Inspiration: Boldly printed silk shirts by Erdem, Just Cavalli and Etro. Available at Net-a-Porter.

What is it about the warmer weather that makes me go a little cray-cray over prints? Once the temperature gets above 60 degrees I shed my blacks and neutrals and flock to bold prints and colors. This is bound to have something to do with spending my formative years in color-saturated, perpetually warm places like Los Angeles, New Orleans and Dallas.

So when we got in these gorgeous Thakoon silk prints at Mood Fabrics, of course I had to nab some for myself. I went to Style.com and took a look at how the designer himself used these prints in his spring 2012 collection, and really liked his shirts and the way he mixed prints and colorways. Blatant rip-off time!

The gold colorway is a luscious, 4-ply silk crepe, and the black colorway is silk crepe de chine. Both are still available at MoodFabrics.com, but don’t wait long to order as our stock is getting low.

I made this shirt from a circa 1980’s Simplicity pattern I bought on Etsy, combining the long and short versions to make my bi-level top. It’s blousy and tunic-y, which is the easy summer look I was going for. Plus, a loose fit means fitting time can be minimized. I’m a sew-and-go kind of girl these days!

Construction was easy and straightforward. Where I spent the most time was in determining print placement. You can see with big paisleys like these that it’s gonna make a difference where you place your pattern. I relied heavily on fashion images showing how Thakoon placed the prints himself.

Bottom line: I like this top/tunic. It’s a really bold print for me but it works well with jeans and heels. More silk tops to come!

SUPPLIES: colorful basic tassel, e6000 glue, decorative end caps, straight pin, earring hooks, and scissors.

How-To:
1. Remove two strings that are holding tassel together.
2. Line up individual strings over your finger — I used 60 per earring.
3. Take another string and wrap it around your group of 60 strings.
4. Double knot this string tight.
5. Take your decorative end cap and slip onto the string you just double knotted.
6. Add a small amount of glue to the very opening of your end cap.  (Note: You just want enough glue to hold them in there, but you’ll want to be careful, because you don’t want excess glue seeping out on your exposed strings).
7. Gently slide the end cap down about a 1/4 inch onto the strings, just until they neatly gather together. Let this dry about an hour.
8. Slide earring hook onto one of the strings hanging out of the end cap.
9. Double knot the two strings to secure the earring hook.
10. Add a dab of glue to the knot you just created, for added stability.
11. Once this glue has dried, snip the excess string above your knot.
12. Trim the bottom of your earring to make it all neat and even.  Ta-da!

Brandhyze Stanley is the chief voice of Frugal-nomics.com; a platform designed to share with women how to live and look fabulous on a dime.  A DIY girl at heart—Brandhyze has been featured on The View, The Early Show, The Today Show, InStyle Magazine, Essence Magazine, and MTVStyle. A Wilhelmina Model for nearly a decade, with a Business Degree from Loyola University Chicago, Brandhyze is a Fashion & Style Writer and Video Contributor for Newsday Westchester, and provides DIY content to the popular How-To Site, eHow. Brandhyze is a huge thrifter and a lover of all good deals, follow her on Twitter @MyFrugalnomics and on Facebook at Facebook.com/Frugalnomics.

SUPPLIES: Wire cutters, brooches in pairs of 2 (I have one of each version I used shown here.  Be sure to check their design, because they are often purchased individually – therefore color schemes may vary), e6000 glue, and 4 earring clip-on backs.

Note: Both brooches are available at Mood NYC. The gold brooch is from Oscar de la Renta!

How-To: 
1. Using the wire cutters, completely snip off the entire pin back and adjoining metal (Note: if it doesn’t come off clean, use a nail file to smooth the surface).
2. Add e6000 glue to the earring backing.
3. After you decide which side is “up” for the layout of your brooch, adhere earring backing to it, and hold in place for a moment.
4. Let glue dry for several hours — I did it overnight.  (Note: If your earring backing protrudes out in any way, and is uncomfortable for your foot, feel free use wire cutters to remove it).

Mood NYC and Mood LA both have a wide selection of brooches that can be converted into shoe clips.

