Holiday

September 25, 2019

FALL FLORAL PAMPAS CHANDELIER TUTORIAL

Ever since I got our chandelier for our dining room I’ve wanted to do something really fun with it for the holidays.

I love it so much and it is so unique and delicate, but I had the idea to add some fun pretty fall foliage to it and really make an impact. I’m also hosting a baby shower at the end of next month, so why not go for it and be able to enjoy it for the next few months!

I browsed through Pinterest for a bit of inspo and was really drawn to natural full feathers and pampas, and I wanted to add some depth with touches of burgundy and mauve. I am loving how it turned out.

CHANDELIER || MINI FAUX PAMPAS || HANGING DARK PURPLE AMARANTHUS || QUEEN ANNE’S LACE || PURPLE PEONY || PINK DAISY || OSTRICH FEATHERS

I searched all over online for the right full faux plants. I found some pretty pamaps options, but they were really pricey and many of them shipped from China and took weeks for delivery. I did find these gorgeous ostrich feathers on amazon and I love the color and fullness they bring. They came in a pack of 24, so I just divided them up and hot glued them to a long dowel to create 2 big plumes.

I was walking through Target of all places a few weeks ago and found the most perfect faux flowers! I never thought to check Target but they were way better than any other places I had looked! (I linked all of the flowers below)

It was actually pretty simple to create the fall floral chandelier..

To create the chandelier I divided up all of the different flowers and decided how I wanted them arranged. Then, starting from the base of the chandelier, I gently slid the stems through. The stems were long enough to reach the other side so they stayed balanced and in place. I started at the bottom and did each side, rotating sides to even out the chandelier.

I know this technique wouldn’t work perfectly with all types of chandeliers, but I think it would be really pretty to create this effect with a large circular styrofoam (for a wreath, only bigger) or possibly zip tying or using flower wire to attach the flowers to the chandelier. I was very careful to keep all of the flowers under the lights so that they didn’t touch and weren’t at risk of getting hot or catching on fire.

If you create a similar fall chandelier I want to see it! Email me a pic or send me a DM!

Here are all of the florals that I used..

CHANDELIER || MINI FAUX PAMPAS || HANGING DARK PURPLE AMARANTHUS || QUEEN ANNE’S LACE || PURPLE PEONY || PINK DAISY || OSTRICH FEATHERS

WOODEN BOWL ON TABLE || DRIED MUSHROOM FILLER || WHITE PILLAR CANDLES

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Dressy

April 18, 2018

THE PARIS DRESS TUTORIAL

I made this dress for our ten year anniversary trip to London and Paris last year. You can see my inspiration for this dress here (and one of the key factors that led me to create The Monthly Dress Series).

SIMILAR BLUSH HEELS OR HERE

Last year I made this dress, and it is still one of my favorite dresses to date. I fell in love with the embellished blush and pink hand sewn tiny flowers on the dress overlay when I was in Mood. And I knew I had to make something special with that fabric.

I’ve had many requests for a tutorial for this dress, so (just one year later), here it is! The Behind The Dress: April episode was supposed to go live today, but we are still making a few tweaks on that video. So I’ll have that for you here TOMORROW! (you can see the Behind The Dress episode for March here, February here, and January here). It is really really fun, so I hope you check back and watch it! The shoot for The April Dress was absolutely magical, and I have tons of behind the scenes secrets on how we were able to capture those images and the whole process for making the dress.

Here’s The Paris Dress Tutorial!

MATERIALS:

2 yards of overlay fabric (this can be see-through/lace/embellished fabric. My fabric did not have stretch, so keep this in mind when following along)
2 yards of fabric lining (this can be a poly spandex blend, or any fabric that has a nice soft drape to it. Stiff cotton, or fabric that is a lot thicker than your overlay fabric won’t work well for this dress.
matching thread

If you don’t know how to sew but are interested in learning, make sure you check out my online sewing courses for beginner and intermediate sewers.

