DIY: Studded Dress

As a child, I was crafty in the extreme (there was nothing I couldn't do with an empty loo roll) but spending a year being chased along school corriders and threatened by my GCSE textiles teacher effectively curbed my appetite for DIY. However this post on Hattie's Hideaway rekindled my urges, and in recent months, my obsession with spiked shoulders has grown to a level at which I just couldn't hold out any longer. In the absence of the perfect ready-made studded garment at what I deemed an acceptable price, I finally invested in these studs from eBay (a bargainous £2.85 plus £1.00 postage for 50 studs - I'm pretty sure they'll all be gone within a couple of weeks, so think I'll nab 100 for £3.95 next time!), and got customising...

 

Dress: Primark, Belt: New Look, Leggings: H&M, Boots: Peacocks (All Past Seasons)



Tips and Tricks

• I chose claw rather than screw-type studs for maximum ease (when working with woven fabrics, you can just poke their little legs through and then tuck them under, without making holes first - with something like leather, I assume screw-backs would be best).
• Shoulder pads help to maximise visual impact, keep your spikes pointing in the right direction and cushion your skin against the fastenings - I was really lucky that this dress (which you can see in its original incarnation in this post) already had shoulder pads sewn in along just one edge, so it was easy to flip them up to secure the studs, but I'd definitely consider adding my own in future.

How To

• Decide where you want to position your studs - I wanted a cluster on each shoulder for a bit more impact, but used a baseline of 6 along each top-seam as a starting point. If you want to be a perfectionist about it, get your tape measure out and try marking where you want the studs to go with a highlighter or something (inside) - I was far too impatient for this, but my more haphazard method did result in quite a few errors and re-dos before I was happy!
• Carefully poke the stud's "legs" through the fabric, flip garment inside out and press legs down and in to secure (I used a knife handle).
• That's it! Turn your masterpiece inside out and pop it into a pillowcase or "bra bag" on a handwash cycle when it's dirty, but other than that, just try not to poke anyone's eye out!

I'm really pleased with the results, and think this could very easily turn into a bit of an addiction - I already have a mental list a mile long of other things in my wardrobe to attack! And I've got lace, pearls and enamel flowers lined up ready for a day when my newfound inner craftress might be feeling a bit less dominatrix and a bit more Disney princess - watch this space!

How do you feel about DIY? What projects are on your to do list?

Follow Me: