How to Create & Apply Fringe To Your Me-Made Clothes (With Workroom Social & McCall’s)

Hey everyone! Lil’ something different up in the blog today (aka no pictures of my mug – go ahead, breathe a sigh of relief! Especially after I forced y’all to stare at a bikini-clad me the other day hahaha). Instead of a finished object, let’s have some inspiration. Specifically, FRINGESPERATION.

You’ve probably seen these videos floating around on various blogs over the past month. Jennifer of Workroom Social has teamed up with McCall’s to provide some amazing and fun videos on customizing your me-made clothes (seriously, I have a short enough attention span that I can’t even be bothered to watch a 5 minute video but I loooove these!). These videos are intended to get you thinking outside the box er, pattern envelope, to inject some fun and flavor into an otherwise simple pattern. This is something I’ve noticed a lot of us have trouble looking past – dowdy art and/or photography on the pattern envelope can cause us to overlook what could be an awesome outfit. Jennifer has made these funny & informative videos to get those gears turning & creative juices flowing so you can start designing a wardrobe that reflects your personal style and not that of the artist who designed the envelope art.

I was asked if I’d like to debut the video for How To Create & Apply Fringe to Your Me-Made Clothes, and I’m SO excited to share this with y’all! The video features two McCall patterns and includes instructions for making your own fringe and how to apply it. The patterns you see here are M6359 (the white tank top with the pink & purple superhero fringe) and M6551 (the navy & white striped sack dress with a fringed bottom). I have seen these pieces in person when I was visiting Jennifer back in March for the Pants Making Intensive – hell, I saw all the pieces because I’m fancy like that – and that superhero fringe is just the best. I kind of wanted to steal it, but I’d also like to be invited back into Jen’s house soooo I did not :)

Now, I don’t think it was a coincidence that the fringe video ended up getting paired with me. Y’all know I’ve got some strong Southern roots, and I hope you know that those roots include a love for western gear & classic country music (if you mention ANYTHING that came out after 1980, I will smack you, just so we’re clear. Ha! No Brad Paisley or whatever the hell they’re trying to pass off as country these days). I’ve got some western shirts, I’ve got the cowboy boots, and I even have a Stetson (look, if you’re gonna whoop it up in the Honky Tonks on Lower Broadway, you might as well embrace the tourist culture and dress the part amirite) – but I’ve been lacking in the fringe department, which is kind of unacceptable! Who else to glean some serious fringe inspiration from other than Our Lady of The Fringe, Miss Patsy Cline:

Patsy’s such a BAMF, she can even rock the shoulder fringe and still look like a total BABE:

Of course, Etsy is a great resource for fringesperation as well. There’s the classic fringed Western shirt with subtle embroidery:

Want something a little more eye-catching? Try a contrast fringe & embroidery to really make it pop:

Or maybe add some horses (Devon, this shit has your name written ALL OVER IT):

Or up the luxe factor with a fringed suit jacket (!!!):

Even vintage patterns were all about the Western fringed flair! McCall 2137 is a pattern that I actually own – clearly I haven’t gotten around to making it (honestly, the endless possible color combinations stump me!), but it hangs framed in my sewing room so I can stare at these sassy ladies as much as possible:

Ok SO, that’s all good and fun for Western fringesperation, but how about all the people who DON’T want to look like a Nashville tourist (I feel you, I really do)? Lucky you, fringe is apparently super ~in fashion~ right now, so there are plenty of way to inject a little swishy swishy in your every day clothes without looking like you are about to hop on the stage at the Grand Ol’ Opry. Check out this super fun, swishy skirt from Giambattista Valli Spring 2015:

This delightful ’20s inspired mini from Free People:

Or how about some fringed swimwear?:

And speaking of modern fringe that does come out of Nashville, nobody does it better than my homegirl Amanda Valentine:

Of course, no outfit would be complete without a blatant display of pure patriotism:

And then, there’s always our resident beloved maker of crazy clothes in crazier colors & prints, Oonaballoona, whose love for the swishy // swishy should never ever be questioned.

What do you think? Does this fringesperation make you want a little bit of swish for your own wardrobe, or does it make you recoil back in horror? How cute is Jennifer in this video series? (I can personally vouch that she’s exactly that dazzling in real life, too!) Do you feel inspired to try out some of these techniques on your next project? Make sure you check out the whole series – all the videos are so awesome and inspiring!

Adding Luxe to Your Handmade Fashions with Leather at Workroom Social

Adding Bias Tape to Create Design Interest at Closet Case Files

Creative Ways to Use Sheer Fabrics at Madalynne

Custom Quilting for Fashion Sewing at True Bias

How to Sew Stripes to Create Striking Fashions at Sew DIY (debuting next week!)