Sophie Makes Things

Claim to fame... Black Mirror

2011-12-07T02:35:00.001-08:00

I haven't shared my exciting new job that I got myself over the summer yet... but I managed to get employed as a seamstress on a freelance basis for a lovely lady who has her own dressmaking & alterations company!

During the summer I had a few projects to work on, (more I will share later!) but this was the most recent one I took part in :) Over the course of about 3 days, a team of five ladies and myself worked long and hard with hundereds of metres of grey jersey to make 65 zip-up jackets. This was a huuge order for us, a small team in a cosy sewing room with only the use of 2 overlockers and 3 sewing machines... but we managed to finish with 6 minutes to spare, and to top it all off, the courier came to pick up the order 5 minutes early!

... piles of jackets, and that isn't even half of them!

But the most exciting bit was being told they were to feature on a channel 4 show at some point in the future.. and then see them on the trailer for next week's episode!

I'll be watching this Sunday just to witness them in action :)

So yes. That's my bit of excitement for this week, as I have a project deadline this friday which has been taking over my life. Will share soon!

'Marketing' my Freesize Collection

2011-11-07T15:44:00.000-08:00

As part of the project, I chose to theoretically market my 'Collection' once I had made it. This meant making a brand name for myself, and attaching my collection alongside it, and putting marketing skills into practice. I created a scrap book of a few ideas and brainstorms & set about promoting the collection :)

Deciding on branding & typography for the logo...

Photos from a local fashion show organised by a Leanne Webb, a fellow fashion student on my course. It was filmed, so I printed some screen captions and included them along with the flyer for the event:

A few scrapbook pages explaining my photo shoot concept...

Experimenting with promotional business cards/flyers...

Turning the photo shoot into a lookbook! (I got this printed properly in a photo book to make it look abit more professional...)

Giving myself the brand name of Sewphie (using my name and hinting at my enjoyment of crafty things & making clothes) and experimenting with logos, typography etc...

Trying out a few business cards for the brand...

...and finally creating a 'webpage' (only for visual purposes!) for the Freesize Collection, so if it were to become a business, customers would have a way of keeping up to date with products:

Thats all on my second year work now!

I have many a project to post about still & the exciting things I got up to over the summer :)

Second Year Project: Photo shoot!

2011-11-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

So here they are! The final photos showing the clothing from my little 'Freesize Collection' :)

To show the adjustable nature of the clothing & embracing the 'All Walks Beyond The Catwalk' concept and campaign, I decided to show my clothing on a variety of models- UK 6-8, 10-12 & 14-16.

Below is Jessica, as the 6-8 model:

...and Jo modeling as the size 10-12:

...and Aimee, modeling as the size 14-16 :)

I got each of them to try on each outfit, wear it their own way & adjust it to fit them the way they wanted!

and finally... the knitted trousers! They took me FOREVERR to knit (all done by hand mind) and also cost rather a lot due to certain wool being rather expensive!

The knitted trousers didn't necessarily turn out exactly the way I planned, but they were very warm and cosy and my models seemed to very much enjoy wearing them & said they were really comfy!

All photography Copyright belongs to Jon Ridley :)

What do you think?

Second year project #2: Final Designs

2011-11-02T12:32:00.000-07:00

Here's my final designs for my second year project :)

They're my presentation boards for my portfolio, so I've done the first as a concept board to just sum up the ideas and inspiration behind the clothes and the designs:

This design below consists of a 'Freesize' floaty top to be worn oversized and/or off the shoulder, tucked into the 'paper bag' waist hand knitted trousers, synched in at the waist with a belt. The top is made from fabric recycled from an old maxi skirt found in a charity shop (I always like reusing the fabric on old maxi skirts, cause you get a lot of fabric!), the wool is a chunky mottled brown, knitted with size 8 needles in a cable pattern running down the front and back centre of each leg. They are gathered in at the ankle and can be pushed up the leg if the wearer is shorter or pulled down if they are taller, with an elasticated cuff at the ankle. I also made the leather belt from scraps of dark brown leather, sewn together in a sort of patchwork :)

Having the belt and no set size on the waist of the trousers means that the waist can be adjusted to the wearer purely by loosening or tightening the belt, and gathering the waist to size.

I also included some scans of my knitting samples!

The second outfit is made up of 3 parts, the first being a gathered ballet-style skirt (made adjustable with a ribbon tie at the waist, allowing it to be made bigger or smaller depending on the wearer), an adjustable top with ribbon tie straps (with ribbon threaded through the front and back neckline to allow it to be loosened or tightened to accommodate any chest/bust size) and finally an overlay decorative top made from recycled vintage crochet doilies, fastened with ribbon ties at the side, again to allow it to fit the size of the wearer:

The last outfit is made up of a slouchy jersey t-shirt, also worn oversize and/or off the shoulder, and tucked into the trousers. The trousers/'cigarette pants' are meant to have a smart, tailored finish to balance out the slouchy fit of the top, and are made from a rusty orange colour wool.

The trousers have two long tabs that fold over each other at the front of the waist, with a series of 5 wooden buttons that run in a line underneath. This allows the wearer to wear the buttons on any setting they like to fit their waist size, either on the tightest/loosest setting or even in between.

This outfit also includes the slouchy loose knit cardigan made from recycled string (shown in the previous post!) with key-hole button holes and tiny little brass keys for the buttons!

Pictures of the photo shoot for this little collection will follow soon!

Second year project #2: Sketchbook

2011-10-31T10:00:00.000-07:00

So before I show you my final pieces from my second making project of my second year at uni, I thought I would post a few photos that I have taken of some pages of my sketchbook, to show the ideas, thoughts and inspiration behind it :)

I started out by looking at the 'Nostalgia Of Mud' Collection by Vivienne Westwood; 1983. I loved the colours used, and the baggy/oversized nature of the clothing. The collection itself was (I believe) inspired by a particular subculture from the 80's, where people would borrow clothes or get random things from charity shops (that wouldn't necessarily fit them) and wear them oversized, tied up with belts, tucked in or worn completely different from the original purpose of the clothes!

I also had huge inspiration from the campaign 'All Walks Beyond The Catwalk'- A campaign run by a group of people including Caryn Franklin (editor of ID magazine- she came and gave a lecture about the campaign at uni!) that encourages the diversity of models within the fashion industry, wishing to include a range of ages, sizes, heights, races and body types.

I really liked the idea of designing something other than the standard mannequin industry size 12 (although these mannequins are more of a UK 8) to include a wider range of women so that fashion could be inclusive instead of exclusive to a particular body type.

I then started experimenting with textures, textiles and re-using various things, including lace/crochet doileys...

...using cotton garden string to knit with...

...looking at how blankets could be used to make a garment...

...looking at an artist called Christien Meindertma who does beautiful things with oversize wool and giant knitting needles...

Then I tried my own version of giant knitting, using some sharpened cricket stumps (thanks to the workshop men at uni!) and made some 'giant wool' by knitting a a few metres on the knitting machine, and using it as the yarn. As tricky as it was to figure out, it actually turned out pretty well... but was waaay too time consuming to try and make a garment out of!

Then using some inspirational images, I tried to get a colour scheme going, with the use of antique/sepia tones, rust oranges, burgundys, browns and neutrals.

I found alot of these colours were present in old maps, so I experimented with some of them.

Going on from old maps & the reuse/recycle ethos of the Nostalgia of Mud collection, I started to look at junk, and in particular, junk shops. I found the random collections of items really interesting, and the colours and shapes that could be taken from the images.

Looking at more junk, this time particularly at lampshades & Mary Katrantzou

Then I looked at an artist called Joseph Cornell, who makes pieces of art from random items he finds lying around, and at junk shops/charity shops & makes interesting displays with them:

...made my own page of random 'junk' items

Going back to looking at shapes and designs of knitwear from the 80's

More knitting samples from cotton garden string...

And finally here are the rough designs that I came up with, including pictures of experimentation and the making process...

Loose knit baggy cardigan knitted completely from re-cycled cotton garden string:

(note: the button holes were keyholes and the buttons made from tiny rusty keys!)

