Last week, I gave you a tutorial for how to make a peter pan collar. Here’s how I styled it. These pictures were taken on a little adventure to a bog garden and some other garden close to the bog garden in North Carolina.
Aha, yes, this location looks perfect.
Explanation for why my hair looks the way it does in these photos? We were running around the gardens…literally.
O Knights of Ni, we have brought you your shrubbery.
Yup, those are sneakers. Don’t worry, I changed back into my other shoes once we were done walking through the bog garden.
Lovely photographer.
top: secondhand Gap sweater, DIY collar sweater: Old Navy skirt: secondhand New York and Company belt: secondhand shoes: secondhand Missoni for Target
(sneakers: Asics)
I’ve been admiring peter pan collars from afar for quite some time now. I finally decided I’d just make my own. I looked at lots of tutorials, but decided to just wing it and hope it turned out nicely. Well, it worked and I documented the process for you. So here it is, how to add a peter pan collar to a plain crew neck tee or sweater.
If anything is confusing or needs clarification, please ask me about it in the comments. I’d be happy to try and clarify. Supplies:
a crewneck tee or sweater. I used an old turtleneck. I just cut off the turtleneck.
1/2 yard of fabric of your choice. This is more than enough fabric, but I like room to mess up. I chose black broadcloth. Broadcloth is cheap and I like the texture/weight.
scissors
tracing paper (or whatever kind of paper you want to use)
tape (optional. See step 1)
pen or pencil
pins
sewing machine (unless you want to hand-sew it all)
white chalk or colored pencil (to mark on fabric with)
iron
Directions:
1. Measure the shape/size of the neck opening on your shirt. I tried several methods before I decided on my strange, unconventional way of doing it. I hung my shirt on a hanger and taped little strips of paper together following the shape of the neckline. I marked the front center and shoulder seams with a pen on my paper strips. I carefully removed the little paper strip necklace I created, and whala, there I had it—the shape of my neck opening. Cut the “paper strip necklace” at each shoulder mark so you’re left with 2 pieces, a front piece and a back piece. If this method sounds completely ridiculous, here, here, and here are three other tutorials I found with different methods of doing this step…none of which worked for me.
2. Lay the outline for the front part of your neckline on a piece of paper. Trace along the top edge and mark the center. Do the same wit the back part of your neckline. You can toss those paper strip creations now.
3. Using that top edge you drew in the last step, draw the shape you’d like your collar to be. You only need to draw half the collar for both the front and the back. Make sure the shoulder edges of the front and back pieces are the same width so they’ll line up well. You may want to add a few inches of length to the back piece if you want the collar to meet in the back (see step 12 picture), but I didn’t do this so I can’t give any guidance if you choose to do so. Mine was about 3 inches short of meeting in the back, but I needed it to be that way so the collar would still have some stretch so I could get it over my head.
4. Cut out these two shapes you just drew. Line up the shoulder edges and tape your two shapes together.
5. Take the fabric you’re using for the collar and fold it in half. Lay the shape you made on the fabric with the straight edge lining up with the fold.
6. Trace the shape with white chalk or whatever medium you choose. Trace about ¼ – ½ an inch larger than your actual shape for seam allowance. In my picture, the dotted line shows the actual shape and the solid line shows seam allowance. The dotted line I just drew to guide me while sewing. You don’t have to do that, but I found it helpful.
7. Cut out your shape. You’ll need two of these. When you unfold them, you should have two big Cs.
8. Lay one C on top of the other and pin them together. If your fabric isn’t the same on both sides, make sure the right sides are together and ugly sides are facing out. Now cut your C in half along the fabric fold. You should have 2 shapes that resemble the paper shape you made earlier.
9. Sewing time! Sew your shapes along the bottom edge of the collar. Don’t sew the edge that follows the neckline of your shirt.
10. Cut little notches along the edges below your stitch (be careful not to cut your stitch) so when you turn it right side out it won’t bunch up and be bulky.
11. Turn your shapes right side out and iron them flat. Woohoo! You’re almost there!
12. Turn your shirt inside out. Pin your two collar pieces to the shirt. Line up the top (unsewed) edges of your collar pieces with the neckline of your shirt and pin in place. I found it was easiest to do this with the shirt on a hanger. BE SURE THE SHIRT IS INSIDE OUT!
13. Sew the collar to the shirt along the neckline.
14. Once the collar is attached, turn the shirt right side out. Fold the collar over and iron it down.
The red (or burgundy)/orange pairing has been popular lately (see here and here). Since I love both colors, I gave it a try. Here’s my take on the combo. Are there any interesting color combos you’ve seen lately that you like?