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Dressy

November 22, 2017

MONTHLY DRESS SERIES: THE NOVEMBER DRESS

The next dress in The Monthly Dress series is The November Dress! I am so excited about this one! (you can see The October Dress here)

I wanted this dress to evoke the feeling of fall. I wanted it to capture the golden glow of the sunlight hitting orange and yellow fall leaves. There were a few different color pallets I could have gone with to incorporate changing leaves, but quickly settled on a light yellow that melted into a burnt sienna.

The fabric for the gown is actually 2 different sequined fabrics on top of each other. I found a solid gold sequin color that I loved, but it was too yellow for what I wanted. I also found a darker rust see-through sequin fabric that was so close to what I wanted, but a bit too dark. I laid the darker fabric over the gold and it was PERFECT! I bought 15 yards of tulle in various shades of yellow/orange and created an ombre effect for the cape, inspired by changing leaves.

The more I worked on the dress the happier I was with how it was turning out. I ended up spending 13 hours creating this dress! But once I saw that my vision for it was working, I had to carry it out. I couldn’t skimp on the cape, so I ended up using all 15 yards. I needed that much for it to make a big impact.

I knew I needed to shoot this dress in the fall leaves, so my photographer and I traveled to Big Bear lake in order to capture the full vision for this dress. We woke up at 5 am and got to the lake right before the sun rose. The setting for the dress was perfect! I have to tell you though- I have never been more cold in my entire life! There was frost all over the brush and about 15 minutes into our shoot my hands and feet were white! But as the sun rose and hit the dress, we knew it was worth the cold and early start time! By the time we were done shooting it was around 8 am and the sun was fully out. It was much warmer and when we checked the temperature then it was 35 degrees! So it had to have been close to 20 degrees when we first started shooting!

Here is the full time lapse video of how I created The November Dress…

Like last month’s dress, this dress was highly inspired by a gorgeous blue Marchesa dress. The fitted sequined fabric and the cascading ombre tulle caught my attention and I couldn’t’ get it out of my head. Here is my full inspiration board for The November Dress…

BRONZE HEELS || GOLD NAIL POLISH || BRACELET

If you haven’t seen The October Dress, and a full explanation of why I started The Monthly Dress series, you can see it all here. I already have my fabric for The December Dress, and can’t wait to get started!

If you don’t know how to sew but are interested in learning, make sure you check out my online sewing courses for beginner and intermediate sewers.

photography by Jordan Zobrist

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Dressy

October 25, 2017

MONTHLY DRESS SERIES: THE OCTOBER DRESS

I’m so excited to finally announce a new series I am bringing to Elle Apparel. Its called, The Monthly Dress Series. It will be one dress each month that I design and sew inspired by that specific month. And what better month to kick things things off than the month of October?! Here is my first dress in The Monthly Dress Series: The October Dress…

The October Dress: a dress inspired by the dark, eerie month of October. I added multiple layers of tulle on the bottom section of the gown, and added a structured tulle double overlay shorter skirt on top to create a full dramatic silhouette. I wanted to keep this dress feeling more like a gown rather than a costume, but it needed some good embellishments, so I added black raven feathers along the neckline and crafted smaller feather florets that I scattered throughout the skirt overlay. I polished off the look by outlining the bodice and tule skirt with velvet ribbon.

Since this is the first post in my Monthly Dress Series, I wanted to give you a little background of how this series came about. I’ve included it all at the bottom of this post, along with a video, the tutorial for this dress, and my inspiration board.

A few months ago I was approached by the producer of Project Runway about being on the show. I thought all of my dreams had come true! I was on cloud nine the entire day at the prospect of getting to show the world the kind of clothing I can create. A few days later the excitement wore off, and I thought about the reality of what being on the show would really mean. Months away from my kids was the main reason I couldn’t move forward, along with the stress and pressure that would come with signing up for that kind of production. I just didn’t feel right about pursuing the show, so I closed the door on that opportunity and put my focus else wear.

