ARCHIVE DIY: Galaxy Print Cardigan

Today's "ARCHIVE DIY" post is….

"Galaxy Print Cardigan/Garment of your choice!"

Materials: 

-Dark colored garment (grey cardigan in my case)

-Small bottles of fabric paint in your color choices

-Water

-Sponge paint brushes 

-Area to work on

Set up your workspace and (if you are working on some sort of top) place cardboard or foam board cut to fit between the layers to avoid the bleeding of paint. Start to mix your colors into nice blends varying from dark to light. While blending your colors cut in water to thin out the paint. Thinning out the paint allows you to use less at a time and give you better layering to create "gases" and "cosmos".

Start painting! I ripped the foam piece off of a foam paint brush, this gives you more power over the application. Starting with the dark variation of your first color paint it onto the garment kind of patchy and messy. Now go into the next variation of the color, a little lighter. Do the same over the dark spot just painted but apply it so you can still see through to the darker parts. Do this with your varying lighter shades until you have create this pieces of your galaxy garment.

Once you have done this in the areas wanted using varying colors and shades it's time for the stars. I used both a pencil and a plastic bristle paint brush to make the stars. You can use white and yellow straight from the bottle or cut with water, depending on your preferences. At first I dabbed the pencil in white and made dots throughout the designs, but I found it took too long and looked a bit artificial. So I dabbed my plastic bristle paint brush in the white and kind of flung it over and at the garment. This gives it a randomized dot and splatter that looks like natural stars. You can repeat this with a yellow or gold color for varying stars.

Once you are done painting allow to dry. Following your fabric paint brands instruction for washing. I used Tulip which states wait 72 hours before washing inside out. I did so and all of the paint stayed put and the final product looks amazing, if I say so myself! 

I hope this helps you make your own Galaxy Print Garment, I am going to make a galaxy print bandana (using blank bandanas), and maybe a pair of old shoes! I bought the smallest bottles of fabric paint they had at the store and still used less than half to make a full-bleed galaxy print cardigan!

I also made a mini tote bag for my nephew!

Now back off to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker

DIY: Embellished Collar Necklace

I'm sure you've all seen all of the amazing embellished collars and collar necklace pieces on the runways this past year… Well I also happened to long after many of those pieces, so I DIYed an embellished collar necklace!

Materials-

-Faux leather 

-Various beads

-Various rhinestones and faux pearls

-Any other embellishments you might want to use

-Beading wire

-E-6000

-Jewelry finishings (key rings, large jewelry connectors, jewelry connectors, lobster clasps, chain, etc…)

I began by folding a piece of paper in half and drawing a peter pan collar shape. Then I cut it out and tried on the paper version in front of a mirror. Once I was pleased with the shape and sizing (this took a few different versions) it was time to trace the template onto the back of faux leather. And cut…

Time to play! Play around with all of your embellishments, beads, buttons, rhinestones, faux pearls, etc. etc. Once you find out a placement begin stringing beads on wire (that is if you are using beads) and glueing it all down using the most amazing and SUPER strong E-600… Make sure to use in a well ventilated area!

Continue playing around with more embellishments once you have your base design. Each time I found a placement I kind of liked I took a picture for reference and tried another until I found what I liked best.

I finished off the collar with these mini black rhinestones I had lying around… sadly I used up all the ones I found. 

Next cutting off any excess fabric and trying on just to get an idea of your finished product. Then I finished off the ends of the wire used on the beads on the edges and reused some old key rings I had lying around as a large connector to the chains. I then connected a chain to each of the rings and attached a lobster clasp to the end of the shorter chain. And just like that I gained a new embellished collar necklace! 

Now back to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker

ARCHIVE DIY: Alexander McQueen Inspired Shirt

This is the first "Archive" post, which simply means it is a post from the original (previous) website for Rhinestoned Dreams. Every now and then I will post one of these previously unreleased (to this website) DIY's… enjoy!

