Sorting Out: Fabric
More work on the sewing room today, this time sorting out all my fabric. By rolling up the fabric and securing with burlap twine I was able to fit twice as much into the drawers. It’s also easier to see what’s in there and get a quick indication of how much of there is. I think it looks pretty too! If you wanted to be even more organised you could measure each roll and add a label for easy reference. Maybe one day I’ll get round to that…
Circle Skater Skirt Tutorial
I found the tutorial for this circle skirt in issue 19 of Cloth magazine written by Geneva from A Pair and A Spare (she has an awesome blog). The fabric used is Berta Ruta from Ikea in small, grey check. It’s currently £7/m and is great for dressmaking or home furnishings. I’ve just made some cushion covers with it and am in the process of finishing some living room curtains. 1. Measure your waist in inches and then divide by 6.28. Then measure the length you’d like the skirt to be. Add both together plus an additional 2 inches for the seam allowances. For example: My waist is 27 inches,…
Just Add Fringing! Glastonbury Shorts.
My favourite makes are the ones that I do whilst killing some time – long car or train journeys are perfect. There’s nothing else nagging at my conscience, there’s no option of doing the vacuuming or putting some washing in instead – it actually makes me feel like I’ve made use of my time to the best of my ability. The trip to Glastonbury takes four hours from Manchester and as I’ve been busy decorating my living room for the past couple of weeks I haven’t had time to make anything specific for it which I’m pretty disappointed about, so putting the trip to good use to customise my shorts…
Cute as a Hand Sewn Buttonhole
This week I’ve been busy sewing my audition pieces! One of the options to showcase is a hand-stitched buttonhole. I’d never done one of these before (thanks to the one step button hole setting on my sewing machine!) but thought I’d give it a go. 1: Mark out where the buttons are going to be placed on your garment measuring even spacing. 2: To get the right sized hole you need to measure the button height and depth and add them together e.g. My buttons had a 1cm diameter and were 3mm thick so the holes needed to be 13mm. 3: Mark out the length of the button hole with…
Spotted! Making Trousers.
Thanks to the lovely people at Abakhan this week I’ve been working on their “creative budget’ blogger challenge. The idea of this is to demonstrate that you don’t have to spend a fortune to have cool stuff! I’m into tailored trousers at the moment in a big way. They’re smart enough to wear to work but with bold printed fabric have more character than your boring boardroom pinstripe. Here I’ve teamed them with a Topshop cropped tee (I love a good literary quote) and a pair of silver ASOS slingbacks but they could just as easily worn with the hem rolled up with a pair of Air Max and a…
Why Buy What You Can Make?
This week I’ve been dedicating my evenings to a new sewing project – it’s been a while since I’ve spent any time with my sewing machine but it’s been a happy reunion. I’ve made a resolution that I’m not going to buy any clothes that I couldn’t make myself (inspired by the Great British Sewing Bee) so this is project number one. I had an idea for a biker jacket using luxe cream fabric for the body with leather sleeves so cast my feelers out on the internet for a suitable pattern. (Grandma’s vintage pattern stash doesn’t cater for rock chick chic!) Never one to make it easy for myself,…
Cat Handbag Tutorial (Reblog)
truebluemeandyou: truebluemeandyou: Reposting because photos disappeared from my blog post. What’s most popular on my blog right now? The DIY Knockoff Milk Cat Bag Tutorial. For more unique knockoffs go here:truebluemeandyou.tumblr.com/tagged/knockoff DIY Knockoff MILK Cat Bag Tutorial and Template from Make My Lemonade here. This bag has been all over Tumblr and fashion sites. Top Photo: $237 (sold out) MILK Cat Bag here. Bottom Photo: DIY by Make My Lemonade. I translated the site from French to English using Chrome and it is running quite slowly. To see the bag in an outfit/GIF post go here. I’ve been looking everywhere for a new handbag, I’m in love!
Dip Hem Skirt (Reblog)
scissorsandthread: Sheer Gathered High-Low Skirt | Prudent Baby I know it doesn’t look it, but this is a very easy sewing project to do! The combo of sheer fabric and elasticised waist also means it’s going to be comfy and cool to wear in Summer. Oh yes, plus I love the way this is styled with the gingham shirt, so cute! Love this – probably won’t bother with the dip hem as I think perhaps that trend has had its day but sheer skirts are so feminine and summery. It looks so good with the gingham shirt too. This is definitely one for my ‘Things to Make’ list.
First Make of 2013!
I wanted to give my lovely friend Kate a 30th birthday present that was special and knowing she loves flowers I made her this rose. It’s made from 13 petals and 2 leaves cut from felt sheets (Dunelm Mill) folded and sewn around a 20-30cm long piece of heavy duty garden wire (B&Q). This was a relatively quick and simple make but an effective one. I hand embroidered the leaves with Kate’s initials and the number 30 to make it extra special and wrapped it in cellophane tied with a ribbon for a professional touch. Multiple roses could be made and presented the same way as a bouquet – a…