Hiii Loves! Happy Sunday and thanks for stopping by!

This video is me showing you all the fabrics I got on a recent trip to New York. If you haven’t read my post “5 Tips to Have a Successful NY Fabric Shopping Trip” view it here!

I planned to put this video on my IGTV but I forgot about the fact it had to be a vertical video so I’m letting it live here and on Youtube for a while. Not saying I’m starting a Youtube channel or anything but it’s here for a bit! LOL For the best quality watch this video in HD (1080p) by changing the settings on Youtube!

This is my first time ever making a video! I’m soo goofy! LOL

Are you sewing for spring/summer yet?? Let me know in the comments and tell a friend to check out my blog!! Check my IG page to see what patterns I plan to use for my spring/summer sewing!

I hope you are having a restful Sunday and treating yourself to some self care today! XOXO

Hey Loves!!! As always thanks for stopping by! Hopefully you checked my IG stories to get a sneak peek of me making of this jacket, but in case you didn’t I will fill you in and walk you through the process right now!!

This fabric is from Mood. There was only about a yard and a half left so I just got all of that. I used an old jacket I already had as a guide to help me create this one. I love the fit of this jacket and it is cropped so I figured it would serve as a great guide. Pic of that jacket below.

Even though this fabric is a medium weight I wanted to interface this jacket to give it a cleaner look. This fabric is a med weight so I didnt want anything that would make it too stiff. I used Pellon 911F to interface the front, back, and collar. I used another interfacing, that was slightly lighter in weight on the sleeves and the facing. It was an interfacing I already had in my stash so I’m not sure the exact name or number of it. I knew I would be moving my arms alot, so I didn’t want them to be too stiff.

I fully lined and interfaced this jacket. Unfortunately my lining is not all cool and fun its plain black cotton. lol

I like this jacket. I feel like I will probably be more excited about it once the buttons get added!

I wanted to give you all the details on how to create this bag! Whether it’s for yourself, someone else as a gift, or your little one this bag is fun to make and perfect for everyday use. This is the tutorial I followed to make this bag. However, I made alot of adjustments because this pattern is really for a kids size messenger bag. I really just made it bigger and added lots of hardware, some of it is optional. So for this bag you will need everything listed/pictured below. I use heavy fusible interfacing for the body, a medium weight for the flap, and a lightweight interfacing for the straps and tabs on the side. You can also use fusible fleece if you want a softer bag without as much structure.

For this bag you will need:

• 1 yard of fabric for outside of bag, cotton or canvas
• 1 yard of fabric for inside lining,
• 1 yard of interfacing for outside of bag
• 1/2 yard of medium weight interfacing for the flap
• 1/2 yard of lightweight interfacing for the straps and tabs (optional)
• pins, scissors, chalk, pattern weights
• 2 swivel hooks
• 2 1 inch D- Rings or you can use the triangle rings
• a purse closure of your choice (flip, turn, or press, lock)
• a fashion slide adjuster (optional if you want adjustable strap)
• small closure for the inside of the bag

So to construct the bag you are going to follow the tutorial, ignoring her dimensions because again, they are for a kids bag. So follow her construction process and when it comes time to actually sew the lining to the bag, sandwiched in the middle will be your flap, 2 side tabs, and small closure in the middle. The last step is the most important part in the construction of this bag. You need to make sure everything is being caught then sew over it a couple times for security. Also don’t forget to add the shorter hand strap in the back! I like being able to carry the bag 2 ways.

ALOT of the time that goes into making this bag is in the prep work. So before you actually sew the bag I suggest you to prep everything. That means making the flap, sewing pockets on your lining, making the bag straps, and making all the tab pieces for the D-rings and inside closure. ISo now onto the dimensions. The body of my bag is about 15 inches x 27 inches. Thats 15 inches across and 27 inches down just so were clear. LOL So you will cut your bag and your lining out at that size.

Interface your outside bag piece and be sure not to interface your seam allowance, if you are using a stiff interfacing it will be too bulky to sew over. If you are using fusible interfacing you should be fine with interfacing your entire outside bag piece. If you are doing purse feet add them on after you interface the outside bag piece. You can do 2 or 4 purse feet on the bottom if you desire.

