DIY Saturday: Eco-Chic Cuffs
In conjunction with the launch of Earth Hour happening today, let's take a look with ways we can be fashion conscious and eco-chic at the same time. There's a high chance that if you're reading TiC, you already have fashion magazines at home. Let's turn those into some fashionable wrist cuffs - and the best bit is that you have 100% creative control!
For this project, you will need old magazines/fabric scraps, cardboard/felt/interfacing, scissors, clear cellophane tape/Scotchguard, fabric glue, velcro stick-ons/clothing snaps, a tape measure, a ruler, and clear nail polish.
Step 1: Measure your wrist to see how big you want the cuff to be. Add another 1 to 1.5 inches allowance for the velcro/snaps and also for mistakes.
Step 2: Trace what you've measured onto your cardboard base/felt/interfacing (if you're using fabric). I used the back of an old magazine. The length I used was 7.5 inches and the width was about 1 inch. Carefully cut it out.
Step 3: Using the cardboard you cut out in the previous step as a stencil, look through the magazines to find a pattern you like of appropriate length. I used this model's pajama pants! :)
Step 4: Use the clear cellophane tape to wrap the two sides together (your pattern and your cardboard base). This "laminates" it besides making it sturdier as well.
Step 5: Stick on the velcro stick-ons accordingly and ta-da, you're done! :) That was easy, wasn't it? Keep reading on how to change it up a bit and on how to get a little bit more creative.
Step 6: If you're using fabric, follow the steps above until step 2, but instead of tracing your stencil on cardboard, use either felt or interfacing (as they bond better with fabric). I used cardboard again for this tutorial, but I would recommend you use felt as it's softer yet sturdier. As you can tell, I used an old brochure as my cardboard base, and Strawberry Shortcake fabric scraps as my pattern! :)
Step 7: Using fabric glue to join the base to the fabric. Make sure you use fabric glue as normal glue will not hold the fabric and cardboard together. If you're using felt, simply stitch it together using a sewing machine, or you can use fabric glue as well. If you're using interfacing, iron the interfacing on to the fabric and to be safe, you can sew the edges too.
Step 8: To prevent the edges from fraying during use, use clear nail polish to paint over the edges, especially if you're using felt. If you have Scotchguard, use that to spray over the whole thing instead. If you're using leather fabric scraps, use a leather shoe protector spray.
Step 9: Sew on the clothing snaps to the edges or if you'd like, you can also use the stick-on velcro here. You can get creative too by stitching on a loop and a bead (if you're using fabric) or using other various jewellery clasps instead!
Step 10: Another quirky thing you can try (and this is really good for recycling odd shaped pieces of fabric!) is by cutting out random photos (or photos following a theme) and sticking them on your base one by one. Here I went with a Hollywood Glamour theme.
Step 11: Other creative options you could explore is by looking through photos online and printing your own patterns on photo paper or printable canvas sheets :) You could also be schoolgirl chic and cut up old textbooks/wordy magazines you don't need anymore. Feel free to mix and match, that's what this look is all about anyway!
Happy crafting :)
