When I was 8 years-old, I was obsessed with That’s So Raven. Other than the fact that she could see into the future, Raven was also a badass high school fashion designer (and Cheetah Girl!). She was the reason I asked my mom for a sewing machine as a present for my 9th birthday. (To affirm how wonderfully weird I was as a kid, I also aspired to become a House Flipper thanks to HGTV constantly playing in our household.)
Of course, 9-year old me quickly became frustrated trying to figure out how to use my sewing machine (there was no YouTube at the time… the horror!) and didn’t touch it again until my Freshmen year of high school, when I got back into sewing in a big way. I still remember digging through my mom’s box of old clothes from the ’90s trying to find something I could “reinvent” under those shoulder pads.
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Although I don’t do much hobby fashion designing nowadays, I still enjoy working on fun DIY projects. (Although during the school year, I mostly just like to veg out and watch DIY videos without any intention of ever pulling out the sewing machine.)
Summer is the perfect time to do DIY projects, so why not give some a shot? If you love fashion and DIY as much as I do, these are the three DIY Fashion Youtubers you need to subscribe to!
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Annika Victoria
Annika Victoria is a self-described fashion geek from Sydney, Australia. Like most of us, she’s working her way towards a bachelors degree. Unlike most of us, Annika is a creative seamstress amassing legions of fans on Youtube though inspiring others to follow their passions for fashion and creation.
If you’ve never used a sewing machine or are just getting started in DIY fashion, Annika’s videos are a great place to start! Most of her DIY projects are beginner friendly and she adds refreshers on the basics in every video. I love that she never assumes that her viewers know the gritty technical parts of sewing and adds helpful tips throughout the process.
What to Watch:
Of course, all of Annika’s videos show great dedication to her work and offer valuable content, but you have to start somewhere and I suggest that you first watch her series, Thrift, Make, Buy.
In this series, Annika asks her viewers to suggest a product to replicate. She tries to recreate the top suggested item — and sometimes she’s successful and sometimes she fails. She never edits out her mistakes, so her viewers can learn from them. In the end, she deems whether the item can be recreated or should be bought or thrifted.
Annika’s Projects to Make This Summer
Coolirpa
April is a talented seamstress and creator on Youtube who works her magic on thrifted pieces. When I say “magic” I mean she has an incredible eye for seeing the potential in a frumpy item and turning it into something beautiful.
Although April does have some truly DIY videos, most of her videos are a quick overview of her creations with sewing tips along the way. April’s videos may not be step-by-step beginner friendly, but they are inspirational for those who want to start designing their own clothes!
What to Watch:
Again, April offers tons of great content, but her Thrifted Transformations series is so fun to follow. I LOVE watching her mind work through a design idea and seeing the outcome at the end.
Coolirpa Projects to Make This Summer
- Knotted Crop Top with Bell Sleeves from Upcycled T-Shirts
- One-Piece Swimsuit from an Upcycled Dress
- Ombre Ruffled Tank Top from an Upcycled Skirt
With Wendy
Wendy is based out of Toronto, Canada, and she rocks minimalist style. You will find her wearing a lot of solid whites, greys, and blacks in timeless silhouettes contrasting with Annika’s unique and funky styles.
With Wendy is a great channel to learn how to make basics that will fit seamlessly in any wardrobe.
What to Watch:
If you are completely new to sewing, you should watch Wendy’s The Sewing Basics series. Each video is very straightforward, teaching you the basics of sewing in quick and easily digestible segments!
Wendy’s Projects to Make This Summer
Bonus: These Youtubers Love Sustainable & Ethical Fashion
After watching these Youtubers for some time, I’ve noticed that they all have a common passion for creativity, DIY, and… sustainable & ethical fashion!
Wendy, for instance, recently shared a video How to Make a Shirt from Trash where she films the process of mass producing a shirt made of plastic! After collaborating on a shirt design with Thread International, Wendy travels to Haiti to oversee the process of transforming a design into physical form. During the video, we see Haitians collecting plastic bottles from landfills, the plastic bottles being cleaned and ground by factory machines, the cleaned plastic flakes from machines being turned into cotton-like fabrics, and the plastic fiber fabrics being sewn into shirts. These shirts are not only made of sustainable fabric, but the people who provided the labor behind each shirt were paid fairly, too.
Annika also addresses the issues with fast fashion and her trouble in finding sustainable and ethical fabrics for her DIY projects. This can be seen in her video DIY Side Split Jersey Skirt above. Although Annika and April focus primarily on upcycling old clothing or thrift store finds as a sustainable form of DIY, they both give examples of sustainable and ethical fabric companies you can purchase from online.
What do You Think?
Wendy, April, and Annika have always been my go-to sources for fun DIY fashion videos, but in the process of researching for this article, I noticed that there are other just as great DIY Fashion YouTubers from all over the world! Please let me know if you are interested in Part Two to this article. Also, let us know what projects you have in the works for this summer!