Rookie

The inspiration behind today’s tutorial is this photo by Micachu. When I first saw it making the rounds on all my favorite tumblogs, I immediately wanted to try to DIY it.

I’ve been a fan of tacky, embellished clothing for as long as I can remember, and this project combines two of my favorite things: bright-colored hosiery and plastic gems. Even though the idea behind this DIY is pretty straightforward, I think having a guideline for even the simplest of craft projects is always helpful.

You’ll need:

• Brightly colored tights or socks. I think this would look really cool on sheer stockings, too! (Try We Love Colors for brightly colored tights. If you don’t want to spend extra money on a pair of tights you’re just gonna glue stuff to, you can always opt for their *totally* affordable [and equally awesome] nylon socks.)
• A pack or two (or three) of acrylic jewels (you can find these at Jo-Ann, Michaels, Walmart, or any store with a crafts section). You could also try adding some regular sequins to the mix to change things up a little.
• Extra-strength glue. I would suggest using E-6000 glue (it’s the best!). (You can buy it at Jo-Ann.)

Step One: The first thing you wanna do is lay your tights out flat with the toe seams facing up (this way you’ll have a better idea of where the front of the legs are).

Step Two: Start placing jewels all around the tights. Keep in mind that you’re not going to be gluing anything down just yet. At this stage you’re just testing out different designs and trying to figure out how you want the jewels arranged on the tights. You can scatter them about randomly or in clusters, or you can try making different patterns using the existing shapes. Use your imagination!

Here are a few design ideas to get you ~*inspired*~.

A daisy made out of half-moon and round gem shapes.

Pink petals made from teardrop-shaped gems.

More flowery designs!

Other stuff you can do: four-leaf clovers using triangular or heart-shaped gems! An all-over checkerboard pattern using square gems! If you’ve got enough round gems on hand you could try a polka-dot pattern!

Step Three: Once you’ve figured out where you want all of your gems to go, affix each one to the tights with a tiny bit of glue, following the patterns you mapped out previously.

Step Four: Flip the tights over and repeat all of the previous steps on the other side and up the sides of the legs.

After you glue on all your gems, let the tights dry for at least a day before you attempt to wear them, otherwise you’ll risk leaving a trail of plastic gems everywhere you go!

And that’s all there is to it! (I told you these were gonna be super easy to make.) As always, if you think of any neat ways to embellish tights, or try this tutorial out for yourself, please let us know (submissions@rookiemag.com)! We love seeing all your Rookie-inspired DIYs! ♦