Design of a baggy/off the shoulder top, with a necklace made from rusty keys which were found in a junk shop:

Design for a pair of hand knitted baggy trousers with a 'paper bag' waist, synched in with a belt. Also a few knitting/tension samples:

Experimenting with oversize jersey tops and the shape of the knitted trousers using jersey (as they were to be lined with jersey anyway!):

Tailored trousers/'cigarette pants' with an adjustable waistband that could be adjusted to fit the wearer:

Experimentation and design of a top and crochet doiley overlay that were both fully adjustable to fit the wearer- could be made bigger or smaller to fit:

So after all that research, I decided to design (see designs above) clothing that was fully adjustable and 'Freesize'- therefore taking the 'All Walks' campaign concept into consideration and making clothes that could be worn by a variety of sizes (UK 8-10, 12-14, 16-18). I also had set myself a specification that required the use of either organic/recycled fabrics and components. This was rather tricky to design for!

I'll be showing you the final designs and clothes in the next few posts....

Hope you've had a good weekend!

Second year making project #1

2011-10-29T06:53:00.000-07:00

Here's the photos of my final pieces that I made for my first making project in my second year of uni. I posted about my toiles for project a while ago now (oops!) here, but I thought you may like you see the final outcomes :)

So, the first one is the cable knit wool & jersey mix jumper. I used a mottled beige wool with brown flecks within it, which I think went well with the light brown jersey I used for the body and arms. I added some ribbed cuffs, neckline and hem:

.. it's rather warm, and I've worn it a few times after getting it back! :)

Secondly, the knitted wool flower corset dress:

I used the knitting machine to create strips of knit, and then turned these into knitted roses. I used a wool/ribbon colour palette of neutrals and browns & used a nude colour fabric for the base dress, to create the illusion the wearer was only wearing the flowers.

I must admit this was the one garment I was really not happy with (there is always at least one!) because the roses were rather heavy in a large quantity and made the dress hang strangely around the skirt & hem area!

Then on the back, I created a lace-up corset effect fastening with eyelets and ribbon. This made the dress tight fitting on the wearer so the roses would not make the dress hang strangely!

And next, the taupe bell/bishop sleeve blouse with 2 detachable peter pan collars:

The first collar was made from Aida fabric, and decorated with cross stitch, using the pattern from my grandma's carpet! (See this post for a picture) I used bias binding around the edge, and continued it on to create a bow fastening at the front. The collar attached to the blouse using 2 poppers either size of the zip fastening at the back of the neck.

Cross stitch close up:

The blouse fastens with an invisible zip at the centre back:

The second detachable collar was made from the vintage tapestry fabric. I used a lighter binding on the edges for this one for contrast, and also made it into a neck tie in the middle.

And finally... the tapestry shorts- made from the vintage tapestry curtains shown previously. These are probably my favourite of all the garments I made for this project, and I have also worn these a few times since! They come up quite high on the waist, but that just makes it nice and comfy :)

Close up of the little custom labels that I had made- I sew these into everything I make now! :)

Set of 4 'grandad' type leather buttons on the front for detail.

Rather late for posting all of this...but what do you think?

I do like making birthday presents #1

2011-08-05T14:30:00.000-07:00

Back in May, its was my sister's 16th birthday

& I decided I would make her a birthday present. Due to my recent phase of much knitting (as you'll see soon with some of my 2nd year uni work!) I decided I would make her a knitted Tardis iPod/Phone case after seeing a few photos of similar things on tumblr.

I just knitted two basic squares with size 4.5mm needles in a navy wool,

and then embroidered the squares for the windows and the 'Police Box' at the top.

I also incorporated a small fold over piece at the top for the Tardis 'light', which has a popper sewn onto it to fasten the case at the top. This then allowed a gap for headphones to escape whilst in use :)

I think she's happy with it :) haha!

Things that make me smile...

2011-08-01T14:30:00.000-07:00

I must say that you all seemed to like my DIY teacup pincushion, I even got a couple of you showing me your handy work when trying it for yourself!

Here's one from Swaen:

And one from Jo! (You'll be seeing some of her later...)

They're so beautiful :)

It made me so happy to see people trying it out!

If anyone else has had a go, I'd love to see.

It's been a while...

2011-07-31T14:52:00.000-07:00

Why hello!

I have to admit I was a little shocked at myself today, logging back on to see I had not posted since February? Many, many things have been made, sewn and achieved in that time, all of which I will be sharing soon. (I've given myself a bit of a backlog, oopsie)

Just thought I would do a little hello just to say I'm still here!

Hope everyone is having a lovely summer :)

D.I.Y - Teacup Pin Cushion!

2011-02-14T12:23:00.002-08:00

I've been meaning to pop this post up for a while now, it seems I haven't done a D.I.Y in aaages!

This one is quite simple, and can be a really cute addition to your sewing tool collection- whilst being very pretty and practical to use!

You will need:

~ 1 x pretty teacup and saucer (make sure its an old one!)

~ 1 x glue gun and glue sticks to go in it

~ 1 x (approx) 30cm x 30cm piece of scrap fabric

~ Scissors

~ A handful of cushion stuffing/wadding

Most of these are things that can be found quite easily. I bought my teacup from a local charity shop for 50p (I definitely recommend popping down to your local charity shop, you'll get a lovely one for half nothing!). I also got the fabric from my fabric stash, any kind is suitable, as long as it goes nicely with your teacup! I took the wadding out of a cushion I had made in GCSE textiles (shh!), but you could easily get some from any haberdashery shop. The glue gun was borrowed from my mum, but you could use any glue to fix the pieces together :)

Instructions:

1. Take your teacup and saucer, and turn the teacup upside down. Run a thin layer of glue around the rim of the base of the teacup, just where it would touch the saucer when they sit together.

2. Line up the bottom of the cup and the ring in the centre of the saucer:

...and press it down firmly in the correct place.

3. Wait a while for it to dry (this will vary depending on the type of glue you use!)- if you use a glue gun, it should fix pretty quickly :)

All fixed nicely :) The saucer will give you a handy place to store your thread, scissors, thimbles, buttons etc whilst you are sewing!

4. Take your wadding and make sure it is just the right amount to fit inside the teacup. Try it for size:

5. Now take your fabric, and place the wadding in the centre and wrap the fabric around it, pulling it in at the bottom:

6. Take a strip of the fabric you have been using (although you can just use string, or even an elastic band!) and tie the ball of wadding into the fabric. Give it a prod and a poke to make it a nice even blob shape to fit nicely into your teacup :)

7. Snip off the excess fabric with a pair of scissors. This doesn't have to be neat as it will be hidden!

8. Next, pop the cushion into the teacup and just take note approximately where the sides touch so you know where abouts to put the glue. Then remove the cushion, and put a generous amount of glue about mid way up in the teacup, all the way around.

9. Quickly, whilst the glue is still wet, take your cushion and press it into the teacup, making sure the sides touch the cushion. Hold it down for about 30 seconds or so (again depending on the glue you use!) until it is fixed in nicely!

10. Now you are ready to fill it with your pins, and pop all of your sewing essentials onto the saucer! Very handy to have next to you when you are sewing, and also a nice ornament to have decorating your workspace :)

Let me know if any of you lovelies try this, I'd love to see what you come up with!

Happy sewing :)

The brown slouchy jumper!

2011-02-10T14:51:00.000-08:00

Hello lovelies!

With this small amount of work-free time I have had recently (due to deadlines having passed, yay!) I have been able to get back into making a couple of bits and bobs to enjoy wearing :)

Here is the first one for you to have a look at. It's a slightly over sized slouchy jumper, made from some lovely brown ready-knitted fabric that I bought down at my local branch of Fabric Land.

I adapted a kimono sleeved-top patten that I had previously drafted in class at uni, and just extended the arms and hem, and widened the neckline.

I made it using my very beautiful, new overlocker sewing machine (I'll share pictures with you soon!) which allows me to neaten off all the edges of everything I now make, and also to be able to use stretch fabric such as knits and jersey in my creations!

I also made a little bow to sew onto the centre of the neckline to add a little bit of interest :)

I got the boy to take some pictures of me wearing it :) see below!

Below are the sleeves- I doubled up the cuffs and made them extra long so I could fold them up to give a chunkier look to the end of the sleeve :)

...and a little picture of my boots again.

They're abit messy now because I wear them so much!

I hope you enjoyed this post, I'd love to know what you think

Keep your eyes peeled- I have a exciting DIY on the way, just getting the pictures ready!

(If you want a cheeky hint, there may be a clue in my new layout...)

Oh no!

2011-02-07T03:57:00.002-08:00

I was not able to take pictures of my final 4 pieces before I handed them in :(

So unfortunately these pictures will have to wait (not too long I hope!) until I get them back.

But don't worry my lovelies, I have a special sewing related DIY coming this week, and a couple of things that I have managed to make with my little bit of free time now my deadline is out of the way :)

Keep a look out!