Then you will cut out the flap which is 13 inches x 9 inches. As she does in the tutorial cut a rectangle first then use something round to cut 2 corners off to have rounded edges. I normally just use my curve ruler, but you can use a bowl, a cup, anything round. Rounding the corners is also optional but I think it looks best.

To make the straps and tabs I use a 4 inch wide piece of fabric. Fold the ends in to meet each other, press, then fold them in again to have those ends meet and press. Sew down both sides. After the flap is cut out interface one side of it and sew the 2 flap pieces together. I use a medium weight fusible interfacing for my flaps and lightweight for the tabs.

Then, after you have done all of that, you are ready to sew the bag together. Now if you are using really stiff interfacing keep in mind this bag does have to be turned right side out, so you will have to use a bit of force with that part. Also another note I like to do a small strip of lightweight interfacing in my strap and on my bag tabs.

Again interfacing the tabs and straps is optional and I know you probably want to just skip it but I think you should do it. This bag is big enough to hold a 13 inch Macbook Air and I carry my laptop in it sometimes but the tabs on my first bag were not interfaced, so they kept doing this. lol

This was soooo annoying. These interfaced tabs aren’t going anywhere.. They sit perfectly in the D-ring and I know this bag can support alot of weight. The straps on my other bag weren’t a problem so just using a small strip of lightweight interfacing in the middle of those should be enough!

Pleasee let me know if you have any questions about this bag or if you create this bag for yourself. I know this was alot of info but if you read everything thoroughly before getting started you will be good! I’m here if you have any questions! Add a comment here, email me, or find me on social media @itsnichelleb! I’m still trying to play around with how to have this bag convert into a backpack so if you have any suggestions on that help a sistah out!

Thanks for stopping by! Have a great day beautiful! XOXO

Heyyy Boo,

Thanks for stopping by my blog! I love being creative and recycling/upcycling clothing or fabric. This shirt is a great way to spice up a basic button up shirt! This is a really easy, and fairly quick refashion. To make this shirt you would get a long sleeve button up shirt, preferably denim, cotton, or linen or average dress shirt weight, just not anything too light or flowy. These sleeves are kind of big so if you get a lightweight fabric is may look kind of weird with the weight of the bell sleeve on it.

Once you have your shirt, mark where you are going to cut it. I recommend 1/2-1 inch above the elbows. This gives you a slightly dramatic sleeve, you can definitely go lower if you want a smaller sleeve, or cut right above your sleeve cuffs if you want a smaller baby bell sleeve. lol

I used a kids circle skirt in a size Small/Medium, as the bell for my shirt. If your arm is bigger go up to a kids size large circle skirt. Note you may have to shorten the skirt a bit. Having a pattern is not necessary as there are lots of tutorials on how to cut out a circle skirt. You will be gathering the sleeve anyway so the fit does not have to be super precise. I like using the kids size skirt because I feel like it gives me just the right amount of fabric. You don’t want it to look like your arm is drowning in your sleeve… Or hey maybe you do.. LOL Test it out, cut the skirt out of muslin if you are unsure of the sizing.

Once you have the sizing right and the skirt cut out hem the bottom of the skirt, gather the top of the skirt, and sew it onto onto the shirt. Press and finish your seams and thats it! Go out and rock your new upcycled shirt!

Hey Lovesss! Happyy Fridayyyy! This is the last look for my week of teacher style. This is a simple D.I.Y dress. I’ve made this dress before in a yellow linen. These colors are soo my vibe and I felt like the Kente print would be a great way to kick off Black History Month! I wanted to make something that was appropriate for work out of this fabric. I didn’t want to do pants because I have a few pair of Ankara print pants already and I thought a dress would be cool because I can layer it. I like this dress because its very chill.. lol I know I can wear it in the summer, layer it in the fall, and its cute with flats or heels!

What do yall think?

Hey Lovess,

If you follow me on IG, I have been showing you a week of teacher looks. I dress pretty chill/minimal for work. I didn’t want to go out and buy a whole new wardrobe for this teaching job so I decided to dress up or tone down the pieces I already have. Stay tuned for Fridays look which I’m kind of excited to wear, it’s an outfit to kick off Black History Month!