For us at DIYStyle, DIY stands for “Design It Yourself”. Originally we meant that in the literal sense of designing & creating as it applied to sewing–YOUR Style. Design It Yourself Style. As we have grown (older!), these Creative Chicks are an ever evolving flock–with TONS of talents–and a bunch of pro expertise to share, not necessarily limited to the sewing, crafting and project area!

So (or Sew), to keep us moving in a fresh new direction, we’ll be whipping DIYStyle.net into a different form. Can’t wait to introduce you to our new team, all of them Creative Chicks LONG before they came to be part of DIYStyle. We think you will enjoy getting some of their (and ours) pro perspectives on fun fashion, fast good-for-you-food, entertaining, parenting, personal style, real beauty, balance (if there is such a thing!), and anything else we decide to tackle. YES, creating and sewing fashion will ALWAYS be our foundation at DIYStyle. I guess what I am trying to say is we are not only DIYStyle to sewing, we are SO much more. We lead crazy diverse lives too! That includes creating not “just” for 20-somethings, but all of you who are young at heart not matter what the age. I am convinced, sharing knowledge, advice and the “little secrets” between the generations is the real key. Mom, daughter, friend, DIYStyle Creative Chickie.

In keeping, Allyce and I will be bringing you some fun (and sometimes funny–hey you gotta laugh!) Mom and daughter stuff. Yeah, she learned to sew from me, studied fashion at Stephens, and now is a “real life” (hard working) fashion designer! I have enjoyed a career in the sewing and design area all of my life and now have added teaching at a University in the Fashion Design Department to the mix! Together we have been writing, designing, and sewing original projects for more years collectively than I care to admit to! More recently I have had a real live education into the RTW fashion world, helping her roll out Allyce King Swim.

Now in this next chapter of DIYStyle, we get to share the fun and our adventures with all you–our Chickies. Can’t wait for the DIYStyle party to begin. Will you join us?!

After a short hiatus from DIYStyle, we are back and ready to SEW!! If you have kept up with us on Facebook, you have heard about some of our adventures. Allyce, I and the Creative Chicks have been super busy with our own personal projects all summer and fall (Allyce now designs for her line Allyce King Swim too). Now that we are headed into the holidays I can let you all in on some EXCITING goings on here in the DIYStyle studio!

We have a BIG announcement (at least big for us!). We are writing the very first book from DIYStyle! I can’t divulge the actual topic and title just yet, but stay posted and watch for that news as soon as I get the green light to spill the beans from our publisher. Due out in Fall/Winter 2013, we hope you will love all the great projects we are having fun whipping up for you.

And we have a new member of our team. Meet Oscar our studio kitty! He’s 7 months old and a bundle of energy. Getting in the middle of all of our creative messes and finding every stray thread to play with. He’s running the miniature daschund (Reese is 12) around in circles, and will probably add years to his life with all the extra exercise.

So what’s on the horizon for DIYStyle.net? A relaunch by spring with MANY more projects, a whole new sewing tips and video section and some brand new techy additions (is techy an actual word?). It’s a TOP SECRET website component–I can’t tell yet. SOOO…..keep watch and LIKE us on Facebook to be the first to get the scoop.

SEW ON Everyone

Click on our Blog Page for the Video Link!!

I found this on the Science Channel’s website and just LOVE how it shows how a sewing machine functions. Just good info to know–helps a lot when you need to troubleshoot any mishaps on your machine. And found it pretty cool they used a sewing machine from the nice folks at Brother USA too.

Happy Sewing

What a fun book to kick off our “Book Look” reviews and FREE giveaways here on DIYStyle! At first glance I thought “The Book of Doing” was a book for kids (see what I know!), but written by Advertising Age publisher Allison Arden–hence it is mostly for us grown ups. Subtitled–Everyday activities to unlock your creativity and joy….this is a book that gives all of us the permission to get messy, experience something new, and ultimately get your creative juices flowing.

Allison is one who experienced the lack of “doing” firsthand as she works in a fast paced, tech field, publishing the 80 year old powerhouse of a magazine that professionals in the Ad and Marketing areas look to. So these days, with 2 children in tow, she learned how getting crafty and giving yourself permission to try new things REALLY enriched her life (most of us sewers and crafters already know how this works right??—-actually wrong!!).

