How To Stud Anything

Jk, jk. Amost anything. But really, please don’t spend tons of cash on something with studs on it — learn to do it yourself.

Lesson One: Types of Studs

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This ever so informative graphic is courtesy of our good friend Martha. Who knew she'd be a rebel? Originally here. There are more types than this, of course -- these will just get you started on your studding adventures. For a thorough selection, you gotta check out Studs and Spikes, or your local craft store.

Lesson Two: Studding in Three Steps

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1. Mark a pattern with a pencil, using a ruler to make sure they’re evenly spaced. If you don’t suffer from perfectionism, you could just eyeball it. Lucky you.

2. Push a stud through the fabric, making sure it’s straight. If you’re studding leather, pleather or another material that’s troublesome, you might want to get yourself a dart awl (this one’s only $3.28) or a seam ripper to help poke holes in your fabric. Try sticking your stud partially through first, so you have guides to help you poke in the right place (...haha). Another helpful tip: buy studs with 2 prongs instead of four, and you'll cut your work in half.

3. Use a thimble, pliers, a blunt knife, or a flat-head screwdriver to bend the prongs on the back of the studs down, so they’re secure.

Lesson Two, Part B: Studding With Glue

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Instead of spending your precious time poking things through fabric -- which admittedly would be problematic in the case of shoes, considering how thick they can be -- use some E-6000 to glue on your studs. You’ll want to find ones without prongs. See this tutorial for the least messy technique. Oh, and no hot glue. They’ll fall right off.

Lesson Three: Things You Should Stud

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Jeans, shorts, blouses, sweaters, buttons (check out this pretty tutorial), cheap clutches, hats, Keds, tote bags, jackets, bracelets, bras, your cat’s collar.

Lesson Four: Things You Should Not Stud

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Anything too thick to poke through (plastic? wood?). Your cat. Grumpy cat.

Congratulations! Now here are some pretty things you might make.

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You know the basics of studding the crap out of everything that could benefit from a bit of shine. Here are a few projects to get you started:

A turban that doesn't cost $500

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Gotta love DIY designer knock offs. Directions here. This one uses bigger cone spikes, which have screws instead of prongs.

Lady Gaga's bra

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A la Telephone. Just promise you'll wear it under a sheer shirt, or something. Directions here.

A minimalist clutch

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Maybe not for your period days (unless you like displaying your tampons — your choice), but great for when you need to show off your new phone cover and MAC lipstick. The tutorial is all visual, but relatively explanatory.

Hipstery Keds

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Give your '90s Keds an '80s update for the ultimate hipster sneaker. These use the first technique, as you'll see in the directions.

A pink ombre "sweater"

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We have a suspicion that this is technically a sweatshirt. But it's badass nonetheless, and you even get to dip-dye it yourself. Learn how to here.

Bondage jewelry

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Yeah, this one's a statement piece. Try making just one little bracelet if you're not quite willing to go this extreme. Directions here.

A geometric phone case

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Just make sure you draw that guiding line at the beginning, because otherwise those crooked studs will bug you so much you won't want to use your new case. You'll also want to find studs without prongs, so you can glue them easily. Full directions here.

A rockstar shirt

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This one just uses super glue, but if you got studs with prongs it would be less messy. Original directions here.

Leather accessories for your hair

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She uses an exacto knife to poke holes, but just be careful you don't make the slits too big. Originally here.

On the leathery note...

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Refinery29 does a nice "Valentino-Inspired" clutch (translation: knockoff). Directions here.

Quick and easy earrings

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Find some rose gold studs for something extra trendy. Wouldn't these make cute gifts? Directions here.

This Riveting Tee

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You'll definitely want to measure and mark with this one, unless you're going for a sporadic pattern -- learn how to here.

Custom moccasins

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You could make any shape you wanted here -- hearts! Triangles! (or be a square). Directions here.

A leather wrap bracelet

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This tutorial uses a leather punch, but the awl would work well, too. Or an exacto knife, if you're careful. Directions here.

And finally: a collar for this adorable doggie

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This one doesn't even use leather, and it would work just fine in cat sizes, too. Directions here.