a pair & a spare

inspiration: Tassels

DIY RHINESTONE EMBELLISHED COACH DUFFLE

6th September 2012

Rhinestone and crystal embellishments seem to be absolutely everywhere this season with Prada, Miu Miu, Lanvin and just about every other brand around using rhinestones and beads in their AW12 collections. To celebrate Fashion’s Night Out, Coach and I teamed up to DIY one of their new Legacy Duffles – and of course I couldn’t go past a little bit of crystal embellishment could I? I also had fun using a duffle kit (contrasting strap and tassels) to switch up the look of my bag – customisation is where it’s at!
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diy embellished coach duffle bag

You need: 

  • A classic handbag (the iconic Coach Legacy Duffle was perfect )
  • A collection of rhinestones in their settings
  • Scissors
  • A needle and heavy duty thread (you can use glue instead, but sewing the rhinestones will last longer and looks better)
  • A Coach Legacy Duffle Kit 
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How to:

1.  Lay the bag out flat and start by planning the design for the rhinestones by placing them onto the front in your desired pattern. Making the pattern isn’t at all difficult, just lay the rhinestones on the bag and start playing around – my advice is to stick with a symmetric style but you can do anything you want. Work your way to the bottom of the bag.

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2. Once you have decided the pattern you want to do, move the rhinestones onto the table beside you, doing your best to mirror the pattern as it lies on the bag – this will be your guide while you are sewing.

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3. Using your scissors, carefully open the inside lining of the bag along a seam by cutting away the stitches, this is so you can stitch directly onto the leather and not have any strings on the functional inside of the bag.

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4. Check where you want the first rhinestone to sit and then, making sure to push your hand through the hole in the lining, pierce the leather from the inside with the needle. Thread the needle through the back of the rhinestone.

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5. Push the needle back through the leather on the other side of the rhinestone, and then do an X stitch on the inside to secure the bottom of the rhinestone. Attach all the rhinestone to the bag in this manner, copying the pattern as it is shown beside you.

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6.  Once you have completed your pattern, add any additional rhinestones to the design until it is perfect. It may not turn out exactly how your original pattern was envisioned but that’s part of the fun!

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7. Using the needle and thread, carefully sew the hole in the seam on the inside up – you don’t want to lose your keys (or Carrie necklace) down there!

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Finally, as an extra bit of fun, update this classic bag with the Coach Duffle kit, including a contrasting coloured strap, tassel and hangtag. Perfect!

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As I side note, I’ve recently started sketching my ideas  prior to taking the plunge – I’m by no means an expert in the art of illustration (as you can see haha) but I’m finding it helps!

diy embellished coach duffle bag project sketch

Looking forward to seeing some of you at Fashion Night Out tonight at their flagship Madison Avenue store along with I Spy DIY, Because I’m Addicted and Beckerman Bite Plate, and make sure you check out what the rest of the girls did to customize their bags here (loving each and every project!)

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DIY NEON TASSEL NECKLACE

27th April 2012

My love affair with anything neon continues in full swing – when will it end I ask you? If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll also know that tassels are another one of my obsessions – so why not combine the two for some truly festive neckwear? I have to thank the old craft lady in the markets in Hong Kong who showed me the basics of how she makes tassels, I’ve simplified her version a little but without her I’d be pretty much in the dark about how to make them.
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If you follow my blog you’ll know that I have an addiction to anything neon, DIY neon pieces being my absolute favorite.  I thought I would show you how to make the worlds most simple necklace, a fringe style which is actually just a bunch of different coloured tassels on a chain.  In the tutorial I will show you how to make one blue tassel, but feel free to repeat the process and add as many as you like – and go crazy with colours!

 

You need:
- 40 pieces of coloured string cut to around 30cm (to make one tassel)
- chain
- two jump rings
- a lobster clasp
- scissors
- beading pliers
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How to:
1. Create the base of your necklace by cutting the chain to your desired length, adding a jump ring to one end, and a jump ring and lobster clasp to another end. I chose to do a double chain but you can go for a single if you prefer.
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2. To make a tassel, take the coloured string and line it up on the table, and then place it over the chain so that half the string hangs on one side and half on the other side.
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3. Take one leftover piece of string and tie it around the doubled over bunch of strings.
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4. Then wrap that piece of string around the bigger bunch of strings 10 or so times so it looks like a tassel.
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5. Secure the tassel off by doubling the wrapped string through a wrap to create a knot, letting the excess hang down as part of the fringe. I like the messy look of the strings but you can trim the tassel to all one length if you want.
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6. Now add as many more tassels in bright colours as your heart desires!
And there you have it – such a simple but eye catching necklace.
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DIY TASSEL GARLAND

4th April 2012

I’ve been crushing on tassel garlands recently – the confetti system ones in Lane Crawford are lush! I recently had a go at making a little set of my own. This was one of my project’s you’ll find in Cosmo Australia this month – along with a bunch of others.

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You Need: 

  • 10 sheets of assorted coloured tissue paper. 
  • A rotary cutter 
  • 2 m of twine or rope 
  • Clear sticky tape 
  • A cutting board 
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How to: 

  1. Take a sheet of tissue paper and fold twice to form a smaller rectangle. 
  2. Orientate the long fold of the rectangle away from you on the cutting board. 
  3. Using the rotary cutter and leaving a centimeter at the top, cut the tissue paper into 1 cm strips. 
  4. Unfold the rectangle and orientate the spine or uncut part of the tissue paper toward you. 
  5. Carefully roll the spine up to form a roll of tassel with fringe on either side. 
  6. Use stickytape to secure the roll. 
  7. Fold the tassel in half to create a single tassel. 
  8. Twist the tassel at the top to create a hole in the top. 
  9. Thread the twine through this hole to attach the tassel to the twine. 
  10. Repeat the steps with the other sheets of tissue paper. 
  11. Arrange the tassels on the twine, using tape to secure.
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These are perfect for hanging over the bed or on an inspiration wall, although mine were relegated to the office when my boyfriend saw them and thought I was turning into Zooey Deschanel and was going to start singing my feelings and stuff.

Make sure you grab your copy of Cosmopolitan magazine (if you happen to be in Australia) to check out my other projects in the DIY spread.

Have fun!

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