Filled with ideas of things to try out, this book is a kind of kick-start workbook rather than a high level read-and-digest manual. Starting off the adventure into creativity are the 18 “Laws of Doing”. Kind of a mantra for the whole book’s direction, these simple but profound words to live your creative life by are certainly worth repeating to yourself on a regualr basis. I think we all sometimes forget how the little things turn into BIG things, no matter what the direction and journey.

This workbook for creativity includes exercises like Imitate a Cocktail or Mocktail, and Spend an Hour Looking at the Stars and Learning the Constellations. As connected as we are to the tech world thru our tv, computers, phones, facebook, and tons of social media; Allison proposes for us to stash the “red bouncing ball” that is always vying for our attention and just DO. A simple message, a really cute book, and a creative movement we should all be involved in!

The Book of Doing, by Allison Arden, available from Penguin books gets a thumbs up “Like” from us. Check it out and let us know what you think. And “Like” our page at DIYStyle on Facebook and leave us your comments there for a chance to win YOUR copy of The Book of Doing! One facebook post-ee will receive a copy directly from the nice folks at Penguin.

It’s that time of year when you get to dress up as anything you want and PARTY!!! What better way to impress all of your friends on the most fun night of the year than with a cute little number from our new Fun and Flirty Halloween Costume Collection?! With our friends at VELCRO and our team of Creative Chicks, we whipped up some really stylish (and just plain cute) costumes for your next Halloween bash.

Start with the Base Costume pattern, and print out the size for your top (we have all of them as PDF’s to make it super easy).

Top XS

Top S

Top M

Top L

Top XL

Then chose your look ::

Anchors Aweigh

Ahoy Matey

Bootiful Bride

Lady Luck

Ms. America

Midnight Swan

and start creating your own Fun and Flirty costume.Thanks a bunch to the good folks at VELCRO for providing us with some of their fantastic hook and loop fastener products–

FABRIC FUSION
Soft and Flexible Sew-On
Sticky Back
Home Decor 

So get stitching….Halloween is right around the corner!! 

Well, it seems we are always undertaking something new here at DIYStyle. Early spring was a flurry of change for us as we moved our digs from one studio space to another (closer to home too). And yes, we moved during some of Missouri’s worst weather in history, and had to tromp thru the snow and ice carrying scads of fabric packed boxes. What we won’t do for our fabric stash and sewing stuff.

Now we are into re-decorating a new, sunny open space with lots of windows. The lovers of color that we are, we sure could not settle even for one minute for the drab white walls the place came with, so we chose some new—super bright hues to liven the place up a bit……no, a LOT!!

Allyce and I debated over so many color choices for the Workshop, and while we definitely loved our palette at our quaint space (I will miss the brick walls for the ambience), we decided to amp it up a few notches for this place. We’re happy with the outcome so far, and it sure draws a lot of attention from passersby, as they catch a glimpse of bright color inside.

And, this new location gave Allyce her own space next to the DIYStyle Workshop, for her new line Allyce King Swim, catering to pageant competitors and resort wear! Yes, she will have her very own studio and design space & salon showroom. I will let her do the honors of posting pics of her paint choices and decor. With her love of glam and sparkle, you can only imagine what she has been up to.

Since I am on the subject of color, and with our numerous trips to the paint store matching colors, I wanted to be sure you had heard about the device that Pantone just unveiled for designers. The Pantone CAPTURE is a super cool gadget ($695 worth) that you can use to snap a shot of any surface, and it will match the color in the Pantone library! Could be indispensable to the designer that is having a time getting the right match to a fabric or trim, especially when ordering from clear across the country. How cool is that? Maybe they will send us one to play with, eh?!

If you are ever in the St. Louis area look us up. Our new address is 7322 Village Center Drive, O’Fallon, MO 63368, We’re in Winghaven at the Boardwalk. We’d love to see you.

Fashion Business Weekend and THE Fashion Competition was held this spring in St. Louis at beautiful Lumiere Place. The weekend had fashion students, fashion professionals, and local independent fashion designers all coming together to network, learn about fashion business and to show off their latest designs and collections.

THE Fashion Competition, open to Junior and Seniors in fashion design programs at colleges and universities had student designers competing for the winning title and prize package. After much anticipation and a wonderful fashion show on April 8th, THE Fashion Competition Emerging Designer 2011 was awarded to Quinne Myers, a Senior at Stephens College in Columbia, MO. Congratulations Quinne!