Brandhyze Stanley is the chief voice of Frugal-nomics.com; a platform designed to share with women how to live and look fabulous on a dime.  A DIY girl at heart—Brandhyze has been featured on The View, The Early Show, The Today Show, InStyle Magazine, Essence Magazine, and MTVStyle. A Wilhelmina Model for nearly a decade, with a Business Degree from Loyola University Chicago, Brandhyze is a Fashion & Style Writer and Video Contributor for Newsday Westchester, and provides DIY content to the popular How-To Site, eHow. Brandhyze is a huge thrifter and a lover of all good deals, follow her on Twitter @MyFrugalnomics and on Facebook at Facebook.com/Frugalnomics.

Dolce & Gabbana Spring 2013 dress with central motif.

Dolce & Gabbana top and shorts, Spring 2013, showing large repeating motifs strategically placed.

Christopher Kane top, Spring 2013, with large dominant motif.

Oscar de la Renta Spring 2013 dress with motif placed in the middle of the dress.

Placement prints are stunning to wear, but they provide extra challenges to home sewers. Here are some tips from Mood for working with placement prints:

• If you find a placement print fabric in-store, take the bolt with you to the nearest mirror and then drape the fabric over your body. Place the motifs where you want them to appear in your garment. Do you like the way the fabric looks on you? Walk away from it if you don’t.
• If you are buying online, be sure the pattern repeat measurement is specified. At Mood we try our best to show the entire panel or repeat if the fabric features a large motif(s). Take a tape measure and check the size of the pattern repeat on your body to get a better idea of how the motif will look on you and your garment.
• Bring your pattern pieces to the store. This way you can lay out your pattern on the fabric and quickly eyeball how much fabric you’ll need to accommodate strategic placement of motifs. If you’re shopping online, use the panel size information and approximate laying out your pattern at home. If the fabric is not sold in panels, then buy at least an extra half yard or as much as is needed to add an extra large motif to your yardage. You don’t want to skimp on fabric when you are working with a placement print.
• Play around some more with your fabric at home, before you cut into it. Try placing the motif on several different parts of your body, not just front-and-center. Position the motif over the part of your body you like best and want to highlight. Or, you can strategically place the motifs to create a slimming effect, as Oscar de la Renta did in the dress above by concentrating the design around the waist and hips. Spend some time online looking at how designers use placement prints to the best effect, and then blatantly borrow their techniques.

Here’s a beautiful silk twill panel from Chado Ralph Rucci that’s now sold out at Mood NYC but may still be available at Mood LA (not sold online). It’s a strikingly beautiful print just on its own, but look how stunning it is as a simple coat.

Take a look at some of the panel prints Mood currently has online: FP25966C, FS23873C, and FR25901C.  Have you ever made anything with a placement print? I’m almost finished with my shirt made from a Thakoon print that has gigantic paisleys on it, and I hope to share it here soon. Stay tuned!

We aren’t saying these are our favorite gowns of last night’s annual Costume Institute gala at the Metropolitan Museum, but they are our favorite fabrics. Amid a sea of black (owing to this year’s punk theme), these gowns made a striking contrast. We would love to sell each of these fabrics in our stores.

Did you get a chance to look at the red carpet photos from the event? Was black the way to go, or would you have opted for a beautiful print or color?

Noted instructor and couture designer Kenneth D. King teaching a seminar at Mood NYC.

1. When you learn in person from a respected teacher it sinks in more and sticks in your brain
2. You have the opportunity to ask one-on-one questions of the instructor, so you get personalized advice
3. You can learn from experts about specific topics, such as lingerie, swimwear or lace
4. Seeing a demo in real life beats watching a video tutorial any day
5. Instructors bring samples with them, which you can examine up close
6. Sometimes instructors will go off-topic, but in such a way that you ending learning even more than you anticipated
7. Other students will often share tips and insights that you can borrow
8. A good instructor will inspire you and encourage you in ways that you can’t glean from a book or video
9. Taking a class is a great way to meet fellow sew-aholics and fabric junkies
10. People who take classes from experienced instructors are better sewers (Ok, we don’t have any statistical proof for this one but we’re confident it’s true.)