I hope you all had a wonderful weekend :)

In the post this morning...

2011-01-27T08:09:00.000-08:00

I got THESE!

I had them custom made :D

Very excited to put them in all the things I make!

Check out my D.I.Y in Cellardoor Magazine! :D

2011-01-24T07:55:00.000-08:00

Hello there my lovelies!

I am very excited to announce that my recent contribution to Cellardoor Magazine has been included in their recently released winter issue!

For those of you who haven't heard about Cellardoor Magazine, its a truly wonderful publication, and having it on-line makes it very accessible to anyone, anywhere :) If you like all things pretty, cute, dreamy and whimsical... then I suggest you pop over there now for a good browse- here! (I also recommend having a good look through their previous issues too!)

I did a little D.I.Y make for the magazine, and its on pages 8 & 9.

View it full screen for best reading :)

Let me know what you think, & if anyone has a go, I'd love to see your outcomes!

Finished prototypes: Toiles :)

2011-01-18T13:22:00.000-08:00

For this current project, we have to design and make 4 garments in keeping with the theme and concept derived from our personal research :)

I have chosen 4 of my designs to make, and here are my toile prototypes (all made from calico) that I have recently made!

Garment number 1 - Roses dress:

I made this from an adapted corset (without cups) patten, after elongating each panel to create the skirt and also adapting it to have a one shoulder strap.

I added an eyelet fastening at the back to allow a comfortable and close fit of the dress on the body. I am still yet to decide as to whether I will put corset boning in the final piece!

Here is a close up of the knitted rose on the dress! Hopefully, the final dress that I make will be covered in these knitted roses made out of all different colours and sizes.

Take a peek at the sketch below:

I made the knitted roses by knitting a long thin strip, just over a meter long, on the Brother knitting machines at uni. They are so easy to use and knit so quickly! (But are rather temperamental...) I then used a special folding technique that I learned a while ago at school, to make the strips into roses. I plan to use ribbon and lace too!

Garment number 2- Cable knit jersey jumper:

Now this one took me the longest to make out of all my toiles! I graded up a basic long sleeved stretch t-shirt pattern by 2 sizes to create a baggy look. I then hand-knitted 2 cuffs with ribbing (knit 2, purl 2) and also hand-knitted a ribbed collar and hem (however I never actually got round to sewing on the knitted hem..oops). I also hand-knitted a large cable panel to go in the centre front of the jumper, and put two little Aida cross stitch bows through the gaps in the cabling. (These will be embroidered in the real version!)

A close up of the bows and cabling - I had to hand stitch all the knitted bits onto the jersey, which took foreverrr!

Garment number 3- Peter pan collar puff sleeve blouse:

I have made the collar so that it is detachable, and with the final garment, I will make 2 versions of the collar. One in the tapestry fabric that you can see in the background, and one in the cross stitch fabric, embroidered with the pattern from my Grandma's carpet!

Garment number 4 - High waisted turn up shorts:

Apologies if you cannot see them very well, I had to model them myself as they don't fit my poor mannequin, as she is without legs :(

When I make the final version of these shorts, I will make them from the tapestry fabric hat you can see in the background, and also not have the lining showing on the pockets!

They fasten up with a concealed zip at the side :)

Let me know what you think! I will show you the finals in a few weeks once they are finally finished!

My sketches!

2011-01-16T16:39:00.000-08:00

Here is a board that I created to show all of my designs for my current project at university. I have chosen 4 of these designs to make and turn into garments!

Before I make them in the final fabrics, I will make prototype toiles in calico. I'll share these with you soon! :)

A few project samples: Cable knitting!

2011-01-15T12:56:00.000-08:00

Over Christmas, I spent a lot of time experimenting with knitting and such :)

Here are a few cabling samples that I made, with rather thick, chunky wool and size 12 needles. I'm rather happy with how they have turned out!

I plan to use the one pictures on the far left as a piece for one of my four final garments for my current project at uni.

Wait and see for some pictures of my prototype garments!

Anyone else like a spot of knitting? :)

Sketchbook snippets

2011-01-13T11:57:00.000-08:00

So, I thought before I showed you all what I'm making for my current project, I'd just give you a little preview of my research and show you a few of my sketchbook pages that I have been working on :)

I have used these little scrabble tiles on each folder I have used, for my patterns, designs, research, samples, swatches and toiles :)

I have collected a large number of images that have a old 'granny style' sepia tone to them. I love the antique-y look to them, and also the colour scheme of browns, neutrals and cream colours.

...and I also found this editorial in Pop magazine, where the stylist had used clothes and accessories from the current season and styled them in a way which had a really awesome 'granny chic / bag lady' look to it, using beehives, granny glasses, head scarves and a huge number of vintage and retro luggage :)

Then to focus more on my concept, I have been looking at hidden meanings and interpretations. I really like how certain items of objects can hold different sentiments to different people, provoke memories and have many stories behind it :) I am not sure if any of you have seen the french film 'Amelie'- but I have done a page here that relates directly to my concept. There are several references to it in the film, when she finds the little tin box behind one of her bathroom tiles (with the little boy's keepsakes inside it, which she later returns to him as an older man) and when she picks up the mysterious man's photo book, and tries to deduce the meaning behind it with her friend Bretodeau :)

I then looked at things that people could keep for sentimental reasons, like letters. These ones I found were particularly special as they had been decorated as 'Mail art'. Oh, and stamps. I like stamps :)

I then asked my mum if I could rifle through all my Grandma's boxes of keepsakes and photographs, and I found so many wonderful things! I found loads of really old photos of family and childhood holidays from the 1920s onwards. It was odd as I didn't know who most of the people in the photos were, but after my mum explained it all to me, it gave them a meaning, and made them all the more special.

I also found a collection of love letters that my Grandad had written to my Grandma when they were young and in love :) It was so lovely to find these!

I also found a little scrap book of these postcards (the ones in my sketchbook are printed scans, as the real postcards were about 70 years old and very, very fragile!) that my Grandma's father had written to her and her sister when we was away fighting as a soldier in the war. The illustrations are beautiful, and you certainly don't get postcards sent like this any more!

Now this page here shows a photograph that I took of what used to be my Grandma's carpet at her old house. I had always loved the print and the colours, even though it was quite loud and floral and was a nightmare to find lost pieces of playmobil on :)

I have started to replicate the pattern on a piece of Aida cross stitch fabric, which I plan to use as a detail on a couple of my final garments- as bows and a peter pan collar made from this fabric, and decorated with this pattern!

Just another load of images that I am yet to stick in :)

...aaand this is just a few things I have collected that have that I feel fit well with my theme :)

I have a few more posts in the pipeline to show you more on this project!

I hope you are all having a good start to the new year :)

The Cosy Collection

2011-01-04T15:05:00.001-08:00

As promised, here is a small snippet of my recent university work to show you. My last assignment was for Technical Processes, and we had to design (but not make) a range of 8 items (which could be anything- clothing, household items, etc) with a theme and concept.

I decided upon knitting prints, a range of items of clothing and typical 'housewife' items :)

These would not be knitted themselves, but have a screen printed image of a knitted pattern on them, to create a cosy feel with a twist. All the images were drawn by me on adobe illustrator, with scans of some knitting samples i had done myself.

Here are my final 8 design boards!

What do you think?

Resolutions...

2011-01-03T12:04:00.001-08:00

Hello there lovelies! Happy 2011 :)

I wont start by apologising for the lack of posts on here, (I'm a rubbish blogger!) as it seems to be a standard beginning to each and every one of my posts! This is not good at all. So I have made a new years resolution, to start posting LOTS more :)

I have lots of ideas to start sharing with you, DIYs, updates on my uni work and even some of the projects I was working on at the end of last year. So keep your eyes peeeeeeled!

I'm now back at my uni house, after a much enjoyed Christmas of being at home, eating too much, drinking too much (tea), and generally enjoying the luxuries of heating, dish washers and home cooking. I also had the joy of a large burden of having a large amount of uni work to do! (I'll be sharing this work with you soon!)

I hope you all have had a lovely festive Christmas holiday,

and also a wonderful New Year :)

♥

Olympia Le-Tan

2010-12-10T10:36:00.000-08:00

Hello my dears!

Oops, I seem to have not posted in quite a whilee! Uni work is crazy, but I will be sharing some things to do with my work very soon! I'm now home for christmas, so I do hope there will be some time for my blogging and making!

But for now, I'll leave you with these beauuuutiful book clutch bags from Olympia Le-Tan (although they are oh-so-slightly out of my price range...) to have a little look at. They are so wonderful. And they are embroidered!

I'll be back soon :)

A Cape For The Autumn

2010-10-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

Hello there my dears!

It has unfortunately been a very long time since I have posted :( But we all know that scary looming deadlines and busy new terms at university don't leave alot of time for other things! I have also been having a few little hiccups with my photo hosting website- they decided to change all my photos to a horrid 'upgrade to pro! bandwidth exceeded!' sign, for about a month.

But no worries! All is now back in working order and I can start posting properly again :)

So... Here is my latest creation.

(Well, when I say latest, I had made it in August in preparation for the autumn- it is my favourite season after all)

I found and bought the pattern for this cape 'Lindsay #6055' on the BurdaStyle website here last winter, with the intention of making it for last winter! But due to a severe lack of funds, I was unable to buy the necessary fabric. However, over the summer I was able to hunt around for the perfect fabric- an Old English tweed-like fabric that feels very soft and hangs nicely. I also purchased some beautiful lining fabric which I think you can see in some of the pictures? I may add a close up at a later date just to show the detail. The pattern was actually rather easy to follow, but I made some of my own changes here and there. The tricky part was the double jetted pocket, they are so fiddly!

In some of your comments, I have noticed some people would prefer to see my creations actually being worn rather than being displayed on a mannequin! As this is quite tricky to do on my own, I took the boy out yesterday to take a few photos of the cape. I'm home for the weekend from uni, so we went on a little stroll through the local woodland :)

The sunbeams were so pretty through the trees!

My little boots are from asos.com.

Also pictured is a floral dress I made myself from an old skirt found at a car boot, and my blouse is from a charity shop. My tapestry bag is handmade, and from ebay!

I hope you enjoyed the post!

p.s, I was very excited to be greeted with '100 followers' when I logged in this morning, YAY!

Maybe I'll do a giveaway after all :)

My new re-invention project...

2010-08-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

This is a dress I picked up in a charity shop on my Cornwall adventures.

Its rather large, but I fell in love with the pattern, the colour and the collar :)

Here's the dress in all it's large glory. Keep an eye out for the after pictures...

A dress for a wedding party :)

2010-08-29T18:00:00.000-07:00

Oop, I keep making things and not posting them!

I made this a while ago for my cousin's wedding party back in May.

A wanted a nice summery floral number that wasn't too fancy, and could be worn to many other occasions.

I used the Basic Dress Sloper Pattern that I used again whilst making this dress, adapting the neckline and armholes.

I improvised a little bit with the skirt, making this shape x 6:

Which is quite easy to draw yourself using a large ruler onto a piece of newspaper.

I then attached the 6 skirt panels together and onto the bodice part of the dress and made a waistband from cream satin.

I hand stitched up the arm holes and the hem, and put a zip into the back!

Here is the finished dress :)

A little close up of the fabric. Its an old-ish looking floral pattern, with a teal/turquoise background, bought from my local saturday market for about £2.75/m!

It suited the occasion quite well. I hope I have an opportunity to wear it again before the winter comes!

A little embroidered beach bag

2010-08-27T20:00:00.000-07:00

Before I went off on my camping holiday to Cornwall with my boyfriend & his family, I spent a few evenings doing a bit of embroidery :) I did the design freehand, which made it abit messy... (I like to call it 'adding character')

I then stitched this onto some heavy duty calico that I had left over from my university fabric stash,

and made a simple rectangular tote bag with 2 straps.

I stitched around the edge of the square of embroidery and around the edges of the handles with blanket stitch in blues and greens :)

It is a little creased in the pictures, because it was very well used on holiday! It was the perfect size for my swimsuit, suncream and sketchbook.

I'd love to make some more of these in different designs to sell!

Giveaway?

2010-08-25T08:00:00.000-07:00

I was shocked to come back from holiday and find that my blog has reached 90 followers?! That's nearly 100?! :D

I never thought that anyone would ever read it, and it has shocked me that I have as many readers as this!

Although I am very pleased. So pleased infact that I thought I would do a little giveaway of one of the dresses I have made.

They are both 60's mod-inspired, and are a UK size 8-10.

This one, or this one?

What do you think?

I'd only do the givaway if people actually wanted the dresses, so your opinions will be greatly appreciated!

A similar dress...

2010-08-16T09:48:00.000-07:00

Hello again :)

It has been a while since I did any posting on here, I've been enjoying myself rather too much on holiday in Cornwall...

I recently received an email from one of my blog's lovely readers, Paolina.

She has made her own lace collar, using the DIY I made in this post :)

It's really wonderful, check out her little post here! It really made me smile getting such lovely feedback from a reader, Thank you Paolina! :)

But back to the post...

I made this little dress a while ago now, but I seem to have taken a rather long time to post about it!

I bought a rather huge denim maxi dress from a car boot sale, reduced the hem a considerable amount and took it in by making darts front and back to give a more shapely fit.

I then added some lace around the neckline to create a peter pan collar (...I really must stop making things with peter pan collars, I have too many!!) and popped a little cameo brooch in the middle. I have worn it a couple of times with a brown zara cardigan, and my mum's old leather belt that she has had since she was 12!

Blue Gingham

2010-07-28T08:18:00.000-07:00

I have been spending so much time making fun summer memories and enjoying my holidays, that I have not had much time for any sewing!

Here is a dress that I have recently made from a small 1 meter piece of fabric that I aquired from a sweet old lady a car boot sale (for just 50p!) She had a huge box containing her personal fabric stash, and I found it very hard not to come away with the whole lot! :)

I used an adapted basic dress block pattern that was originally the 'Basic One-Piece Dress Sloper' from the Burda Style website, and shortened it, and changed the arm holes an the neckline.

I also added a little frilly lace peter pan collar, to make it look a bit like a 60's style shift dress.

Belt - Matalan

**eep, slight correction, it may have been about 1.5 meters! I cannot really remember, but it seems rather unrealistic that I made it from just 1 meter...oops!

I have a few more things to show you soon!

Finished prom dress pictures!!

2010-06-28T13:47:00.000-07:00

...aaaaand here it is! The finished prom dress :)

My sister went to her prom this evening, wearing the dress that I made her.

Below are some pictures that I took using my lovely boy's fancy camera :)

Below is a close up of the bodice-

And here is a close up of the corset lacing up the back of the dress-

...and a full length picture of the dress. I think it really suits her! :)

Finally, a picture of both my sister and her prom date. (I decided to make a skinny tie out of the fabric instead for him to wear so that they could be matching!)

I'm very pleased with how it turned out! & I think she is too :)

What do you think?

:) x

I like this

2010-06-27T08:40:00.000-07:00

p.s, the prom dress is so nearly finished!

Prom dress in the making...

2010-06-24T04:31:00.000-07:00

Hello!

I have been absent from the blog for quite a while now, but I have something to show you! I was going to wait until it was finished to share it on here, but I thought it may be interesting to show it in the process of making (as this is a rather long job!)

I have been summoned by my sister to make her a dress for her year 11 prom, and after getting half way through making her the first one, her friend had apparently gone and bought one in the same colour and style! So as you probably know, the worst prom nightmare is having the same dress as someone else- I started again with a different colour, style, and fabric :)

I have used a lovely red metallic-y fabric (which I am unaware of the fabric content, I bought it from a fabric market in Beijing, and the man whom I bought it from spoke no english!) and have mounted it on a corset base,which I had in my stash to originally be used as a pattern I could use- and was £1 from a Primark sale bin! I had to cut the corset to shape, and make it a little smaller on the back to fit her properly, and create more of a 'V' shape. I then added boning to the edge and covered it in the red fabric, and then added my own eyelets and black ribbon.

I have had my sister standing for hours on end, whilst I draped the fabric, pinning and unpinning, and getting the drapes and pleated perfectly symmetrical at the back and following the contours of her body shape.

Here it is, looking like something quite dangerous (the amount of pins in the dress at the moment is unreal...and it seems to be proving a slight stabby hazard)

but I have not actually started sewing it yet.

I plan to hand sew all the pleats in place, and hopefully have it ready by Sunday as her prom is on Monday. I hope my poor fingers will last the distance!

I am afraid to say that it looks abit of a mess at the moment... but I am sure you can imagine what I want it to look like when it's finished! The hem is also very wonky, but I will cut this and hem it properly when the top half is done. It will come to just above the knee.

I now plan to spend the next hundered billion hours hand sewing this, and I will show you final pictures when it is done!

I'm also making her prom date a little handkerchief out of the same material, so that he can match her perfectly from his suit pocket :)

Hopefully she'll let me put up a picture of them both together!

:) x

A few pictures from Paris!

2010-06-07T14:15:00.000-07:00

Taken on my Grandad's old Olympus OM1 manual SLR :)

Unfortunately my roll of film with the best pictures on (Eiffel Tower at night!) got stuck in my camera and became detached from the film casing... I tried taking it out in a completely darkened room, but it is seeming tricky to get somewhere that will develop it! If only I had my own dark room...

Buy anyhow, here's Paris!

My sister & I wandering a Parisian street

...and yes, I bought the cat print dress! :)

The Sacre Coeur... It was such a sunny day!

Got to love a bit of the Paris Metro :)

A very busy street with lots of French shops!

Notre Dame in the sun!

One of the many lovely street stalls selling vintage and antique magazines, newspapers and artwork.

A very colourful flower stall,

and some VERY fluffy chickens at the animal market just down the road. They're so pretty and funny looking :)

Will share the rest if and when I manage to get them developed!

I made a dress for a wedding party last weekend that I have yet to put up on here, I just need to take some pictures of it first! But for now, I will get back to making my sister's prom dress :)

The finished bag!

2010-05-27T13:59:00.000-07:00

Hello! Long time no blogging, but I have been enjoying my new found freedom after finally finishing university for the summer :)

To celebrate my parent's 25th wedding anniversary and my sister's 16th birthday, my family and I spent the weekend in Paris, the most beautiful city I have ever seen! I definitely didn't want to leave, and I need to go back to wandering the Parisian streets, munching on delicious macaroons, and enjoying the beautiful scenery.

I have many pictures, but I took them on my little Holga and my OM1 Olympus manual camera, and have yet to get the films developed! I'll share them soon if any come out successfully :)

But anyway, bag to my bag!

This is the finished product for my latest university Design and Realisation project, where we had to make a top, bag and accessory (pictures of bag and top will follow!)

I based my research and inspiration on Marie Antoinette & The Sex Pistols and had a running theme of 'pretty things and destruction'- where I would take something classically pretty and girly and destroy it to capture the essence of both.

Here is the clutch bag that I made, with cameo embroidery detailing (that I showed you in my previous post!). I made the metal frame in the workshop at uni, and spray painted it. I also lined it, and attached 3 ribbon roses which I had 'destroyed' using a blowtorch!

Below is an inside view- not the neatest job though!

Here's a close up of the snap clutch at the top:

I'll have the top and accessory to show you soon, along with Paris pictures!

I hope you're all enjoying the British sunshine :)

Up-cycle Project: Lining a Vintage Suitcase!

2010-05-14T08:18:00.000-07:00

I managed to get this beauty (along with 3 other large vintage suitcases) on ebay for just £1!

I also got the red floral corduroy fabric from an offcut bin at my local fabric shop for free, because I bought so much fabric in there, = cost for this project, about 25p :)

Here's the before picture...

I measured the bottom square of the suitcase, and measured the area of each side panel

and then cut out a piece of fabric for each area with 1cm seam allowance added.

I then glued the fabric into the suitcase, using pegs all around the outside to allow the fabric to stick properly and to hold it in place.

Once dry, I took off the pegs and had a pretty inside to my suitcase!

I'm planning to do this to the other 3 suitcases that I bought oh so cheaply,

but that will have to wait until I have finished uni for the summer.

I only have a week left!

My new friend

2010-05-09T12:56:00.001-07:00

Hello little singer sewing machine, nice to meet you :)

Picked up this beauty at a car boot sale for just £10!

It's built into a table, so I have a little flap down area to work on beside. In perfect working condition, just needed a little bit of oiling due to her old age, aww.

I would have taken pictures of the whole thing, but my room's messy!

I need these in my life

2010-05-08T11:11:00.000-07:00

Oh,

Why are amazing things like this always sold out on ASOS when I want them?

and this Miu Miu inspired (well, copied nearly!) kitty cat print dress, from Zara...

Car boot finds...

2010-05-07T13:23:00.000-07:00

Below: a lovely leather satchel, with a paisley print lining- £4

Below: A pair of black leather vintage pixie ankle boots - £1

Below: Straw boater (£3 Primark) and Cameo brooch- 50p

Below: Sweet little antique picture- £2

I'm off to another one this weekend, hopefully I'll get some more pretty things!

Also, nearly finished making my clutch today,

(including the embroidery from the post below)

but unfortunately my gluing abilities are slightly hap hazard and it is now a slight mess.

Never mind, it all adds to the character of being handmade right?

I'm currently...

2010-05-05T15:12:00.001-07:00

...doing a bit of embroidery for my current design & realisation project.

I'm making a clutch bag, with an embroidered cameo embroidered on each side :)

Here it is in progress!

There'll be more pictures of the bag when its done!

:)

2010-05-03T12:55:00.000-07:00

Follow my blog with bloglovin !

Hello telescope necklace

2010-04-29T09:21:00.000-07:00

Here's a little necklace that I recently put together.

It makes me feel like a pirate explorer when I put it up to my eye :)

I also thought I would attempt to take a picture through it:

Didn't work so well :( But nevermind!

The bargain cardigan...

2010-04-28T04:32:00.000-07:00

I found this big fat green woollen cardigan at a car boot for 20p!

I thought it needed a little jazziness so I added some gold buttons that look like Viennese whirls,

and also a lovely little bouquet cameo brooch, which I also nabbed at a recent car boot sale for 50p :)

(Is it just me or is it strange the brooch cost more than the cardigan?!)

So here it was before, plain green plastic buttons:

Then just as I was taking pictures, in comes the sibling and the cat to be very helpful...

And here's the cardigan, and fancy and whatnot :)

Possibly needs a little bit of de-bobbling, but for 20p you can't really go wrong, no?

I have another tiny thing that I put together to show you tomorrow!

mmm, buttons!

2010-04-25T09:22:00.000-07:00

Look what my wonderful boy bought back for me!

A jar full of beautiful buttonssss!

:D!!

I have big plans for these lovelies. I'll show you tomorrow...

Styling project: Final Layout!

2010-04-20T10:33:00.000-07:00

A little later than I had hoped to post this, I have been busybusy!

Enjoy :)

The brief for this project was to choose any fashion publication, and style a photo shoot to end up as a 5 page fashion spread.

Naturally, I chose Lula magazine :)

I edited the pictures from the previous post to give them a dreamy, magical look, and arranged them into a 5 page spread, with a title and footnotes.

My final layout is shown below!

Photography- Jon Ridley (www.flickr.com/jon_ridley)

Model- Jess Folan

Styling- Me!

(Font used can be found here)

What do you think? I'm really pleased with it :D

Final photographs for my styling project photo shoot!

2010-04-14T10:44:00.000-07:00

Here are the final 5 photos from my 'Organic Ambience' photo shoot!

Photography - Jon Ridley (See his work on his Flickr)

Styling- Me

Model- Jess

(Please note, do not copy these photos without permission! ©)

I'm really pleased with how they turned out!

I'll be posting my final spread tomorrow, complete with editing and magazine layout!

Things I made for my styling photo shoot....

2010-04-07T06:45:00.000-07:00

Here's some pictures of the things I made for my photo shoot styling project for uni :)

My theme/words of inspiration for the shoot were 'Organic Ambience'.

The photos have been taken and will be shared once they're edited and ready!

Firstly, this was a hugely long trench coat (bought from ebay for the tiny price of 99p!), that I adapted by pulling it in at the waist with pleats/gathers, and gathered up the edges to create a ruffle effect. I styled it with an old leather waist belt :)

Also shown above is a head garland that I made by twisting together some artificial flowers from Dunelm :)

Secondly, (another 99p purchase from ebay!) a nude coloured boned corset, that I added some plastic ivy and rose leaves to, and some ribbon roses that I made myself :)

...and lastly, my handmade paper bag style 'sack' skirt, made from Hessian, bought by the metre at Hobbycraft. I also made a bow to be used as a large headpiece, but in the end I didn't use it for the shoot!

Styled with a black elastic rose belt, originally bought from New Look a few years ago

I shredded it a little at the edges to make it look a little more 'organic' :)

Keep an eye out for my final photos from the photo shoot!

My Beijing Buys...

2010-04-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

So here they are...

I could have bought so much, but I had to resist temptations of buying multiple bags, many pairs of shoes, and lots of general accessories and jewelleryy!