I got these red tights for 50¢ (they’re Hue, which are usually $10-$15 a pair). I almost didn’t get them because the bright color kind of intimidated me and I didn’t know how I would wear them. I figured it’s only 50¢ though, so who cares if I never use them. I think this first attempt was very successful and I’m excited to wear them again. Now I just want to go and find all sorts of fun tights! Have you ever warily made a purchase and then ended up loving it?
dress: secondhand Old Navy cardigan: secondhand Banana Republic belt: secondhand tights: secondhand Hue shoes: secondhand Minnetonkas purse: vintage via Etsy (cayatwentyone) earrings: secondhand
Last Thursday, our nearest Anthropologie had a Holiday decorating event where we helped them make decorations for their store. I went with my mom and a few of her employees. We had dinner, went to the event, and then did a bit of window shopping. The event itself was pretty disappointing. We were just cutting and gluing to make 3D triangles. They’re going to turn them into a glittery garland like you see in the third picture. So when we were all tired of cutting out triangles, we left and went window shopping instead. Here are a few pictures from the event (at least we got free cookies, water, and hot chocolate ).
I was working in the store (Your Stuff Consignment Boutique) this weekend, and I noticed how much cute stuff is there! So I grabbed my phone and snapped some pictures. Have you found any really great things at your local consignment store(s) lately? (P.S. Have you entered my GIVEAWAY yet?)
Lots of pretty jewel tones! They look great paired with black and white.
Also lots of nice winter coats and accessories. I love that Coldwater Creek coat on the bottom right. Such pretty colors! The scarf with little flower details on the edges in the bottom left picture is really cute, too. We have it in several other colors.
Heels, heels, heels! Lots of options in every size!
A funky pair of Nine west heels (size 7 1/2, I think) and a nice pair of hiking shoes (size 6). I wish the hiking shoes were my size – I need a new pair.
So many boots – the entire front wall is covered! These are some of my favorites.
A lot of cute jewelry just came in. The display case is overflowing with rings!
Consignors have been bringing in lots of covetable gems, like this dress new with tags from Anthropologie (available in both size 8 and size 10).
Animal prints!
Some great items – a pleated black skirt, an artsy dolman-style tunic, a bright Talbots vest with a faux fur edged hood, a cute wool coat.
I’m sure you’ve seen Back to the Future. And I’m sure you’ve heard that dreadful song “Call Me Maybe.” Well, here’s what you get when you combine the two.
OH! and don’t forget to enter the GIVEAWAY! Go do it. Now.
Let me start off by reminding you…GO ENTER THE GIVEAWAY I posted yesterday. You know you want to.
Mmmmm, cool weather. I love cool weather, and I’m happy it’s here. I’d much rather wear three layers of wool sweaters, thermal underwear, scarves, and wool socks than be so hot the only thing that will help is a cold swimming pool (though about 60-65˚F is ideal).
Which do you prefer, cold weather or warm weather (or cool weather or hot weather?)
I’m finally sporting the chambray! I decided to go with all shades of blue this day, but I’m looking forward to incorporating it into many more outfits. Need ideas for your chambray? See this post I wrote.
shirt:J. Crew Factory (sale and coupon) cardigan: secondhand J. Crew skirt: secondhand Gap desert boots: Nordstrom (boys dept. last year) socks:Sierra Trading Post Earrings:Ten Thousand Villages (fair trade) via Your Stuff Consignment
I went to an arboretum in North Carolina over the weekend with my mom and brother. Here are a few pictures I snapped with my phone on our short little adventure:
Yup, we’ve still got some green around here…
My brother was really excited about that huge pawpaw tree in the left of the picture below. I really like the giant wind chime installation.
Win this lovely bracelet, hand selected by yours truly! The bracelet is from World of Good, a line of fair trade jewelry and accessories. (World of Good now partners with eBay on their green marketplace. Their product line was acquired by Greater Good, another provider of ethically sourced goods.)
This bracelet is called “a reveille of bugle beads.” The description says, ” Give your style a wake up call with this sparkly cuff made with colorful bugle beads by the artisans of Tara Projects in India. Based in Delhi, Tara Projects unites thousands of artisans to produce handcrafted pieces while lobbying for fair trade and fighting injustice. What a great way to start the day.” You can also buy Tara Projects products at Ten Thousand Villages.