A few weeks later I got a message from a reader asking about where a dress I wore to church was from. I replied and told her that I made it, and she responded, “You made it? I didn’t even know you sewed clothing!” Then it hit me. How many others out there have no idea about the passion I have for sewing and designing clothing? I have years and years worth of sewing tutorials on my blog, and I have created an entire online video sewing course that teaches all about how to sew and design your own clothing. My passion for clothing design is what started Elle Apparel seven years ago. In the beginning days of Elle Apparel, I couldn’t afford to buy the clothing I wanted, so I taught myself how to sew my own clothing and designed clothes that I really loved. I set that passion aside for a while, but I decided it was time to start it up again, only on a bigger scale. The Monthly Dress series is something I created to stretch my own clothing design limits. I want these dresses to be hard, and complicated, and challenging for me! I had so much fun pushing the limits on what I could create with The October Dress. From the initial dress inspiration, to selecting the fabrics, to the shooting location and photo concept discussions with my photographer, I loved diving back into this creative world again. I really hope you like this series!

I wanted to give you a more in depth look at my Monthly Dress Series creations, so I filmed the whole design process as well. It really gives you the sense of how the dress is constructed….

Here is my inspiration board for the dress. I am a huge Marchesa fan, and I couldn’t get that bottom right navy and black dress out of my head, so I pulled most of my inspiration for the silhouette of my dress from that Marchesa dress.

I created an advanced tutorial for this dress as well. It is very high level because it is so complex, but I wanted to include it for those of you interested. If you don’t know how to sew but are interested in learning, make sure you check out my online sewing courses for beginner and intermediate sewers.

photography by Jordan Zobrist | makeup by Lexi Makeup Artist

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Casual

March 16, 2017

WOOL CAPE TUTORIAL (REVISITED)

PLAID CAPE (made by me, tutorial below or here. Similar HERE and HERE) || PANTS || HUNTER BOOTS || SOCKS || SIMILAR BEANIE

I love capes because they are the perfect excuse to wear a blanket out in public. I’m always cold, and they are a great alternative to a puffy jacket. While I don’t get too many opportunities to wear them in LA, I brought along this cape I made a few years ago up to Big Bear. I found this cape for only $39 that has a really similar color palette to the one I made. I love the tan/grey neutral shades.

I created an incredibly simple tutorial on how to make it (like…anyone can make it. I promise!). I decided to revisit it today in this post- for those of you still buried in snow! Scroll down for the full tutorial.

SHOP MY LOOK BELOW:

photography by Julie Flynn Photography

Continue reading “WOOL CAPE TUTORIAL (REVISITED)”

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Dressy

January 13, 2017

THE HAIR BOW TUTORIAL

BLACK RUFFLE TOP (SIMILAR HERE AND HERE) || BLACK PANTS (SIMILAR HERE) || SIMILAR BLACK AND WHITE STRIPED KATE SPADE BOW COAT (SIMILAR HERE) || SUNGLASSES || LEOPARD CLUTCH || NUDE PUMPS || BOW HAIR TIE MABE BY ME, SIMILAR HAIR TIE HERE

An all black look is such a good safe bet. I love wearing black, but I don’t find myself where it very often. When I do opt for all black, I like to still keep it girly and feminine. This cute top with ruffles on the sleeves, along with a simple black bow in my hair tie are 2 simple ways to keep an all black look from feeling boring. And adding a bold color or print in a coat always adds drama to an all black look!

SHOP THIS POST:

I included a super easy tutorial for how I made my bow hair tie. I have seen them available for purchase in stores- but this is such a quick project I just made one myself. Follow the jump below for the full tutorial!

The Hair Bow Tie Tutorial by Elle Apparel

Continue reading “THE HAIR BOW TUTORIAL”

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Dressy

September 23, 2016

NYFW SS17 LOOK 5: THE GOLDEN BELL DRESS TUTORIAL

DRESS: MADE BY ME (TUTORIAL BELOW) INSPIRATION DRESS FOUND HERE | SIMILAR COGNAC ANKLE STRAP HEELS (MINE ARE OLD) | COGNAC TOTE BAG | SUNGLASSES

For this trip to New York Fashion Week, I knew I wanted to make a dress. I fell in love with this gorgeous Trina Turk yellow lace dress a few months ago, and had it in the back of my mind when I went fabric shopping for my dress. Of course I waited until a few days before my trip to get started on the dress, but I knew I would be so sad if I didn’t have one of my own designs to wear to some of the shows.