MATERIALS: 

-T-shirt of garment (color of you choice, I chose white!), 

-Fabric spray paint (I used Tulip brand but any should work), 

-Poster board/stencil sheet, tape (depending on poster board or not), 

-Foam board or cardboard, 

-Trash bags, and patience! 

The first thing you are going to want to do is sketch or draw out you design or idea. If you are making a shirt you can draw a simple t-shirt, and if you are making something like a dress or jacket simply draw out the basic shape and design of the garment! Design away! I made an Alexander McQueen inspired shirt for my trip to New York and the MET for the Alexander McQueen: Savage Beauty exhibit!

Once you have a clear idea of what you want to do it's time to start sketch the stencils. Unless you have pre-made stencil you purchased or already made your own! I made a full Union Jack that was really a full bleed application! On mine it goes from the collar to hem, all the way around the shirt, and the sleeves! This made my specific design and shirt rather expensive because I wanted it to also have full bold coverage! As long as your design isn't too intricate it shouldn't take you too long and it should stay inexpensive!

You want to sketch out your design on poster board or stencil sheet(s), if you don't mind occasional bleeding and messiness go for the poster board it gave mine a real DIY look! But if you want straight clean lines I would go for the stencil sheets because you can cut them into your own and most of them have adhesive backs! 

Now that you have your stencils drawn it's time to cut all of them out! For me it took awhile because I wanted things like fonts to come out the best they could! I used and suggest an x-acto blade for cutting out the pieces with a little help from scissors, and a ruler close-by for any straight edges!

It's time to prep your shirt, make sure you follow the directions for your specific brand of fabric spray paint! Insert a pieces or foam board or cardboard cut to fit your garment so the paint does not bleed through to the other side! I used an old sheet and a trash bag I cut open as a workspace on my carpet floor for protection from over-spray! Apply your stencils and spray! 

For the brand I used (Tulip) I allowed the layer to almost (if not all the way) completely dry before spraying another coat. It's easier to apply multiple light coats to achieve full coverage and boldness! Allow to completely dry before removing the stencil and applying the next (especially if the next stencil overlaps the area recently sprayed!). Spray your stencil pieces one by one!

TIPS!: 

1. I happened to mess up when spray part of the Union Jack on my shirt and had to spray ever the mistake with multiple coats of white in the correct area, then other colors etc. got sprayed over it…. everything sprayed on top of the white came off so I recommend being smart and thinking before placing stencils in the wrong area as well as not spraying over a heavy application of the white fabric spay paint! Other colors sprayed nicely over each other just not over the white in a thick application!

2. Really follow your manufacturers instructions on when and how to wash you don't want to destroy all the work and design you put into it!

3. Take your time and think out the design and make sure you have correct placement before spraying!

4. Be creative, make it your own! You were Born This Way!

5. Have an artistic friend come over to help with the stencils! Mine was able to help with pieces I couldn't get to look right! It may also help if they are an aspiring architect! lol

Now back to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker

Faux Leather Sewing Tip (Walking Foot)

The walking foot, who'd a thought it would be such a LIFESAVER? 

So I plan to make some pieces with jersey knits in the near future so I heard a walking foot is pretty much necessary… so I got one! If You didn't know a walking foot is a presser foot you can attach to your sewing machine. It has feed dogs on the top which move with the feed dogs of your machine to walking and equally pull your piece through. As you may know by now I work with faux leather a lot so I was sewing multiple layers together and something familiar happened. The top layer was being stretched while the bottom layer was not, leaving an uneven seam.

Then I remembered the walking foot, it was just an idea… but then it worked! 

The walking foot is a DREAM when sewing just about anything because it ensures your top layer will not be stretched larger than your bottom layer(s)… which means better seams and a better final product!

So there you have it a little faux leather sewing tip from Zane Walker, just use a walking foot (AKA even feed presser foot)!

Now back to my Rhinestoned Dreams,

Zane Walker