The bracelet is a lovely, sparkly brown. In sunlight, some of the beads turn a pretty purple color. The bracelet is bendable so it will adjust to fit your wrist perfectly. It has a $20 value. Thanks to Your Stuff Consignment Boutique for providing it!
You can enter the giveaway three ways (and three times). Here’s how:
Leave a comment below telling me what your favorite Thanksgiving food is.
Leave a comment telling me you follow 2ndhand Knowledge either on Bloglovin’ OR by email subscription (Go over to the right sidebar and there’s a place where you can sign up. There’s also a link there for Bloglovin’). If you subscribe some other way (for example, I subscribe to blogs with Feedly), that’s cool too. Just specify the service you use in your comment.
Leave a comment telling me you like Your Stuff & Kids’ Stuff Consignment Boutique on Facebook OR follow them on Twitter.
Please leave a separate comment for each entry if you want them all to count. Make sure you include your email so I’ll have a way to contact you if you win. Giveaway only open to U.S. residents.
The last day to enter the giveaway is Sunday, November 18th. The winner will be announced on Monday, November 19th. And you really should enter because I don’t have a ton of followers so your chances of winning will likely be high.
A while ago, I saw a leather mousepad on a blog I follow and fell in love with it. It was kind of pricey, though, and I didn’t want to invest because I manage to destroy them pretty fast with pencil smudge, ink pens, etc. So if you’re in the market for a new mousepad, here’s how to create your own.
SUPPLIES:
leather scrap large enough to make a mousepad with. I bought a piece of 8.5″ X 11″ tooling leather from a craft store for about $6. It’s thick and durable, perfect for this project.
metallic spray paint. I used Rust-oleum copper spray paint I had left over from another project. You could use a pretty, bright color rather than a metallic if you want.
masking/painter’s tape.
exacto/utility knife.
cutting mat or scrap cardboard
metal ruler (one with a cork grip is best for safety)
recommended: leather protector and/or clear gloss sealer (see step 4)
INSTRUCTIONS:
1. Decide what size you want your mousepad to be. I made mine 8.5″ by 9.5″. Measure how much you want to cut off and line up your ruler where you need to cut the leather. On a protected surface (I used a cutting mat, but scrap cardboard would work too), use the ruler as a guide to cut a straight line with your exacto knife. Be very careful – don’t cut yourself. I just used enough pressure to score the top layer of the leather. That creates a groove that will guide your knife so you don’t have to use the ruler anymore. I went back over several more times with the knife until I had cut all the way through. Just be patient and careful so the cut will be clean and so you don’t hurt yourself. I had to go over it about 5 times to cut all the way through the leather, but it really depends on the thickness of the piece you use.
2. Use masking tape to mark off the area(s) of the leather you don’t want to paint. I only put one strip of tape on the leather because I didn’t want the tape to mess it up. I taped down scrap paper to cover the rest of the area I didn’t want to paint. For mine, I sectioned it of diagonally to make a colorblock design like the mousepad I fell in love with, but you could really do anything – stripes or chevron would be cute (just be sure to test the tape on your leather first to make sure it doesn’t hurt it).
3. Take it outside and follow the directions on the spray paint bottle to evenly coat the leather. Let it dry (most spray paints take 24 hours). I took the tape and paper off the leather as soon as it was dry to the touch (about an hour) so the leather wouldn’t have to be susceptible to the glue of the tape for longer than necessary.
4. Now you have a pretty mousepad! After about a week of use, mine started to collect dirt, particularly on the unpainted half. I would highly recommend that before painting the leather, you apply some sort of leather protector. I say before because many leather protectors are oils, and your paint may be oil-soluble. You would need to apply it to the leather and let it dry BEFORE painting it. Since obviously it’s too late for me to do this, I decided to paint the unpainted half of my mousepad (I used masking tape again to protect the metallic half). I used acrylic paint in a chartreuse yellow color (I used a brush, but spray paint would work, too). I actually really like the pop of color. If you decide to do this, you have to apply several coats of paint to get an even color because leather is porous. I’m also planning on spraying a coat of clear gloss onto my mousepad to add an extra layer of protection (I’m using Crafts Etc. clear acrylic gloss sealer – I already had it from another project). This will also hopefully give it a smoother surface that will be less likely to collect dirt. This might be a good idea even if you choose not to paint the entire mousepad. I would test the gloss on a scrap of leather first, though.
I’ll share the results of my gloss application as soon as I finish.
Have an awesome Monday and be sure to stop by tomorrow – I’m doing my first ever giveaway!
).