I loaded up Eli and Cash in the car and drove down to Mood Fabrics in LA. I usually go to the LA Fabric District, but this time I was more concerned with finding the perfect fabric rather than getting a good deal on the yardage. I almost went with a dark red embroidered fabric, but I decided to go bold and get this amazing yellow lace. At $80 per yard, this was by far the most expensive fabric I have ever bought. But I had planned this trip to New York for months and I really wanted to make something amazing. I have boxes and boxes of fabric that I like, but over the past few years I have started buying less “just in case” fabric. Now I only allow myself to buy 1-2 fabrics at a time, and I have to use it up before I buy more. It’s better this way because I don’t get sick of fabric and just let it sit in my studio for months and months!

I am thrilled with the end result of this dress. I was happy that the dress photographed well, but I promise it is even more intricate in person! I bought 2 yards of it, and I used every last scrap. Cutting into this pricey of fabric was nerve wrecking for sure! I had originally planned on the side panels being wider, but after I cut the first panel I realized I wouldn’t have enough fabric left for the sleeves. So I cut that panel in half, and toned down the bell cut on the sleeves to make it all work with the amount of fabric I had. It all came together in the end, but there was a point where I texted Garrett saying, “I’m pretty sure I just completely messed up this dress!”

Yellow is such a bold color, and we are still going to see it peek through for fall. Here are some similar dresses for a little more eye candy. Some of them are really pricey, but there are a few dresses (like this one that is only $50) that are really pretty and much more affordable! This shade of yellow is a bit darker and would be great for fall.

Shop my look:

I included the Snapchat of my day at Fashion Week wearing this dress, so you can see it in action. My favorite part was wearing it to get burgers at Shake Shack!

photography by Jordan Zobrist Photography

CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR THE FULL TUTORIAL…

Continue reading “NYFW SS17 LOOK 5: THE GOLDEN BELL DRESS TUTORIAL”

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Dressy

July 9, 2016

RED SWING TASSEL DRESS TUTORIAL

Every year for the 4th of July I like to make myself a patriotic dress to wear to church, to our cute little city parade. I was super pregnant with Eli last year and made this red and blue ruched dress (that I wish I could still wear!). This year I went with some lightweight fabric that is my absolute favorite shade of red. It’s one of the few shades of red that I feel compliments the pink undertones in my skin. Red is tricky for me to wear, but I really do love the color of this dress (and my lipstick matches it perfectly in “so chaud’). If you follow me on Instagram you saw that I wore this dress to church on Sunday, and if you follow me on snapchat, you saw that I also wore this dress on the 4th to the parade! 😉 You can view my Snapchat story from the 4th of July and see a bit of the dress in action here. Can you even handle how our night ended?! The boys were such good sports about everything!

I’ve listed all the instructions on how to make the dress below after the jump, but if you aren’t a sewer and are interested in learning, I have a whole online video sewing course that teaches you every single thing I know! You can check out the courses at moderngirlsewing.com. If you don’t sew but you’re looking for a similar dress, I found this dress and this dress that are both less than $12! I freaked out when I saw the price. And it would be super simple to attach some cute white or navy tassel or pom pom trim to the sleeves to achieve a similar dress.

Also make sure to check back next week when I break down everything you need to know about the most amazing sale of the year!

SHOP MY LOOK:

CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR THE FULL TUTORIAL…

MATERIALS:

3 yards of lightweight poly/cotton blend fabric
trim (long enough to fit around each arm. (mine measured 30″)

I added all the measurements to my dress in the image above for reference.

STEP 1: Lay one of your side panels on top of the front of your dress, rt sides together with the extra material of the panel pointing toward the middle. Serge them together along the edge. (if you don’t have a serger, you can always stitch with 1/2″ s.a. and zigzag the seam allowance to keep from fraying)

STEP 2: Open up your front and back pieces that you just stitched together and lay your second panel piece rt. sides together with the extra fabric pointing toward the center and stitch up the opposite side.

STEP 3: Open up all three of these pieces now sewn together (side panel, front, and 2nd side panel). Lay you back piece on top of it with rt sides together (this will be the exact same measurements and pattern piece as your front piece). Match up the side seams of the back piece with the unsewn sides of each panel piece and sew up either side. With the dress currently inside out, stitch up the front and back pieces along the top of the sleeves.