Quinne’s “Doe Eyed” collection wowed the judges, and her cohesiveness of the collection, beautiful detail and use of embroidery, and the amazing original prints used in her garments were mentioned over and over by the judging panel as what cemented their decision. Her prize package for Emerging Designer 2011 includes $2,000 from PGM Industries to start her line, a PGM Industry Pro Dressform, a Baby Lock Tempo Sewing Machine, Fabric Mart Gift Certificate, Coats & Clark thread collection, Brown Shoe Company Gift Certificate, and a Fashion Business Inc. Business Starter package. THE Fashion Competition Emerging Designer prize package is valued at over $4,000. Congratulations Quinne!

In addition to Quinne, talented student designers won in 4 additional categories, Tailored Suits & Coats, Sportswear & Daywear, Art to Wear, and Evening & Formal Wear.

Kristen Garner, Stephens College
Tailored Suits and Coats Winner

Erin Jones, SIU Carbondale
Sportswear & Daywear Winner

Lauren Alfaro, Lindenwood University
Art to Wear

Erin Jones, SIU Carbondale
Evening & Formal Wear

Special thanks goes to our fantastic jury panel of judges:

Brian Hill, Director of Phoenix Fashion Week; Laura Kathleen Planck, Designer, Laura K; Gina Nelson, Designer, Brown Shoe Company; Sean Phillips, Regional Marketing Director-St. Louis, CBL Malls

Watch THE Fashion Competition website for 2012 dates in St. Louis, MO!

I wanted all of our DIYStyle fans to know about this really cool new internet show. Right now I am on my way to Chicago, as a finalist to interview for the So You Wanna Be a Designer internet reality show, sponsored by Kenmore (Sears)! Last week I got a call from a casting agency telling me about this show that Sears was doing, and they were looking for designers just like me. So, I made it through the first round and now here I am, trekking to Chicago with some of my garments, portfolio and sewing kit in tow. They were really interested in what I have done with DIYStyle and now my new swimwear line Allyce King Swim. How cool is this?!

The whole thing gets going later this month, with the challenges streaming live from Kenmore Live Studios. Yes, sounds like you get to watch us in action (is that good or bad?). Sounds really cool, and the audience (that’s YOU) gets to weigh in on everyones creations and vote for their fav designer. Winner gets $20K to start their line (of course that’s what got my attention from the start!) and a new Kenmore washer and dryer.

So, think positive thoughts for me today when I get to show off my designs and skills for the judges and casting agency. Only 6 get chosen for the show. Keeping my fingers crossed! And if I’m in I need my DIYStyle fashionista’s and Creative Chicks to vote for me. I will let you know how it all turns out.

We love fashion! And we love independent fashion designers, especially their talent and tenacity–working hard to make it it the fashion business. So, when the opportunity arose to produce an event that supports young designers, we jumped at the chance. Mark your calendars for April 7-9, 2011. THE Fashion Competition and Fashion Business Weekend will come to St. Louis, courtesy of our event sponsor, Lumiere Place, a premier venue in downtown St. Louis.

THE Fashion Competition and Fashion Business Weekend is a 3-day event, focusing on independent fashion designers, helping them to succeed. It includes THE Fashion Competition open to Junior and Senior fashion design students at colleges and universities all over the US, as well as independent fashion business seminars, a fashion industry mixer for students, designers, educators, and media, and 3 fashion shows. The fashion shows include THE Fashion Competition finals show on Friday, April 8^th, LAUNCH showcasing 6 emerging designers, and the St. Louis Independent Fashion Designers to take place on Saturday, April 9^th.

Fashion Business seminars are focused on helping independent fashion designers develop and grow their business. Topics include How to Start a Fashion Business, Copyright and Trademark, Costing, Branding, and  more.

Attention college professors: Drop us a note and we will add your school to our weekly email blast, updating you and your students on our growing prize list, the fashion business seminars and presenters, etc. Contact cindy@thefashioncompetition.com for more information on how your school and students can be represented.

Watch our new website THE Fashion Competition. This is event is a benefit for the Fashion Collective-St. Louis, independent fashion designers living, working, designing and selling in the metro area, and (coming soon) the St. Louis Fashion Incubator. We look forward to seeing you “under the Arch” in St. Louis! 

Some of our generous Sponsors:

This was not “just another fashion show”. CRUSH, held at Lumiere Place on November 13th was a charity fashion and wine tasting event, pairing six St. Louis area fashion designers with local wineries, all in an effort to raise funds for Sunny Hill, Inc., a non-profit based in the area. Sunny Hill works daily with developmentally disabled adults, teens and children, empowering them to become productive citizens and achieve their individual dreams.

