doing snipping shows. I still don't understand the reason why he has reached that celebrity status. I don't if he is the one who invented this technique or he is just a brand ambassador for Ed Hardy. Anyway, he leaves his audience totally fascinated just doing something that everybody could do. If you see the videos, you'll notice that the most "difficult" part is to cut the straps. Weaving takes just a few seconds.

Do you guys remember my DIY bikini?

I discovered weaving one night, watching Youtube videos, and I just couldn't wait. I had to try it just in that moment. In less than 20 minutes I had a brand new top. Weaving is an amazing DIY technique, you can try combining different shapes and widths of straps, combining techniques... It's so easy and simple that you can do it everywhere, even in the pool!

Do you guys dare to start cutting off and weaving your t-shirts and dresses? Try it and send me your pictures!!