Get in touch

Vivat Veritas

Custom Wedding Dress & Kimono Upcycled Clothes | オーダーメイドウェディングドレス&着物ドレス

/ Archives for blogs / DIY

DIY

Tutorial | How to Make a Nursing Cape

By

how to make a nursing cape by vivat veritasDIY Nursing Cape

Since turning 30, it feels as though everyone around me is having a baby. Whenever the time allows, I try to come up with some handmade gifts. This cape was particularly special to me since it was a request from my friend whom I made my first wedding dress for back in 2011. She told me that she wanted a cape that has a wire in the top hem to adjust the movement and have a peek at her baby while nursing. Also, she told me that the capes that are currently on the market are all similar, mostly made in liberty print cotton. She wanted something different for nursing her baby boy.

I went to a craft shop called Yuzawaya and online chatted with her to choose the fabric. She picked this cute car print, which is perfect for a boy! The production of the cape is pretty straight forward. Let me know if you have any questions and if you like this cape, please share the picture and tag me on instagram (@vivatveritas).

tutorial on nursing cape by vivat veritas1 tutorial on nursing cape by vivat veritas2 tutorial on nursing cape by vivat veritas3 tutorial on nursing cape by vivat veritas4Fabric: Non-sheer cotton or poly mix cotton without stretch. I used a cotton twill with medium weight that I bought from Yuzawaya(ユザワヤ).
Material: 1 meter of fabric, 90cm of wire, tread, 1 button (I used 2cm diameter), and a strap buckle.
nursing cape diagrams copy

1. Cut the fabric according to the diagram.
2. Fold the top of the fabric by 2cm and press. Fold again by 3cm and press. Sew the folded hem.
3. Cut the wire for 90cm and bend the both ends so that the wire won’t poke through the fabric when you insert it in the top hem. Insert the wire in the top hem sewn in step 2.
4. hem the side seams. Fold by 1cm and press and do the same again (total side seam allowances are 2cm each side). Sew the side seams being careful not to sew the wires since that will break the needle!
5. Hem the bottom in the same way you did for the top hem (see step 2).

Making straps

6. Fold the straps in half with fabric’s right sides facing.
7. Sew with 1 cm seam allowances leaving a small opening (3-4cm) so you can turn the straps inside out.
8. Using bodkin, turn the straps inside out and press. Top stitch all around the straps, closing the opening you left unsewn in the step7.
9. Attach the neck strap in the place marked in the diagram. Attach a button in the other side. Sew a button hole on neck strap.

Attach back straps

10. Attach the back straps in the marked place. Attach a buckle on the other end of the strap.

tutorial on nursing cape by vivat veritas5

I made a matching draw string pouch to store the cape.
Here is a tutorial on how to make reusable nursing pads. More ideas for baby shower gifts here, here and here.

Sign me up!

Want more post like this? 

Get it in your inbox, once a month. Check out my previous newsletters to see if you would like one.

友達へのプレゼントに、授乳ケープを作りました。
トップに針金入りで、赤ちゃんの顔を見ながら授乳できるタイプです。
こういうタイプの授乳ケープはリバティプリントが多いので、友達からのリクエストで車柄の布で手作り。

Before & After | Cardigan to Cropped Sweater

By

Cardigan to Gray Cropped Sweater Vivatveritas

I love the cropped top trend and I hope it will continue for a few more seasons. I wore this pink floral one in the Summer and got a good amount of wear out of it; however, I didn’t really get the rationale behind the cropped sweater since you wear sweater in the winter to keep yourself warm but if your belly is exposed, it defeats the purpose. I know that in my head, but when something is trendy, I just can’t seem to let it pass (evidence here for the neon trend).

I’m in a bit of a upcycling phase where I’m taking old clothes and give it new life as you can see it from my last post. I bought this gray sweater cardigan a few years ago from 390 mart. It’s one of my favorite shops in Tokyo! It is a mixture of vintage clothing and kitsy random zakka items like scented candles, make-up pouches and key chains. As far as I know, there are only two, in Machida city and Harajuku.

This DIY was super simple. I took off the buttons (and saved them for a future project) and sewed the front part together. The cardigan has a hood, but I sewed up as much as I can, leaving enough space for my head to go through. It resulted in kind of like a turtle neck, and it keeps my neck warm.

The cardigan was short enough so I did not do anything to make it look “cropped”.
Before and After of Gray Cropped Sweater Vivatveritas

Tokyo winter is not as cold as Philly, where I used to live but it still gets pretty cold in winter. I go everywhere by bike, so I usually have to dress appropriately to bike outside. I wore this over a maxi dress I made so head to toe was covered.

Cardigan to Gray Cropped Sweater Vivatveritas.com1

Cardigan to Gray Cropped Sweater Vivatveritas.com4Cardigan to Gray Cropped Sweater Vivatveritas.com2

また洋服をリメークしました♥
３９０マートで数年前に買ったカーディガンのボタンを外し、前を縫い合わせてクロップセーターに。

chie sig2{find me elsewhere: shop, facebook, etsy, twitter, pinterest, instagram}

Before & After | Cocktail Dress to Pleated Skirt

By

Before and After of Dress to Pleated Skirt DIY Vivat Veritas2After reading about Wardrobe Rehab over at a pair & a spare, I try to review my closet every few months to get rid of clothes that I don’t wear by donating them to thrift shops. Although I made this a regular practice, there are some items that I neglected to part with even though I don’t wear them at all. This cocktail dress is one of those items. I do have an emotional attachment to this dress as this was the dress I wore to my engagement party nine years ago. After that, I wore this once for a work party, but not since. Since I bought the dress nine years ago, now being 30, I feel like this dress is too young for me.Before and After of Dress to Pleated Skirt DIY Vivat VeritasInstead of getting rid of the dress all together, I upcycled it by making it into a knee length skirt.

Here is how:

You need:
1. babydoll style dress with pleated skirt (stretch material)
2. 2″ wide elastic band cut in your waist length + 1″ for seam allowance

Cocktail dress to pleated skirt DIY1It was a baby doll style dress, so first I cut off the top part. Sorry for all the white fuzz in the pictures! Right before this DIY, I was working on a white fur… I made a tissue case cover.

Cocktail dress to pleated skirt DIY2

Sew the elastic band and attach it to the skirt you just cut. Since the skirt waist was bigger than my elastic, I stretched the elastic as I sewed it onto the skirt. Cocktail dress to pleated skirt DIY3

Cut two satin ribbons so you can attach it to the inside of skirt waist. This is so that you can hang the skirt on a hanger to store.
Cocktail dress to pleated skirt DIY4

All done! Brad new pleated skirt that works in winter with tights and spring! Cocktail dress to pleated skirt DIY5DIY-dress-to-pleated-skirt-

３か月に１回はクローゼットを整理して、もう着ないものは人にあげたり、リサイクルショップに持っていったりするようにしているのですが、それでも、着ていないのになかなか離れられない服が出てきます。

私はこのドレスを９年前に買って、自分の婚約パーティーで着たので、もうこんな露出度高いのは着ないと思いつつ、なんだか捨てられないでいました。

そんな時はリメーク！
黒いゴムを、切ったドレスのウエストに縫い付けるだけでプリーツスカートの出来上がり。
ウエストゴムだから、ちょっと食べすぎちゃっても大丈夫。
クローゼットに収納しやすいよう、内側に引っ掛け紐もつけました。

chie sig2{find me elsewhere: shop, facebook, etsy, twitter, pinterest, instagram}