So on the fabulous fashion day, all came together to make the event one to remember, and achieved their goal…..recognition for Sunny Hill, the independent designers showcasing their Spring 2011 collections, and fundraising at it’s best. What better way to encourage a love of local fashion and philanthropy!

The collections of designers Melissa Rae Brown, Miriam Coffey, Anna Friss, Paul Gibson, Allyce King, and Laura Kathleen Planck walked the runway, with over 400 excited partygoers in the audience. Here are some highlights from the show:

Kicking off the show on the runway, Victoria James, Sunny Hill’s CEO welcomes the audience

and introduces Mallori Nicole, an uber talented young performer (and model), singing “Happy”

Sunny Hill client rocks the runway with DIYStyle/Game Day model Blair!

Looks from the Allyce King Swim Spring 2011 Collection

Allyce King Swim Designer-Allyce King

Looks from the Blue Bird Denim Spring 2011 Collection

Blue Bird Denim Designer-Anna Friss

Looks from the Game Day-DIYStyle Spring 2011 Collection-Designer Allyce King

Looks from Laura Kathleen Spring 2011 Collection

Laura Kathleen Designer-Laura Kathleen Planck

Looks from Miriam Coffey Spring Collection 2011

Miriam Coffey Designer-Miriam Coffey

Looks from Penny Rae Vintage Spring 2011 Collection

Penny Rae Vintage Designer-Melissa Rae Brown

Looks from REIGN Spring 2011 Collection

REIGN Designer-Paul Gibson

I was so proud to produce the show, and all were thrilled with the response from the audience as well as the media and press. Thanks to everyone for all of their talent and hard work, front of house and behind the scenes, including the over 60 volunteer models, Hair team from American Image Salon, Make-up team from Kolours Salon, our photographer Mark Schwigen, video producer Matt Schmitt, and our tech team Jon Cummins and Zach Mielke. We could not have done this without all of you!

It’s Fall and time for some new wardrobe spruce ups. One easy add is an endless scarf. Some call them ring scarfs, loop scarves, or infinity scarves……either way it’s just an endless ring of fabric, finished (or not) so that it’s a loop. SOOO very easy to make I’m not sure why anyone would buy these ready made. Here’s my version for just about any fabric, silk, rayon knit, textured, you name it. Follow the steps below, and soon you will have a wardrobe of scarves only limited by the thousands of fabric choices in your favorite fabric haunt. And don’t forget about vintage scarves. these can be remade in a ring the same way.

Step 1: Purchase enough fabric to get about an 18″ x 60″ piece (50″ – 72″ is good). Trim all the edges neatly so you have a nice rectangle.

Step 2: Fold the fabric piece right sides together, matching long edges. Stitch a narrow seam starting 3″ in at the beginning, and stopping 3″ from the end. You can use a serger (if you have one) like I did to make it even faster!

Step 3: Turn the tube right side out. Match the short ends, right sides together and stitch a narrow seam, securing the ends of the scarf together in a ring.

Step 4: Tuck in raw edges and hand or machine stitch the opening closed.

That’s all there is to it! Super simple, and made in less than 10 minutes of sewing time (it actually took me longer to trim the fabric straight than to sew!). And don’t press these flat after you are done, just steam to remove wrinkles so you have a nice billowy or drapey shape.

This is a look that’s just as chic paired with jeans and a tee, as it is with a fitted sheath dress. These scarves make it “sew” easy to add a shot of color to your fall fashions. And check out our Tube Scarf project too. It’s made basically the same way, just a wider version to be worn as a shrug or fuller scarf.  

Just wish shopping for a new pair of jeans was this easy.

Now that Season 8 of Project Runway is underway, we get to see Nina Garcia on a weekly basis dolling out advice and critique to the challenged designers. As the fashion editor for Marie Claire (and formerly Elle magazine), Nina has the up-to-the-minute info on what’s hot and what’s not. And, she can disseminate a “look” and give advice on what works to be fashionable and stylish on a dime. So when her new book arrived here at DIYStyle, we were intrigued, but not surprised to see that she has now taken veritably every notable occasion and turned it into a “What to Wear” opportunity, conveying her pro style sense.

“Nina Garcia’s Look Book” with illustrations by the beloved Rubin Toledo hits the bookstore this week. An easy read, just like her previous books (“The 100″ and “Little Black Book of Style”), this one gives guidance for every category of life and style possible. With sections for work, dating, day, night, holidays, life events, weddings and dream travel she pretty well covers it all! Here are some of the topics (including some that will make you smile):

• The Sweatpants Trap: What to Wear when you work from home
• Come Fly With Me: What to Wear on a business trip
• Love Hurts: What to Wear when you breakup with your boyfriend
• The New Crew: What to Wear when you meet your new boyfriends friends
• For the People: What to Wear when you are volunteering
• Curtains Up: What to Wear to a Broadway play
• Reality Bites: What to Wear when you are single on Valentines Day
• Youth Gone Wild: What to Wear to chaperone a school dance
• Objection Your Honor: What to Wear to Jury Duty
• Matriarchal Chic: What to Wear to your daughter’s wedding
• On the Road Again: What to Wear when traveling 

All throughout Nina infuses us with her personality–laid back tongue-in-cheek humor and fashion tips, as well as the expected (per her other books) quotes and bits of wisdom from fashion icons and others that just make the book generally fun and energetic. Read the entire book cover to cover in one sitting or (like we did), just pick it up, turn to a section and start surfing around. Either way you will come away with what to wear guidance from the best fashion guru around. Just tell your girlfriends “Nina Says”!

Can you believe how excited were were at DIYStyle to find out that one of favorite St. Louis area fashion designers is a contestant on THIS new season of Project Runway! Lucky for us that we snagged an interview with him for DIYStyle long before PR got hold of him

Watch the video on our vodcast page (it’s Episode 52), and cheer Michael on when the new season of Project Runway starts on July 29th on Lifetime. Check out Michael’s page for PR to see his casting video and more. You know the Creative Chicks at DIYStyle and loads of other fashion lovers in STL and beyond will be rooting for him. You go Michael……..we LOVE you!

When I was asked to write Sewing for Dummies, I was thrilled and…I’ll admit it…flattered. As part of the Dummies author group I rub elbows with experts on everything. Computer geeks of the tallest order like Andy Rathbone, Windows for Dummies (15 million books in print), to famous coaches — Notre Dame University’s Richard “Digger” Phelps, Basketball for Dummies. But as I revel in that warm momentary glow, reality slaps me in the face as potential readers – sewers with years of experience tell me they are put-off by the title. After all, they don’t consider themselves “dummies” and figure that a book like this is for beginners – which it is – and it isn’t.

So let me clear this up. The Dummies formula is familiar to readers – a great resource presented with a sense of humor that breaks down a topic into bite-sized pieces.  And here’s the good news for readers who sew.  Whether beginner or experienced – each chapter and each topic within each chapter is written as a standalone.  So you don’t need to read anything before or after that chapter or topic to understand it. 

How do you use this in your everyday sewing projects? As you work through your next project and your next step is to sew a dart, edgestitch that pocket, or insert a zipper, flip to the topic in the book and see how I suggest you do it. My hope is that you’ll read my words, hear my voice and find a better, easier way to get the job done. Keep the book next to you as you sew, make notes in the margin – use it to your heart’s content.  When you do, I hope that you, treasured reader, will understand that “Dummy” is a term of endearment.

Well it was inevitable. DIYStyle is located in the metro St. Louis area. Our DIYStyle vodcasts have included designer interviews from around the nation as well as several designers from our own backyard. SO, when we heard that local independent fashion, jewelry and accessory designers needed a place to showcase and sell their collections, AND we had the opportunity to expand into the space next to the DIYStyle Workshop we knew we had to take the leap! This Friday evening marks another phase for DIYStyle…..the opening of the new DIYStyle Boutique!

Excitement is in the air! We’ve been busy sprucing up the space, working with Habitat for Humanity of St. Charles ReStore (thank you Andrea!), and pulling ideas together to make a small space work for a showroom/boutique. If you are in the St. Louis area join us for our Launch party. You will get the chance to meet a few of the designers, shop their collections, and support local independent fashion.

We’ll also be carrying a few designer supplies, a section we hope to keep expanding as we grow the Boutique. And this fall we’ll add the Boutique shopping to the DIYStyle website. Let us know what designer supplies you are looking for and we’ll be sure to source and get them in. I know our BIG roll of pattern paper was a long awaited item that designers just cannot do without.

Back to work………we have a Boutique to open!