DIY Fantastic: Maxi Dress

With winter closing in, hems are lengthening and I need a maxi dress fit for the cool weather! I found some striped jersey material in the local fabric shop that was on offer so I took the remaining bolt and set to it.

First off we had to make a pattern. I took a favourite vest top, that I like the shape of, and used it to create a pattern for the top of the dress.

Step one - I drew around the vest top, creating two patterns, one for the top and the other for the back. Step two - we then added half an inch as a seam allowance to the outside of the pattern.

At the end of the top I simply continued the line down to the floor, holding up the newspaper (taped together) against my body to get the right length (technical stuff!!). If I'd already owned a maxi dress, I could simply have used the whole thing to create a pattern. But then, if I had a maxi dress already I wouldn't have needed to make one!

Due to the constraints of how much material I had, I made one whole single piece for the front, but two half pieces for the back. But ideally, it'd be easiest to make this with just two pieces.

Step four, once you're happy with your pattern, cut out each component. To get the full length, and in the absence of rolls of pattern paper, we simply taped lots of newspaper sheets together. Crafty and effective!

Step five - set out your material and arrange the patterns you have cut in a suitable way. This can be a bit like a jigsaw puzzle! Things to remember - if you have a patterned fabric, such as these stripes, it's important to think of how you want it to lie when done. We were also very fussy and tried to get the stripes to match up on each seam. Once you're happy pin the pattern on and cut around it.

Step six - keeping in mind our matching stripes the next step was to pin everything together inside out. Then all it takes is a simple stitch along each seam. :) I kept trying the dress on at each stage and making a few tweaks here and there to get the fit just right. So we took in a couple of the seams a tiny bit until we were happy!

The final touches can now be added, we opted for a autumnal hot orange trim for the neck and arm holes. I've got a few pictures of this above as it was probably the trickiest part of the whole project! We started off by folding the tape over the hem, affixing it with lots of pins and then sewing. The trick here is not to stretch the jersey material as you sew or else the seam will be baggy (not great!). This was tricky to begin with, but by keeping the pins close together it gave a good indicator if we were stretching it as we sewed.

Finally we added a little tack at the front of the neck hole as a little feature and we were done! :)

And how about some strange jumps (in soaring wedges) to show off the maxi-ness of the dress? WARNING - Please do not attempt this bit at home folks! But if you do, I can't be held accountable for the consequences....!

DIY Fantastic: Studded flip-flops

In this space called blogsphere I have an inkling that everyone's planning their posts way in advance. I reckon most of you must be busy plotting your halloween posts and projects by now!! But not round these parts! :s I'm still clinging on to summer. I actually pulled together this DIY at the very tail end of Summer and clearly we're full on into Autumn now. But I loved the results of this DIY and I've already worn these bad boys so much that I figured I'd share it here. So in honour of the balmy, warm autumn weekend we've just had here and for all those down under who are excited for the arrival of summer I give you our flip-flop makeover!

I always love hanging out in flip-flops, they are easy, comfy and fun! I have so many pairs that I decided to take this simple brown pair and embellish them for an extra edge.

The ingredients were:

1. Your favourite flip-flops

2. Studs in your preferred shape and colour

3. Glue

4. Tweezers

5. Pliers

I thought about trying to pierce the flip-flops with the studs and attach them that way, but it quickly became apparent this was a no-goer! So instead I took the studs and flattened the spikes with the tweezers to give them a flat back with the spikes as fillers that would help the glue adhere. 

I planned the arrangement I wanted for the studs along the flip-flops, leaving a gap in the studs along the name. Then using a wooden stick we popped a dollop of glue on the back of the stud, another dollop on the flip-flops, gave them a few moments to start to set a little and then popped the glue-armed stud in place. Hold it there for a little while until the stud feels secure and hey presto!

Follow this along the thongs of the flip-flops until you have glued on your whole pattern and then you're there! Just let the glue set completely overnight and then you're good to go!

And last but not least, take your flip-flops to the beach! We took them to Camber Sands on a sunny day and they were perfect! :)

Oh and we couldn't help but spend some time doing silly poses like these (and pulling exactly the same face in them all!), hehe!

DIY Fantastic: Lightning bolt t-shirt

Sorry for the radio silence folks, we've been a gallivanting of late,but are back in Blighty (worst luck!), but lucky for your it means more fun-filled diys. All together now...."yipee'! Alright alright, I'll calm down. Please excuse this excessive enthusiasm, I'm just excited to be back on the diy band-wagon! 

So on to today's diy, Ben's lightning bolt tee. After dancing our socks off till the wee hours in Amnesia last summer, Mr Fantastic determined he needed a new clubbing tee. And who am I to deny him this little treat? So rather than spend a small fortune in Amnesia's store, I jumped to it and whipped up this neon little number perfect for popping on before a party night!

These are all the ingredients you need:

The only special ingredient you need is the textile medium fixative that will set the acrylic paint. You should be able to find this in your nearest arts and craft store. The steps for this are truly simple and best of all can be tailored to whatever shape or image you fancy! I opted for a fluro lightning bolt to make this a party tee of the sort that glows under UV lights! :) Once you've decided on your design, then the steps are:

1. Create your desired shape on the front (not being restrictive here, you can do the back too if you wish!!) using the masking tape. I went a bit OTT and used quite a LOT of masking tape as I was worried about the paint running or seeping out, but with the consistency of my paint this didn't seem to happen (bonus!).

2. Then follow the instructions on your textile medium to combine it with your acrylic paint (mine said equal parts of medium to paint) combining colours to get that perfect shade.  

3. Next start filling in your design. Depending on your colour choices it may be handy to do a plain white undercoat, think this would have helped in my case for sure! I wanted the yellow to really pop so I had to put in a few layers to get the desired effect. With the layers I kept them as thin and smooth as possible and allowed a fair few hours between coats. (Does this sounds like a Dulux guide to you?!!) 

4. Allow your final coat to dry thoroughly and then gently peel off your masking tape to reveal your design. I was chuffed with the really clean cut lines I achieved, go masking tape! 

5. And super important the last bit - iron your design thoroughly before letting it anywhere near the washing machine! In fact I'd stick with hand-washing, just to be on the safe side. I ironed it over baking paper and a tea towel to avoid stickage, but make sure it really sets!

Then pop it on and party!

And finally, because you know we can't resist ending on an out-take or a truly ridiculous gif. Plus, this one is just too good not to be shared!

Fabulous darling! :) xx

DIY Fantastic: Quartz Pear Drop Necklace

I've been wanting to create a fun, bold modern necklace using real materials for a while. After a little perusing on the ol' world wide web I stumbled across these gorgeous honey coloured quartz beads in a tear drop shape and some super cute neon ones too. Don't they look like pear drops? Almost good enough to eat! Erm, I wouldn't recommend it, so lets get right down to work...

These are the ingredients I pulled together:

1. Beading wire
2. Silver plated belcher chain
3. Silver plated lobster clasp
4. Silver plated jump rings
5. Honey quartz pear drop beads, that I found here
6. Green neon dyed beads, also from here
7. Pliers

The best thing about this necklace is that it looks complicated, but is actually super simple! I loved combining the natural colour of the quartz with the neon green colour of the separator beads, but you can go with any colour combo you fancy and then just follow these few steps:

1. Cut the beading wire into two six inch pieces and string on your beads. I opted to make the second strand slightly longer than the first one so that it'd hang slightly lower and created the layered effect I was after.

2. Once you are happy with your stringing knot off the ends and snip the ends off. I knotted the wire strands directly onto the jump ring and used a tiny dot of glue to ensure it didn't come undone!

3. For step three use the pliers to gently open the jump rings. Take your belcher chain and divide into two equal pieces. Try it out for size on yourself regularly so that it hangs just where you want it to!

4. Attach one end of each strand of chain to the two wire strands and gently prise the jump ring closed. Then repeat on the other side.

5. Finally, attach the lobster clasp to each loose strand of chain with the last two jump rings.

6. and tah-dah! You're beautiful necklace is complete! :)

And finally a sneaky little out-take. (You know how I like to end all my posts!) This is what most of our shots look like when Izzy and I get together to take a few photos... :)

Thank you for modelling Izzy, you're gorgeous!

DIY fantastic: Feather print vest top

We're back! Ha, I'm sure you didn't even know I was gone! ;) Anyway, we're launching straight back into some new sewing projects over here, no messing around!

First off the starting post is this feather print vest top. I found the fantastic feather print cotton in my local fabric shop and it immediately appealed to the inner cowgirl in me, so in the shopping basket it went! Printed vests are a staple round here, I can't have too many of them! So I pulled out an old fave to use as a pattern and got to work...

What you'll need:

• Some fun fabric, I chose 'Geronimo' a feather print cotton
• Pen and paper to make your pattern (I used newspaper and a felt tip pen. Keeping it real!)
• Needle and thread / sewing machine
• Scissors

The steps:
1. Lay out your existing top on the paper and draw around each component (mine was just the front and back) leaving a 1/2 inch excess for seams etc. Cut this out and you now have your pattern!

2. Pin your pattern over the material - take note of how the print will lie once it's cut and sewn and pin the pattern on accordingly.

3. Cut around your pattern and pin the two pieces together.

4. Sew the two pieces together to create the seams on either side. Then fold over the edges around the neck, arm holes and along the bottom and pin. I folder them over twice, each fold was about 5mm. Then sew along these too.

5. I also added a small dart under the arms, as per the top I was copying. The easiest thing with this is to try it on as you decide on the size and placement of the darts so it fits well

And hey presto you have your finished top!

My new best friend: Bernina

I am a very lucky lady indeed and I am here today to introduce you to my new best friend: my sewing machine! I have been on the hunt for just such a specimen for MONTHS, possibly years and hey presto my clever mama and sister found just the machine for the job. On my 30th birthday (eeek!) I was treated to a surprise family party and presented with my very own Bernina. She's a beautiful Bernina in cream and moss and harks back from long before I was born! She is definitely considerably older and wiser than me and we think she is older than my mama! What a beaut'!

She has already proved her mettle - sewing through leather, denim and numerous layers of material. She's a solid workhorse made with Swiss precision and style. Her insides run as smooth as clockwork and she runs like a dream! *swoon* Is there such a thing as sewing machine porn? 'Cause if not I think I might have just invented it! :p

I have one hundred and one different projects and ideas running through my head that need a sewing machine. And I no longer have any excuses! So, expect to see lots of (super simple) sewing projects coming this way shortly! I shall start out simple for sure, but I have some ambitious plans forming in my mind for Bernina and I and I'm not one to shirk a challenge, so lets see where this next adventure take us!

Welcome Bernina and thank you thank you thank you mama, papa and izzy!

DIY project: Fabric phone case

I've had a hard cover for my iphone for a while now, but I still fling it into my bag with my keys, wallet and other bits and bobs. Not a good move while the screen is bare and naked!

So a little soft pouch phone cover was urgently needed and rather than dive into the first phone store I could find, I set to work on a diy.

I found some fun stripy material lurking around (in fact it was an old shirt of the man-around-the-house), some cord and then felt and crystals for embellishments:

All you need to make your own cute phone case

Here's the practical how-to bit:

Measure the size of the pouch you want to create by placing your phone on the material and leaving about an inch all the way round, for seams and a bit of room, plus and extra inch at the top for your drawstring.

You'll need two pieces this size. I actually doubled up the fabric to make it a bit more protective, or you could use a thicker softer material on the inside. Shirt material isn't exactly designed to have a bit of give!

Then turn the fabric inside out, pin and sew around three side leaving the top open. Turn back the right way round and hey presto you practically have your pouch! For the drawstring sew around the top twice to create a tramline the is just wider than your cord, giving it a channel to run through. (You don't have to do this bit, it'll just mean that the drawstring will drift right to the top of the material, depends on your preference.) Make two holes in between the tramlines at one end and thread through the cord using a safety. Cut to your desired length and tie it off. Ta-dah!

Finally, you can add whatever embellishments you fancy. I went with the nautical theme of the stripes and appliqued on a pink anchor and finished it off with a pink crystal for a bit of bling - you know me!

A cute and practical phone case

The best thing about this is that the same technique can be used for so many projects - glasses case, make-up pouch, practically any cute little bag that you need. Get to it guys!

DIY Fantastic: Pin cushion

I am just starting to warm up my sewing skills and as I was getting started I started to notice a problem -  pins getting EVERYWHERE! Turns out there is an age old solution to this problem (who'd have thought!) and what better place to start with my sewing than to churn out a simple little pin cushion. Cute, quick and super practical - just how I like my diy projects! The bonus is that this would be super simple to sew by hand as well.

All you need is a few simple things:

All you need to make the pin cushion of your dreams! 

Then simply decide on the size and shape of your desired pin cushion. I went for a small square, about 4 inches wide and cut both sides . Add whatever embelishments/pretty things you fancy at this stage. You can add them once it's finished, but it's easier when it's flat that's all.

Then it's just a case of sewing down all four sides. Leave a small hole to get the wadding in and then sew up the gap. Simples. Then fill it with all your pins and needles and away you go! Now you can really put that cushion to good use making all those projects you so desire!

What a pretty in pink pin cushion!

Flip it over and on the other side you'll find a green monster. So you will never get bored of your cute little pin cushion. It'll be by your side through thick and thin...on your diy adventures!