Why are these people smiling? Because taking sewing classes at Mood LA is so much fun! (Aren’t you glad we didn’t write “sew much fun”? We resisted the urge.)

Mood Fabrics LA has an incredible sewing school area, complete with Janome sewing machines and more. This store offers a wide array of classes, from free beginner sewing classes to specialized topic classes, like fashion illustration. Kids as young as eight can also take children’s and teen sewing classes at Mood LA. Classes have been enormously popular at Mood LA since the new location at 645 S. La Brea Avenue opened earlier this year.

Mood Fabrics NYC, while it doesn’t yet have the space for a classroom with sewing machines, does offer a wide array of sewing and design seminars taught by industry professionals. Upcoming classes at Mood NYC include basic fitting techniques, sewing swimwear, pressing like a pro, and the birth of a bustier. Kenneth D. King, Susan Khalje, Sarai Mitnick, Sarah Veblen, Emily Blumenthal and Brett Bara are just a few of the noted instructors who’ve taught here.

(Personally, I saw my own sewing competence increase dramatically after I spent four days sewing under the guidance of Kenneth D. King and Susan Khalje at one of their sit-and-sew sessions. It was like I finally abandoned the bunny hill and started skiing on the black diamond slopes. I sit in on as many of Mood’s seminars as I can, just to keep learning and fine-tuning my sewing skills.)

Have we convinced you yet to venture out of the comfort of your sewing area and take a class? We hope so! Check out page to see our classes in NYC and LA. And don’t wait too long to sign up, as classes fill up quickly. [NOTE: If you have trouble with this link, which is happening in some mobile environments, please go to moodfabrics.com and scroll all the way down to the bottom. Click on "CLASSES." This will bring you to the right page to see NYC and LA classes.]

Hey, leave us a comment here letting us know what classes or seminars you’d be interested in taking. We’re always open to suggestions!

Inspiration: This coated linen and leather tote from Bottega Veneta, available at Neiman Marcus for $750.

Spring is finally here and that meant I needed a new tote bag to schlep my shoes and magazines around in. The black leather tote I made a few months ago served me well this past fall and winter, but I was craving something new. My caveats: a bag that was unstructured, lightweight, and combined fabric and leather. The Bottega Veneta bag, above, was perfect! (Except for the $750 price tag; yikes.)

Here’s my version of the Bottega Veneta tote.

For the fabric part of my knock-off bag I used an off-white, coated linen from Marc Jacobs, which, sadly, is all gone. For the leather portion I used a black washable leather that is very soft and easy to sew. Plus, washable! (Dmitry, our leather department manager, sewed little britches out of this washable leather for his toddler son. How cute is that.)

Sewing a tote bag is pretty straightforward. Determine the size you want and make a quick muslin first just to make sure you’ve gotten the proportions right. (I always tend to screw up a bit when I factor in the depth.) My bag measures 15 inches tall by 15 inches wide by 4.5 inches deep, with a 10 inch handle drop.

I like that my bag is soft and scrunchy, with no hard edges. You know how packed with people this part of Manhattan is, and nobody likes to get bumped by a hard bag.

I constructed the coated linen part of the bag first, then I made the leather “bottom” which I fitted and then stitched onto the linen bag. I used a pinking rotary blade to mimic the Bottega Veneta bag’s serrated leather edge. If you look inside my bag all you see is the uncoated linen, which makes it look like I lined the bag.

For the top edge of the bag, where the handles are attached, I simply pressed and turned a 2-inch facing, twice. Like the real BV bag, I didn’t even bother to stitch the edge of the facing in place. I took the bag and the handles to Star Snaps down the block from Mood NYC at 262 W 38th St, #202, and for $12 had twelve studs put in place to anchor the handles.

A glimpse of the inside. The uncoated part of the linen looks like a lining. You can see how I just turned the facing under, securing it with the studs on the handles.

That’s all there was to making this tote. I love it soooooooo much and carry it to work every day. If you’re thinking of making your own similar tote, our two stores have coated fabrics to choose from, plus I found this coated linen online (but order a swatch first as I’m not personally familiar with this particular fabric). We have a large selection of faux leathers online as well.