Firstly, this amazing little watch pendant I picked up at the silk market for just £5! (I am noting my seeming obsession with buying watch/clock orientated jewellery...)

It's awesome, it's wind up, and you can see all the little cogs whirring around inside it! Its quite fun to wind up and watch :)

(apologies for the bad pictures, my camera is not feeling very well)

Some beauutiful leather journals (in a variety of sizes- they were very good value, why not?)

...with lovely handmade paper parchment inside

They're so lovely I'm afraid to write or draw in them in case I spoil them!

There will be a use for them soon, I am sure :)

Andd last but not least,

my wonderful 'Mulberry' Mini Alexa Handbag ♥

(I write that with inverted commas as I have reason to believe it isn't the real thing, and you can probably guess why...

because it's from China! But who knows? Anyway, it's beautiful, and I love it, Its genuine leather and yes. I love it. It's so soft and just happens to go with everything :)!)

Ahh! lovely.

I'll be posting my handmade/refashioned items that I have recently been creating for my uni photoshoot project very soon! Keep an eye out.

The pictures from the shoot today may even be up soon too!

Excitinggggggg stuff :)

*P.s, Happy Easter Everyone!*

Busy busy busy... & Beijing!

2010-04-02T15:41:00.000-07:00

Hello!

It has been a very long time without posting I'm afraid to say... But I have much to share!

I've had so much work to do for university, including a photoshoot for my imaging & communication unit, which I will share more with you about later on :)

BUT! on the 16th March, I went on an amazing trip to Beijing with uni!

It was incredible, such a strong cultural difference, and quite scary in parts, but I had such a good time, and bought some lovely things.

We visited the Great Wall of China...

The Forbidden City...

We went to the Minzu University Beijing, visited the fashion students, got to see some of their amazing work and also their facilities!

Went shopping (lots) at the markets...

and at the verrry cheap fabric markets (yay!- most things were between £1-£2/m)...

Had a look around the classic Chinese shops, Hello Kitty and Panda House...

...and experienced the crazy traffic and equally crazy taxi drivers!

SUCH an amazing week. I'm so glad I went, it's probably a once in a lifetime chance to experience everything I saw/did :)

(A few of us on the great wall... stolen from facebook!)

Will be sharing my purchases with you very soon!

tick tock tick tock...

2010-03-08T11:17:00.000-08:00

...said the clock :)

so! something new to share with you,

technically I didn't make it, but I made it into a necklace :)

It's all in keeping with the Alice In Wonderland theme that seems to be all over the place at the moment!

I'm very in love with it :)

and also!

I took advantage of being in London for a while, and paid a visit to Covent garden (I could actually spend days there and not run out of pretty things to swoon over)

and got myself the new Lula magazine!

I know I'm not alone when I say that Lula is quite possibly my favourite magazine, ever :)

If you're wanting one, I have 2 for sale on ebay, click here or here!

Hope you've had a happy monday :)

Something pretty :)

2010-03-08T01:09:00.000-08:00

These wondrous dresses need to be worn whilst running through big fields in the summer...

mmm, such pretty, frilly, floaty goodness

(I wish I could afford such things!)

All from Sestra Moja @ Asos

I hope you're all enjoying the wonderful sun that is currently gracing us with it's presence :)

It's making me all the more excited for the summer!!

Ashish A/W10 at London Fashion Week!

2010-03-02T13:06:00.000-08:00

HELLO!

Little bit of a long time no posting... working at London Fashion Week AND London Fashion Weekend has sort of been eating up a large amount of my time recently!

So, on my last day of LFW, I was allowed to pop into the catwalk tent and watch the first show of the day! This was incredibly exciting, as up until then I had not actually experienced the catwalk!

I hadn't heard of Ashish before I saw this show, but one of the girls that I worked with told me that he is quite well known for his amazing use of sequins!

Take a look at the video of the show below:

(make sure you wait a little while for it to load in HD, it's well worth it!)

So many things in this collection amazed me! Firstly, the sequinned pyjamas (who doesn't want a pair of those?!) were incredible. Actually, all the sequinned pieces were, they had such a liquid movement and looked so wonderful and sparkly under the huge catwalk lights.The collection was described on the program as for 'this season's heroine, who recently gave up winters spent huddled round a yak dung fire for lazy days in the Mediterranean sunshine with the Abramovitchs as neighbours'. Titled 'Ashishistan'.Lots of silks, knits and sequins were used, and many outfits were had sequinned garments paired up with large chunky knits- making them quite contrasting, one being more evening wear and glamorous and the other being very casual, slouchy and comfortable.Also, all the models had awesome colourful socks on, worn with vintage brogues! I like this, as you don't usually see much vintage on the catwalk!
BUT!The one piece that caught my eye the most, and made me stare intently at it the entire way up and down the catwalk, was this looovely waistcoat covered in buttons...

Image from vogue.co.uk
Good afternoon Mr button waistcoat, can I wear you please?

Both images from dazeddigital.com
The instant I saw this, I wanted one of my own. It's just too awesome.So therefore, I have set myself a future project to do (and collect a huge amount of buttons in the meantime...) and make myself my own version of this!
I already have the rest of the outfit planned in my mind. I like planning outfits in my head for occasions that don't exist yet, but eventually there will be a time and a place to wear them :)I would wear this to the festival I plan to go to in the summer (first festival evverr! excited :D) and wear it over an oversize floaty white shirt, denim shorts, wellies and a wonderful straw panama hat, which I am currently searching for.
Expect alot more posting & making now I am not working a 14 hour day anymore!I can now give in to the pile of fabric sitting in the corner. Yayy :)

London Fashion Week, Day #1

2010-02-19T13:32:00.000-08:00

After an incredibly early start, I arrived at Somerset House in the morning!

I spent most of my day printing out exhibition passes, re-stocking show bags generally helping people with information on the event :)

The thing I definitely enjoyed most throughout the day, was watching everyone coming in and out, and witnessing some of the most awesome/crazy/incredible outfits! There was so much style in the room I was not quite sure what to do with myself... I wish we were allowed to take pictures! Alasss, due to the fact I was working, I was not allowed to use my camera :(

BUT! I witnessed many a beautifully dressed person during my day of working. I saw an amazing pair of Miu Miu teacup heels (which I was incredibly jealous of), the wonderful peter-pan-collared Orla Kiely number, and many many other things that caught my eye.

One lady had a sort of pointed shouldery-wing type contraption on her shoulders, each with a row of about ten barbie heads stitched along it... it was just a little bit of a head turner. :)

It was so interesting to be around people that have such a strong personal style, it inspired me in a way, into a new way of thinking :) When I see all these people wearing crazy outfits, I never look at them and think 'oh my gosh, what ARE you wearing?' but instead, I think to myself how incredible they are to put together and wear such an outfit, but also I admire them for having the confidence to pull it off, and also how the fact it is obvious that they are so passionate about their own personal style.

I did not really expect to see anyone famous, although after chatting to the other volunteers, I got slightly excited and started to become constantly on the look out for anyone I knew. It's hard to look for those well knowns when there are so many people who are dressed in such a way that they look like they should be celebrities!

But, for those of you who watch Britains Next Top Model, you will know Louis Mariette... (the headwear/hats/jewellery designer/ judge on BNTM) he was there! & came over and said hello, and did his signature pout for a nearby photographer :)

Well.

My feet hurt, and I have to be up again super early in the morning, but I shall be writing about my day tomorrow & any exciting events :)

Have a happy weekend!

London Fashion Week

2010-02-16T10:45:00.000-08:00

There'll be less of me making things in the next couple of weeks (but my Wardrobe Refashion Pledge is due to start March 1st!), as I am working at London Fashion Week & Weekend :)

I'll be reporting back here most days,

to share my excitement and various experiences whilst working there!

I'm working really long hours, so I expect I will be completely exhausted

but it will definitely be worth it! I'm so excited :D

and for now, I shall leave you with these beauties that I came across on another blog!

If only I could make shoes like this...

Nicholas Kirkwood Alice In Wonderland inspired heels!

TEAPOTS ON SHOES?! ♥

B-e-a-uuutifull.

From the current window display @ Printempts department store, Paris

Another handmade dresss! :)

2010-02-09T12:59:00.000-08:00

So, I've been doing a fabulous amount of procrastinating with my uni work,

and spending the time on things like this...

My new gathered waist, long sleeved vintage-y print dress!

I made the pattern by pinning various bit of newspaper to myself and cutting it to fit.

Not the most professional ways of making a dress, buuuuut it fits me perfectly!

It has a high slash neckline, with puffy long sleeves, and a loosely gathered waist

Made from a lovely browny-beige floral print fabric,

which I got on sale for £1.99/m :)!

...and showing the sleeve and cuff close up.

I'm thinking of using this dress in my next project for uni- we're meant to compile a 5 page fashion spread for a magazine of our choice. (I'm still deciding on this!) We must style the shoot, choose a location and collaborate with a photography student from our university!

We were also told to go to stylemixer.com and get ourselves a title, and I chose

'Organic Ambience' - so I think the browny, earth tones may suit the title!

More on that later, I must get back to my research :)

Recently...

2010-02-01T09:59:00.000-08:00

So, long time no posting! :( This has been due to a rather lots of work and a looming deadline, (which has now passed) BUT!

I am officially now free to start a few projects I have been waiting to start, and am very excited about :) I have a rather large bag of fabric just waiting to be set upon...

So until then, I shall share with you a few of the purchases that I made over the weekend-

I have been after a pocket watch for years now, and finally found one that I could afford! Just about...

This wonderful pocket watch is from Topshop, and cost me £18!

(Usually £20, I love my student discount card)

I've worn it every day, ever since bought it :)

Now I have a bit of time, I can start some bedtime reading again! The two books are 'Grandma's Wisdom' by Lee Faber- this is a charming little book full of random tips and advice that only a Grandma would know! I have a feeling I will discover some very useful things from it :)

The second is 'Lolita' by Vladimir Nabokov- I have read a lot about this book on other blogs, and I was intrigued...

...and THESE pretties, are my looovely new Laura Ashley wellies :) They're from Homebase of all places?! I wanted some festival wellies for the summer, as attending a festival is on my 'to do' list for the summer holiday, and I'm already getting excited :D

Ooh, and I received a blog award from Miss Kavita @ iheartvintagex !

Thank you :)

& the conditions are, I must pass it on to 6 other blogs that I think deserve it too...

So here goes!

Tea Drinking English Rose

Paper and Ink

Keep a look out for my upcoming makingss!

A pretty little find...

2010-01-21T14:36:00.000-08:00

I have been recently searching for a new mannequin, as my poor little adjustable blue one (called suze) is falling apart beyond repair. :(

I came across these little beauties, and thought that they were too pretty not to share :) They are all covered in a range of vintage fabrics, from Cath Kidston to Laura Ashley!

All images from www.corsetlacedmannequins.co.uk

It makes them as much of a decoration as they are a tool for making clothes!

I love the lacing detail down the back!

and a lovely range of vintage mannequins too...

... I think some definite saving up is in order!

:)

DIY Lace Peter Pan Collar :)

2010-01-15T10:42:00.000-08:00

Fat amounts of uni work has been preventing me from making things! :(
But, deadlines are nearly out of the way,
so here's my most recent sewing project...

I recently discovered LouLou Loves You,
and I wanted one of the pretty collars so badly! But unfortunately, £40 is slightly out of my 'poor student' budget, so I set about making my own :)

I drew my own pattern on a piece of white cotton, slightly based on the collar pattern I used for my peter pan collar on my recent DIY 60's dress.

I cut out 4 pieces of the white collar pieces and pinned them together in two pairs.
I used some lace trimming, thread and back ribbon as decoration:

After sewing the white collar pieces around the outside,
(leaving the thin end open, and pinning in about 30cm of black ribbon into the other end)
and turning it inside out, I got this!
I had to hand sew the open end up after turning it in the other way, and I then stitched them both together to get the collar shape...

I used this as the base for my collar.
I then hand sewed three rows (using about 2m) of this lace:

onto each side, spacing them equally.

After quite a long session of hand sewing, here is what I ended up with:
(Very pleased with the outcomee!!)

The front,

The back,

I've been trying it on with a few of my dresses, turns out it seems to go with most of them!
AND it cost about £3.

Happyhappyhappyyyyy!

:)!

What do you think?

Using my new flower loom :)

2010-01-03T06:51:00.000-08:00

First of all,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hello 2010 :)

Amongst the other wonders that Santa left me in my stocking,
I received this lovely flower loom!

Photo source here

I have been experimenting with it a lot since Christmas, and I have finally produced something that I am quite pleased with!

You place the pegs on the loom wherever you wish, each different position will create a different size/style/shape of flower. You can also use any sort of yarn or thread!

I made this one out of light grey and pink embroidery thread:

After sewing the middle together and removing it from the loom, I added a pearly button in the middle to finish it off:

I then sewed a brooch pin to the back of the flower to that it could be worn as a corsage:

I then attached it to my coat!

My coat is lined with pink and is mottled grey on the outside, so I thought this colour combination would suit it :)

I plan to make many more!
:)

My latest makings - 60's Shift dress!

2009-12-29T05:22:00.000-08:00

Whilst in my local vintage shop the other week, I found a lovely 'psychedelic' print dress-top,
which I then tried on, and noticed a rather large hole in the side! It was a bit too short, so I took it it to the lady who owned the shop to let her know, and she ended up giving it to me for free as a little sewing project!

This = Happy Sophie :)

This is what it looked like to start off with:

...and this was one of the many holes that was in it (although they were all mendable!)

After mending those, I went out and bought half a meter of dark brown fabric, and 3 of what I call Grandad buttons
(cause they're the weaved leather ones that you get on Grandad cardigans!)

So, to start off with, I cut into the roll neck to create a base for the peter pan collar that I was going to add.

I then pinned some calico around the collar and cut it to shape whilst it was on the mannequin - I always find it easier to do it this way,
because it can be taken off and used as a pattern piece, and it gets the collar to be the exact shape you want!

I then used this as a pattern piece and cut out 4 of the collar shapes,
front and back for each side, pinned together and leaving 1cm seam allowance:

I did the same for the cuffs, to make them longer, and also made a 10cm band to go at the bottom of the dress to lengthen it!

I then sewed on the collar, and added the 3 Grandad buttons down the center front of the dress:

... and here is the final outcome!

Here's a close-up of the bottom and cuffs:

From the back:

I'm quite pleased with it!

:)

I'm very happy, because it only cost me the £2.25 for the fabric and 30p or so for the buttons!

I hope you had a lovely Christmas!

:)

More of my makings are on the way...

Christmas Excitement!

2009-12-19T15:55:00.000-08:00

I've been excitedly preparing for christmas!
As a little coming-home-from-university celebration, I got to decorate the tree myself :)

I love doing this, because all the old decorations come out, and everyone can get all nostalgic about all the old decorations that you've had for years, and also finding the decorations you made when you were about 3, from paper mache and glitter!

After watching Kirsty's Homemade Home on channel 4 the other week, it really made me want to try out some of the things she got to do (If you want to watch it, go to 4od here)

Here's my handy work...
(I'm not sure if these pictures show how wonderfully warming the tree makes the room feel!)

I tied lots of little gold wired bows onto the tree!

...and also put on all our old handmade christmas decorations, which haven't been used since I was very little!

It makes the room all cosy :)

So, whilst on the subject of christmas, here are my specially wrapped up presents...

I wanted to do 'Brown paper packages tied up with string'
but I thought red wool was a little more festive :)

One more thing,
IT IS SNOWING!! RIGHT NOWW!!
Ah this makes everything feel so much more christmassy :)
It started about 2 days ago, but I really hope we get a white christmas!

Night time snow...

The magical view in the daytime :)

Oh! So excited...
Also, the advent calender tells me it's 6 sleeps until christmas day!

:)

Terexov by Alexander Terekhov

2009-12-15T07:00:00.000-08:00

I came across Terexov the other day, a collection by a Russian designer from Moscow,
called Alexander Terekhov...

Definitely like his collections :)

Fall/Winter 2009/10 New York Collection

Lovelylovely day & night dresses :)
Although the first one is my definite favourite...

These are from his Spring/Summer 2010 Collection:

Mmm, bow ties...

(All images from www.terexhov.com)

CSL Vintage Finds :)

2009-12-12T15:10:00.000-08:00

These are my lovely little finds that I got at the Clothes Show :)

(as modelled by suze my falling-apart mannequin!)

Dress #1:

I had to shorten this one a bit, but it only cost me £5!
It feels so nice to wear, all airy and floaty! It is very well made as well, as were all the clothes that were made a while ago (compared to stuff in primark these days!)

Dress #2:

This one is equally lovely, and cost me £10!
I also had to shorten this one, and hand sew it, due to it being made from a stretchy fabric!

