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Back-to-school Fashions at a Fraction of the Cost | Fashion Savvy – Fashion, Beauty, & Style

Aug 09 2007

Back-to-school Fashions at a Fraction of the Cost

Published by fashion at 2:05 pm under Back to School Fashion, Back to School Fashion 2007, Clothing

Fall means back-to-school shopping! When kids start paying attention to what’s in style, a parent’s budget can really take a hit. Instead of shopping at the mall, try finding basic items at a thrift or discount store to transform into designer look-alike clothes.

The experts at Pfaff Sewing Machines suggest embellishments and embroidery to create the hip styles kids want. Here are few ideas for transforming plain jeans into hip denim fashions:

Fashion Jeans
Quickly create a designer look by embellishing the pant leg or pocket of a pair of jeans. Embroider flowers, cats, swirls and curls and add crystals, rivets, beads or sequins for the perfect finishing touch. Hot-fix applicators heat up an adhesive backing to permanently adhere a variety of crystals, nail heads, pearls and more to every designer garment!

Denim Capris
The Capri pant goes from fall to spring and back. Measure a pair of jeans to the desired shortened length and cut off the bottom. Sew a floral print fabric or decorative trim to the bottom the pant leg for a decorative look. Or, try using an accent fabric and create a wide cuff. The Pfaff creative 2170 has superior piercing power and can easily sew through nine layers of denim — you will easily be able to create the unique designer look you are looking for. Pick a favorite embroidery design to add to one cuff and a back pocket.

Jean Skirt
Turn an old pair of jeans into a skirt! Open the seams on each leg, cut off to the desired length and sew in a decorative fabric or another piece of denim to create the front of the skirt. Then, use one of the gorgeous 9mm decorative stitches built in to the Pfaff creative 2170 to create sturdy, fashionable seams. Add embroidered butterflies, hearts or flowers in your favorite colors and finish with crystal or bead embellishments with your hot-fix tool. It’s a great look that works in the warmer temperatures of fall or to wear with a pair of matching tights for winter.

Denim Skirt and Blouse Set
Using a pair of jeans, split the seams of each pant leg and cuff off at mid thigh. Choose a favorite small-patterned, floral fabric to sew to the bottom of the denim, gathering the accent fabric while sewing to give the skirt a little flare. Make a matching blouse using the IDT found only on a Pfaff. The IDT ensures perfect straight seams by feeding the top and bottom layers of fabric at the same rate of speed, even slippery fabrics, so that you have flat, precise seams every time with out having to use a lot of pins. Creating a blouse will be a snap! If you sew for your kids, use their favorite patterns and colors and they can mix and match several outfits.

Hoody Jacket
Jeans aren’t the only thing you can dress up. Create a cute, comfy jacket out of a hooded sweatshirt. You can line the hood with a plaid or floral fabric (flannel for extra warmth) and add matching cuffs. Cut up the front to put in a zipper, and use embroidery designs or 9mm decorative stitches to stylize the seams. Another great idea is to cut off the hood to create a funky, matching purse.

Some designer jeans cost as much as $200 and more. For the price of a couple of pairs of jeans, you can buy a sewing machine and make lots of your own personalized, high-fashion jeans with out the high price tag!

If you’re a beginning sewer but would like to try creating your own individual, fashionable clothes — not to worry! The latest in sewing technology makes sewing and embroidery easier than ever before.

For more information about IDT and other exclusive Pfaff sewing technology, log on to www.pfaff.com.

Courtesy of ARAcontent

SIDEBAR

How to Shorten Jeans while Keeping the Original Look

Has this happened to you? Your new jeans look great … but they are a little too long. You could just cut them off and re-hem them, but the typical jeans’ look would be lost. There’s a better way to do it! We’ll show you how to save the original look.

1. Mark half the amount by which the jeans are to be shortened (= 2 cm/ 3/4” in our example) on the wrong side of the fabric of each pant leg, above the hem. Fold the pant leg along this marked line, with the right side of the fabric facing in, press, pin and baste. Make sure that each side seam is folded exactly back onto itself.

2. Attach your sewing machine’s zipper foot to the right of the presser foot bar and set the needle for the left position.

Tip: Use a jeans needle for denim. It’s made especially for sewing jeans.

3. Pull the pant leg over your machine’s free arm. Stitch right next to the inner fold edge of the existing hem. Tie-off the beginning and end of the seam with backstitching.

Now press the fold up, inside the pant leg. Tack the fold to the side seams by hand, if desired. Since the seam lies directly above the stitching line of the hem, it is virtually invisible from the outer side of the pant leg.

Tip: If your jeans need to be shortened considerably, you should trim the fabric to 1.5 cm – 2 cm (5/8” – 3/4”) from your stitching and then finish the cut edges. When finishing the cut edges, always lay the seam allowances of the side seams in the direction of the stitching. When you finish the edge, you can use either your sewing machine’s three-step zigzag stitch or an overedge serger seam.

To shorten flared pant legs, we recommend opening the side seam first. Shorten the pant leg as described above. When you re-stitch the side seam, you can even out differences in the width of the pant leg.