Have you made a tote bag that you just love? Tell us about it here!

SUPPLIES: a pair of heels (I got these from a thrift store for $5 instead of $10 when I mention the ankle strap was missing on one shoe.  I didn’t need it anyway…but they didn’t know that), matches, large chain, smaller chain, 2 leather/metal closures, clear illusion cord, E6000 glue, wire cutters, and pliers.

HOW-TO:
1. Measure how much chain you think you’ll need for your ankle strap (allow room for the metal toggle that will be attached. I used 10 large ones in total), and the chain that will go down the back of the heel (here I used 8) — use your wire cutters to pry the links open, and twist.
2. Remove one link from the smaller chains for the left and right foot.
3. Add this one link to the base of each of the chains that trail down the back of the shoe.
4.Remove the 2 “toggle bars” and “loops” from the leather pieces. Be sure to keep the little rings attached that connect them to the leather, because you will use them in a second.
5. For the ankle strap (again, mine was 10 rings) attach the toggle bar by its ring to the chain (Note: If its for the right shoe, you will do the right side of the chain.  We’ll start with the right foot).
6. Now add the loop via it’s connector ring to the left side of that chain.
7. For the right shoe, you will count in 3 rings from the toggle bar, and then pry open that link.
8. Slide this 3rd link onto the loop on the back of your heel, and close it back.
9. Next take your chain that is 8 links long (the one with the small ring at the base), and attach it to the loop on your shoe as well.
10. Pulling the chain really taught while keeping it straight, slip the clear illusion cord through the small ring at the bottom of the chain that goes down back of shoe. Wrap this cord around heel a couple times right above the shoe tap, and double knot it on the inside of the heel.
11. Snip the excess cord right near the knot you created.
12. Use a match to ever so slightly melt the knot at the base of the heel tap (Note: you want to be really careful doing this or the cord will snap).
13. In the middle of the heel, place just a dab of glue just beneath the chain to hold it in place (Note: you can also add a tiny bit to the chain itself to keep it turned in the direction the desired direction).  I also used a piece of string to tie it in place while the glue dried for about half hour.

Brandhyze Stanley is the chief voice of Frugal-nomics.com; a platform designed to share with women how to live and look fabulous on a dime. She’s also a finalist in the voting contest  for ALL YOU MAGAZINE’S Smartest Shopper.  A DIY girl at heart—Brandhyze has been featured on The View, The Early Show, The Today Show, InStyle Magazine, Essence Magazine, and MTVStyle. A Wilhelmina Model for nearly a decade, with a Business Degree from Loyola University Chicago, Brandhyze is a Fashion & Style Writer and Video Contributor for Newsday Westchester, and provides DIY content to the popular How-To Site, eHow. Brandhyze is a huge thrifter and a lover of all good deals, follow her on Twitter @MyFrugalnomics and on Facebook at Facebook.com/Frugalnomics.

This Isabel Marant jacket was the inspiration starting point for my third and final bomber jacket.

Readers, I think I got a little bit carried away with the whole bomber jacket trend. First I made this bomber, then this one, and now here’s my third–AND LAST!–bomber jacket. I really enjoyed sewing the first two versions, but this one I just wanted to be over with. I’m very happy with the results, mind you, but this pattern is being officially retired.

Finished! My third and final bomber jacket, a combination of silver metallic brocade and taupe leather.

It’s hard to photograph some metallic fabrics. I took these photos here, but even our in-house professional photographer sometimes struggles with how to successfully capture metallics.

Here’s a quick recap of the sewing details:
- Light taupe leather for the sleeves and neck binding from Mood NYC’s leather department
- Silver metallic brocade, also from Mood NYC, but no longer available because a buyer for Club Monaco bought the rest of the bolt. (Here’s a brocade from MoodFabrics.com that I think would work well.)
- Flatlined instead of lined using an off-white silk crepe de chine
- Hong Kong seams and seam binding using a lightweight silk brocade I had in my stash
- BurdaStyle pattern 7210
- Lampo zipper stitched on the outside as a design element
- Welt leather pockets

Here you can see the silk crepe de chine lining and the Hong Kong seams. If you’re planning on wearing a jacket unzipped, like I do with this jacket, it’s important the interior looks as great as the exterior.

