DIY Design: Fast Fashion Accessories

by Amber Eden (Subscribe to Amber Eden's posts), Posted Nov 25th 2009 at 10:00AM

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"Sewing Green" is chock-full of awesome fast fashion accessory project ideas. Photo: Amazon.com

Fast fashion accessories are the snack foods of sewing projects -- when you have hankering to make something, but you don't have a lot of time, they're just the thing. And with the holidays coming up, they also make great gifts and stocking stuffers.

I'm not the sort of person who can dream up quick, cute and semi-crafty stuff at the drop of a hat, but there are plenty of folks who can and do. Check out these great fast fashion accessories:

Super-fun flower hair pin: I just love this adorable flower hairpin from JoyBucket. With a scrap of pretty fabric, some embroidery thread, and a bobby pin, you'll have a sweet little hairpin on your hands in less time than it takes to style your hair. Heck, as long as you've made one for yourself, why not make some for all your friends?
Covered-button bracelet and ring set: Grab your favorite fabric scrap and a covered button kit and you're well on your way to making a chic little bracelet and ring set. Created by Susan Beal, her West Cost Crafty blog offers many more fashion accessory projects where this one came from.
Kanzashi flower pin: Along those same flowery lines, try making a these pretty hair ornaments used in traditional Japanese hairstyles. Uber-feminine, this kanzashi (folded fabric) flower pin project is available on instructables.com.
Sewing Green: For a great DIY accessory book with an eco-conscience, check out Sewing Green: 23 Projects to Make with Repurposed & Organic Materials. The leafy felt scarf on the cover is just the beginning of the great items you can find by author Betz White.
Very retro reverse-applique tote bag: Spiff up a tote bag or anything your heart desires with this simple reverse-applique tutorial by Diane Gilleland, a.k.a. Sister Diane of the Church of Craft (no lie!). Hot tip: Her CraftyPod podcast/blog is off the hook and filled to the gills with fast fashion projects.
'60s and '70s-inspired embelllisments: While not strictly sewing-related, all of the projects by Cathy of California could definitely be used to adorn a garment or bag, particularly her vintage-style straw flowers how-to that appeared on MarthaStewart.com.
Super-chic wrist pin cushion: And for the stylish seamstress, the ultimate accessory is a pretty wrist pin cushion. Here's a quick tutorial on how to make one in an evening. There are so many fab pincushions out there. Check out the Pinkeeps blog to see more.

Next week: Learn, baby, learn. Get the best of the best online sewing instruction resources.

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