STEP 4: Turn your dress rt. side out, and prep and insert your sleeves.

STEP 5: Serge/finish the raw edges of the bottom of your sleeves and attach the trim along the bottom. Serge along your neckline and bottom of the dress, fold under twice, and stitch with a wide straight stitch all around the neckline and hem.

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Dressy

June 16, 2016

OFF THE SHOULDER DRESS TUTORIAL

DRESS MADE BY ME (ALMOST IDENTICAL DRESS HERE AND AN OPTION UNDER $40 HERE AND HERE) | GOLD GLADIATOR SANDALS | STRAW POM POM TOTE BAG | SUNGLASSES

I posted a little sneak peek of this dress when I wore it in Hawaii, and I’m excited today to bring you the full tutorial on how you can make a custom off the shoulder dress for your next beach trip! Before we left on our family vacation to Hawaii last month, I was itching to sew an off the sleeve dress for a beach cover up. There are so many adorable off the shoulder dresses for sale (this one and this one are my favorites), but I had some really pretty lightweight coral fabric in my stash that I wanted to use up. I came across this dress online and I knew I had to recreate it with my coral fabric.

The off the shoulder trend is one of my favorite trends this summer, because I feel like the clavicle and shoulders are such a pretty and classy way to show a little skin. Plus, you don’t have to worry about getting tan lines if you wear it as a cover up to the pool and beach.

To style an off the shoulder dress, I would say skip the necklace, especially if you are wearing it as a swim cover. Throw on a simple pair of stud earrings intead, and pull your hair away from your face a bit. If you throw too much jewelry on it distracts from the silhouette of the dress. When it comes to resort wear, I really think something more simple, understated, and less styled ends up looking a lot more chic and timeless.

GET THE FULL TUTORIAL FOR THIS TOP AFTER THE JUMP BELOW..

If you don’t know how to sew, now is the time to learn! We are running our big summer sale over at moderngirlsewing.com where you can get 25% off of any of our online sewing courses with the code: SUMMER25. The sale ends on Monday! Summer is the best time to sew, and this dress is really great for a beginner. You can find out more about the courses here.

Materials:

3 yards of fabric (I used a light weight polyester/cotton blend)
1 1/2 yards of 1/2″ elastic
matching thread

STEP 1:

Cut out 2 rectangles of fabric that measure about 1 1/2 x your chest width, and 28″ long (you can make it as long or short as you would like). Cut out small arm holes (keep in mind these can be very short holes, since the top will hit you a few inched underneath your armpit).

STEP 2:

Lay your 2 bodice pieces Rt sides together and stitch up either side with 1/2″ seam allowance (sa).

STEP 3:

Open your bodice and serge around the armpit opening, then fold under 1/4″, press, and stitch.

STEP 4:

Cut your 2 strips of fabric 15″ wider than your bodice pieces, place them rs togther, and stitch up the sides with 1/2″ sa.

STEP 5:

Serge around the bottom of your stitched together strips of fabric, fold under 1/4″, pin your trim along the edge and stitch.

STEP 6:

Fold the top of your long strip over 1″ and stitch all around leaving a 2″ opening.

STEP 7:

Slide the bodice through the exact middle of the long strip of fabric and place the seam allowances together. Stitch all around the top of the round strip with a 5/8″ seam allowance, leaving a small opening where the elastic will fit

STEP 8:

Insert one of the ends of the elastic into the top of the bodice through the 3″ opening. Pin the end of the elastic in place so it doesn’t pull all the say through, and stitch the 2 ends together. Hem along the bottom of the bodice with 1/2″ sa.

I found a lot of similar dresses that you can shop here:

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Sewing

June 13, 2016

THE MODERN GIRL’S GUIDE TO SEWING SUMMER SALE!

Our Modern Girl’s Guide to Sewing Summer SALE is finally here! Merrick and I both love sewing sun dresses, beach coverups, and skirts during the summer, and we want to teach you how to also! We thought a sale would be the perfect way to kick off some summer sewing. Head over to moderngirlsewing.com to grab our Beginner Course and/or our Intermediate Course for 25% off with the code: SUMMER25 from now through June 20th.