I did have one dramatic incident when I was working on the the welt pockets. Somehow I managed to slit my fingertip open and it bled all over the silk crepe de chine pocket. I was able to remove the blood stains (blotting with a damp towel while cursing up a storm), but I ended up getting water stains on one of the leather sleeves and on one of the welt pockets. Of course they’re only removable by taking the jacket to a professional leather cleaner. Waah.

Bottom line: I feel very chic in this jacket! Employees and customers alike told me how much they liked it when I wore it last week. The leather sleeves are very soft and comfortable to wear, even in the warmer weather. It looks great with the sleeves worn pushed up and paired with jeans or pants.

What I’m working on now: I’m finishing up a new tote for spring and summer made of coated linen and leather, then I start sewing a shirt that combines two Thakoon silk prints: item numbers 303199 and 303197. It’s so nice to have runway shots like these to study how the designer placed the motifs, because print placement can be very tricky. What are YOU working on now?

When I heard Sarai Mitnick of Colette Patterns would be teaching a seminar on sewing silk at Mood, I was determined to be the first in line. Have you seen her silk makes? She sewed her own wedding dress out of bias-cut silk charmeuse. I got the vapors from typing that.

That’s Sarai on the right posing with a fan after her seminar on sewing with silks at Mood NYC.

Sarai let us in on a little secret: Sewing silk is not that different from sewing anything else. Lunacy! If you know how to troubleshoot your issues, you’re well on your way to a fabulous garment. Flyaway fabric? Use some spray stabilizer. Puckering French seams? A teeny zigzag stitch does the trick. In fact, the hard-to-tame fabrics, like charmeuse, give silk an unduly bad rap. Silk twills and dupioni are relatively unfussy and are a great gateway into the wild and wonderful world of silk.

The prettiest handout ever.

We also got a really nifty silk sewing guide. Under each fabric, there are cutting tips, suggestions for needle sizes, and hemming instructions. Superficially, this handout is too attractive for words. It’s certainly pretty enough to tempt me into sewing with silk.

Armed with my silk cheat sheet, I think I’m ready to try a few of Sarai’s tricks.  Who’s with me?

Shorten stitch length to prevent puckering. 2.5mm stitch on the left, 1.5mm on the right.

1. Shorten stitch length to prevent puckering It never quite occurred to me that stitch length—not tension, or needle size, or the position of the moon relative to Saturn—affects puckering. Armed with a fresh 60/8 microtex needle and Gütermann sew-all thread, I went at this piece of silk. It’s only slightly visible here, but the line of stitching on left was sewn with a 2.5mm stitch length and it. is. rippling. Like magic, a shortened stitch length gives a smooth look.

On the left, a wee zigzag stitch, and on the right, the turned out French seam.

2. A tiny zigzag stitch prevents pull on a French seam. Have you noticed that sometimes French seams can cause your seams to shrink a bit, lengthwise, so that your hem is uneven?  I used a .5mm-width zigzag stitch and voilà! Even hemline. Confession: this is cotton batiste from our store, but the tip works well, nonetheless.

Using a bit of muslin to stabilize unwieldy fabrics, like silk chiffon.

3. Placing an old sheet under unstable fabrics makes cutting a dream.  It does! It does! I constantly hear tips about sandwiching your fabric between tissue paper, but doesn’t that go against one of sewing’s cardinal rules?  Thou shalt not cut paper with your fancypants shears. Cover your cutting table first with an old sheet or other large piece of fabric, then place your slippery silk fabric atop of it. The sheet adds traction so your fabric doesn’t fly about and slip off your cutting surface. Care for an unsolicited tip from a brand-new silk cutter? Serrated shears make the job much easier, too.

How about you?  Do you have any tips or tricks for sewing with silk, or are you (like me) afraid to take a pair shears to it? Meg at Mood has some marvelous tips for sewing silk, and we’ve also shared the paper stabilizer trick.