Dress #3:
(not one of the vintage ones, but it was so pretty I couldn't not buy it...)

This is my planned new years dress, and I am verrryy excited to wear it!
I'm thinking of attempting to use the pattern of this dress to make myself another similar in a nice fabric!

:)

I break up for christmas soon, so there will be more making projects on the way...

My next knitting project...

2009-12-10T17:14:00.000-08:00

I found these a while ago on www.lostateminor.com, and I instantly wanted to make some!

...SMITTENS!
Perfect for the winter, mittens to hold hands in! ♥

You can find the knitting pattern for them here :)

Just one problem... I cannot understand knitting patterns!
Does anyone have any idea?

It's my aim to have made one by the new year...
Now, all I need is to understand all this knitting language!

:)

Inspiration... for something or other :)

2009-12-09T14:35:00.001-08:00

Warning
A poem Jenny Joseph

When I am an old woman I shall wear purple,

With a red hat which doesn't go, and doesn't suit me.

And I shall spend my pension on brandy and summer gloves

And satin sandals, and say we've no money for butter.

I shall sit down on the pavement when I'm tired

And gobble up samples in shops and press alarm bells

And run my stick along the public railings

And make up for the sobriety of my youth.

I shall go out in my slippers in the rain

And pick flowers in other people's gardens

And learn to spit.

You can wear terrible shirts and grow more fat

And eat three pounds of sausages at a go

Or only bread and pickle for a week

And hoard pens and pencils and beermats and things in boxes.

But now we must have clothes that keep us dry

And pay our rent and not swear in the street

And set a good example for the children.

We must have friends to dinner and read the papers.

But maybe I ought to practice a little now?
So people who know me are not too shocked and surprised
When suddenly I am old, and start to wear purple.

I found this in a poem book I used to read in primary school and it made me smile.
So thought I would keep it here in case I need some random inspiration for something crazy one day...

:)

Clothes Show Live, 07-12-2009!

2009-12-08T15:33:00.000-08:00

So I spent Monday at the Birmingham NEC at the Clothes Show Live 2009!
Most of the day was spent doing what I do best... spending my money on pretty things :)

In the morning, we saw the main catwalk show, which was rather good, despite our seats being quite far back!

Here are a few pictures from the show...
(Please do excuse the dreadful quality, sophie's rubbish camera zoom + fast moving models and dancer = pooooooorr pictures!)

The above picture features some rather fancy fringed leotards, quite similar to flapper dresses. They looked really fun to dance in :)

...and then a lovely nutcracker-esque part with dancing dollies and soldiers!

It wasn't your typical 'catwalk' fashion show, it mainly included upcoming high street trends from various shops and companies.

So...
after watching the show, we went and did some serious shopping :)
My absolute favourite part was foraging through the MASSIVE vintage section!

Ahh! :)
I got a few little bargains, which I will soon put up, as they need a few adaptations!

I also purchased, a Luella for EJF t-shirt (Environmental Justice Foundation)
and a wonnnnnnderful dress, for a self-bought christmas present.

Yayyy!
Now, must.stop.spending.my.student.loan.

♥

Hello December

2009-12-03T08:40:00.000-08:00

...this advert is so lovely :)

Aah, the drawing project is all given in, so now I can relaxxx and spend my time getting excited for Christmas!

I have a few makings on the way, they'll be posted soon!

:)

Some of my recent university work!

2009-11-27T07:29:00.000-08:00

Busybusybusy!
I've been given so much work recently, and i'm nearly done! (ish...)

For my drawing unit of my course, the brief was to produce a sketchbook of ideas that could inspire clothing and/or silouettes,
based on a colour of my choice. I chose red :)

I used loads of different mediums; paint, pastel, ink, melted candle wax, tracing paper, thread and spray paint!

Here's a few pages of what I have done so far!
(You could call it experimenting, or you could call it mess...)

Still a lot more to do!
More to come when its finished...

:)

The Finished Scarf!

2009-11-18T09:02:00.000-08:00

Finally...
The scarf is well and truely finished, and it is very, very long!
All the more scarf to wrap myself up in to keep myself warm in these gale force winds that we have here!

Hello cosyness
(excuse the failure of my editing... I have nowhere suitable to take pictures!)

So yes, there it is.
Comes in very handy on visits to the beach on a blustery day :)

Bag- thrifted, Cardigan- Vintage, Boots- Primark, Scarf- by me :)

It kept me very warm. Thanks scarf.

:)

I'm in the paper...

2009-11-10T03:43:00.000-08:00

I was recently asked to write a small passage for my local newspaper.
My secondary school had a 4 page spread in the paper, with students writing articles about the school and subjects.
I wrote about the technology department (in which I studied for my Product Design Textiles A Level) and got to show the final garment I had created!

Excitinggg...

Note, the quote from the little boy doesnt have anything to do with my article... :)

Lovely.

Scarf is finished!
Pictures will arrive sooooooon

:)

Something random,

2009-10-25T09:13:00.000-07:00

Not quite sure my knitting skills would quite be up to making my own version of this,
but...

I want one.

From the Kenzo Autumn/Winter Ready-to-wear 2009 Collection.

I think I'll just stick to the scarf for now...

:)

I am currently....

2009-10-23T14:46:00.000-07:00

......knitting a scarf :)

hopefully it will be extra long, extra cosy and finished in time for the winter!

More pictures when it is completed :)

Oopsy...

2009-10-20T04:19:00.000-07:00

Wow. Long time no posting for mee! Poor little rejected blog :(
Well seeing as I have now started my course at uni, I should be able to post more often, and make alot more things to write posts on!

Just thought I would share the men's jacket that I made for my Product Design Textiles A level.

Hello.

It had a zip in/out (removable) waistcoat. Below is the jacket without the waistcoat.
I think I prefer it like this :)

Thank you to the lovely boy who modeled for me ♥
My mum thinks he looks like a real malemodel. I don't think was very impressed with this :)
Also, thank you for allowing me use of the fancy camera!
The amount of hours of my life that I spent on this jacket were rewarded with a grade A and full marks. Goodtimes.

Anyway. I shall stop rejecting my blog as of now, as I am sure I will be making/doing lots of interesting things throughout the years of my BA Fashion studies degreeee!

Peace
♥

DIY Project #3 - The Heart Handbag

2009-06-21T10:54:00.000-07:00

This was a long one. It took aaages, with all the fiddling with eyelets and handsewing...
& I'm quite glad I have finished at last :)

I wanted a heart shaped bag for my sixth form end-of-year prom
to go with my new floaty moschino dress (♥)
I had found this one:-

But at £22, I thought it was a bit expensive, so I set about making my own,
using a heart shaped box that I found (originally from Ikea), some black satin, a cream silk scarf, some gold chain and a few eyelets.

First of all, I used some good old spray mount
to attach the black satin to the outer part of the heart shaped box.

I then finished off the edges,
and made a 'bridge' to go between the two halves,
so they allow the two to stretch apart, using some black lining fabric,
with elastic sewn into the top.

I then cut the cream silk scarf in half,
and hand sewed the pieces into the inner of each heart piece...which was extremely fiddly.

I then put two eyelets in each side, for the chain to go through,
and then threaded the gold chain strap through the holes.

Here's my final outcome!

YAY!

& it cost me about £5...
i just hope it lasts the night and doesn't fall apart!

DIY Project #2 - The Blazer

2009-06-09T13:18:00.000-07:00

Plain black vintage blazer, with a few adaptions...

(£10 from a vintage thrift shop)

I replaced the buttons with little gold, shiny new ones,

turned up the sleeves, and took it in at the waist.

I added lace, some gold chain & my grandma's cameo brooch to the pocket.

It's so pretty it makes me a little happier whenever I look at it.

DIY Project #1 - The Bow T-Shirt...

2009-06-07T14:38:00.000-07:00

So... it's been a very long time since I first set this up, and this is my first post :)

Recently, whilst browsing asos.com, I have come across a few tops and dresses which are decorated with large, but very pretty bows:-

Due to my lack of fundings, I decided that I would have a go at making my own DIY version of one of these lovelies...credit crunch styleee.

I got hold of an old long sleeved t-shirt, and chopped the sleeves off.

I then made a small bow out of some wide satin ribbon
- to go in the middle of the larger lace bow

Using an old 'scarf' (or small net curtain as it turned out to be...)

...I cut out various pieces and sewed then together on the sewing machine. After pinning and sewing them all onto the front of the t-shirt, this was my final outcome:-

YAY

And it cost me half nothing. Good times.