Our Beginner Course has a full step-by-step video tutorial at the end on how to make this elastic waistband skirt, and our Intermediate Course walks you through how to make this shift dress. Both are perfect for the summer!

The Modern Girl’s Guide to Sewing is a two part online video series where Merrick and I teach you everything you need to know about how to sew your own clothing. We start at the very beginning (how to thread your machine, all the different kinds of fabric and stitches, etc) and we take you clear through to the more complicated things like how to insert an invisible zipper and insert a sleeve. You can watch a clip that shows just how fun our courses are here.

If you’ve had your eye on these course, make sure you jump on the chance to get 25% off! We would love to teach you everything we know about clothing design and construction!.

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Dressy

June 8, 2016

THE FAUX-WRAP DRESS TUTORIAL

WRAP DRESS MADE BY ME (TUTORIAL BELOW) SIMILAR DRESS HERE AND HERE | SUNGLASSES | GOLD INITIAL NECKLACE | SIMILAR TURQUOISE RING

I made this dress a few months ago and instagramed it when I wore it to one of the parties during the Reward Style Conference I attended. The dress code for the party was resort style, and I knew we had our Hawaii trip coming up in a few weeks, so I figured I would make a dress that I could wear to both places! This dress is easy and fun to wear. I thought about making it an actual wrap dress, but thinking about trying to keep it tied as I hold Eli and move around on the beach made me decide to do an elastic waistband instead. I’m so glad I did! It was easier to make and much easier to wear.

The dress was great for Hawaii because it worked as a beach cover-up, or as a dress for dinner. When it got wet in the ocean it dried quickly, and the light fabric kept me cool. I had this fabric in my stash forever (what’s new!), and I’m so glad I finally found the right occasion to use it!

photography by Kenna Reed

If you would like to make this dress but don’t know how to sew, make sure you check out my online sewing course at moderngirlsewing.com. We will be having our summer sale starting next week, so it’s the perfect time to grab a course! We announced the dates and details of the sale over on our Modern Girl Sewing instagram, so make sure you follow along there so you don’t miss out on any of our sales!

CLICK THE LINK BELOW FOR THE FULL TUTORIAL..

Materials:

3 yards of lightweight chiffon fabric
3 yards of lightweight liner fabric (optional)
1/4″ wide elastic
matching thread

*I listed all of my pattern piece measurements for reference, but here is a simple guide for cutting out your pieces:

BACK width = 1 1/2″ x your actual back width
FRONT width = actual front width + 2″ (apply this to both front sides)
SKITH length = measurement from your natural length to the floor, + 1″ for s.a.
ELASTIC = measure around your waist so it pulls taught but not too tight

Step 1:
Finish all raw edges of the 2 FRONT pieces. Fold back the diagonal side 2″, press, and stitch in place at the top and bottom. Repeat this for both pieces.

Step 2:
Finish all raw edges of the BACK piece. With right sides together, lay the one of the FRONT pieces on top of the BACK piece and stitch along the shoulder seams and under the arms. Lay the second FRONT piece on top overlapping and also attach at the shoulder seams and under the arms.

Step 3:
Stitch around the bottom of the FRONT pieces, securing them in place.

Step 4:
Fold and press your CUFFS lengthwise, stitch up widthwise so they create a circle, and attach them to your arm holes.

Step 5:
Wrap your SKIRT around so that the front overlaps and that it is the same circumference as your bodice. This will be larger than your natural waist measurement until you add the elastic. Turn your bodice inside out and upside down and slide the skirt through your bodice. Stitch all around connecting your bodice and skirt with a 1/2″ s.a.

Step 6:
Stitch your elastic onto the waist from the inside of the dress. Sew right along the same line of stitching around the waist that you just sewed, and pull your elastic as you sew so that it stretches all the way around the waist. Hem the bottom with a 1/4″ s.a. and hem any remaining raw edges.

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Ever since I got our chandelier for our dining room I’ve wanted to do something really fun with it for the holidays.

It was actually pretty simple to create the fall floral chandelier..

Here are all of the florals that I used..

Here’s The Paris Dress Tutorial!

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