With New York City and much of the Eastern Seaboard feeling like a frozen hellscape fresh out of The Day After Tomorrow, we’re planning to spend much of the weekend hunkering down and getting hygge indoors. Thankfully, there are lots of fun things to do in the warmth of your apartment that don’t involve mindlessly refreshing Instagram or depleting your Netflix queue.
We chatted recently with Vivian Cheung, a New York–based crafter, graphic designer, and self-proclaimed “visual enthusiast.” She taught the Cut how to make three simple DIY projects that even the least-crafty among us can handle. “There’s a great sense of satisfaction when I’ve put a lot of time and effort into my work,” Cheung says. Read on for step-by-step instructions (with video!) for making a faux-fur scrunchie, a velvet pouch, and a pair of pearl-studded hoop earrings. (They also serve as great belated holiday gifts for those friends whose presents must have gotten “lost in the mail.”)
A Cozy Faux-Fur Scrunchie
What you’ll need:
Half a yard of faux-fur fabric
A quarter-yard of 3/8-inch elastic
Fabric scissors
Sewing needle
Thread
Safety pin
Tailor’s chalk or a marker
Straight pins
Steps:
1. Mark a rectangle on the back side of the fabric measuring about 3.5 inches by 13 inches. You want the elastic to be two or three times longer than the fabric and half an inch smaller than your wrist. The length of the rectangle will determine the “scrunchiness” of your fabric — the more fabric, the more ruffly.
2. Cut the rectangle out with scissors.
3. Fold the rectangle in half (along the long side) with fur facing inside, and pin along the raw edge.
4. Stitch across the pinned edge, leaving a half-inch opening at each end. Don’t worry, the stitches don’t need to be neat.
5. Take one end and pull it in through the tube to reverse the fabric.
6. Attach a safety pin to the end of the elastic and thread through the tube. Attach the elastic ends together with the pin, then stitch together. Cut off the remaining elastic.
Pearl Hoop Earrings That Look Way More Expensive Than They Are
What you’ll need:
2-inch hoop earrings
Approximately 50 6-mm pearl beads
Approximately 2 yards of 24-gauge jewelry wire
Wire cutters
Raffia
Crafting glue
Scissors
Pliers (optional)
Steps:
1. Wrap wire around the front end of the hoop earring three times. Ensure the wrap is tight, with the loops close together. You may use pliers to tighten the wire.
2. String a pearl through the wire, then wrap the wire tightly around the hoop three times. Repeat until the entire earring is wrapped with pearls.
3. Once you’ve reached the other end, wrap the wire again three times tightly. Use wire cutters to snip off any remaining wire.
4. Leaving approximately half an inch, wrap raffia between the pearls tightly.
5. Add a dab of glue to each end of the raffia and wrap tightly around the wired hoop.
6. Leave to dry overnight and snip off any remaining raffia. To create the second earring in the pair, repeat these steps.
7. Place handle on the top edge and glue corners down. Repeat on other side. You want to leave a little room so the fabric can slide around the handle. Again, you may want to use clips to hold in place.
A New Year’s Eve–Ready Velvet Pouch
What you’ll need:
Poster paper
Marker
Ruler
Half a yard of velvet fabric
A pair of bag handles
Fabric scissors
Fabric glue
Tailor’s chalk
Clips
Steps:
1. Make your pattern. Measure out a rectangle 15 inches wide by 14.5 inches tall. Then, measure 2.5 inches down from the top and mark a half-inch in from the sides. Note that this is only half of the bag.
2. Fold the fabric in half. Mark and cut the pattern on the back side of the velvet.
3. Fold the raw edge a half-inch in, and glue the length of the hem. Repeat to back side. Let glue dry for a few minutes.
4. Repeat step three again, so you’ve glued and folded 1 inch from both sides of the raw edges. Let glue dry for a few minutes.
5. Glue and fold a half-inch from the top raw edge. Use clips to hold the corner pieces down. Repeat to back side. Let glue dry for a few minutes.
6. Glue 1 inch from the raw edges on both sides of the bottom portion of your pattern on the velvet side. Let glue dry for a few minutes.
7. Stitch the open ends together from the back side, then flip inside out. Finish with a few stitches from the outside.
8. Gather the middle portion of the fabric between the glued-down edges. Make sure it’s gathered to your liking. In sections, glue down. Let it dry before repeating on the other side. You can always reinforce the fabric with a few stitches.
9. Let the glue dry overnight before using.
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