Something you have to try!!

Making your own dress is probably one of the most satisfying things you can do, (and also one of the most frustrating!!). Once you have picked your fabric and your pattern you then have to decipher the instructions, measured yourself (always tricky) and cut out all the pattern pieces... then it is time to pin and tuck and pleat and iron until you have your perfect dress. 

I would recommend to give it go. Even if your hem is a bit wonky, or buttons aren't perfectly spaced out that's fine because YOU made it!! It always feels amazing when someone asks 'oh where did you get that dress, it is lovely' and you can reply with great pride 'I made it!!'.

So next time you see a pattern you like, give it a go!! Even if it takes agggess, just do it! You won't regret it!

I have included these pictures I took whilst putting together one of my dresses! Hope you like it and feel inspired to create something yourself!

If you have any questions or requests feel free to comment or contact me on here. Or you can check out my Facebook page or my twitter!!

Thanks for reading!!

Lots of Love

x x x 

Personalised Presents- Dec 2012

Christmas is coming!! It's so close now! But what do you get the person who has everything?! Well their very own personalised present! It doesn't have to be just for Christmas, it is a perfect idea for pretty much any occasion. It is also good for those who are trying to save the pennies.



Something hand made or hand personalised is so lovely to receive and great to make and completely original! Something that is really simple but really effective is just sewing someone's name onto an item, whether it be a t shirt, a teddy bear, a bookmark or what i've been doing recently make up bags.


So I used a plain black, quite sturdy make up or toiletries bag. It is from Sainsbury's I think (this was for my sister's friend so my sister provided the bag). Really plain, so a great blank canvas. So firstly I drew on lightly the name that I wanted to add (this is obviously for Danielle's birthday!!). I then chain stitched over the outline that I had made. I used a really pale lilac as it stands out well against the black.

Then after that it is completely personal preference. I added flowers and leaves to make it girly, but you can basically add anything. The flowers are just long and short stitches using one colour of thread for the outer petal and another for the centre petals. The stems are vine stitch and the centre of the flowers are french knots.

I have done a few more of these personal presents but can't reveal any names as I don't want to ruin any of the surprises before the big day!! But I'll add some pictures of the decoration on them.

Hope you've got a few ideas, or if you want to get in touch about getting some items personalised by myself check out my Facebook or Twitter or message me on here!!

Merry Christmas!! 

My Most Unusual Request Yet

Most of my alterations work tends to be repairs, taking up hems, sewing buttons on etc. so when something a bit more unusual and creative comes my way I love it.

So I was asked to make a funny christening present for a little baby and was sent this picture.

 

Now this is a Japanese product which basically a duster on a baby grow, so when the baby is crawling around it can clean the floor as well!! How funny is that! So he brought me a baby grow and those microfibre cleaning mitts and I worked my magic!!

So it took me a while, as the microfibre was quite tricky to sew, but I think it turned out great!!

How cute? Yes? I thought it was a really simple and different Christening present!! It also turned out quite cheap, plus everyone who I have shown it to has thought it was hilarious so win win!!

If you want something like this you can contact me on Facebook, on Twitter or on here! 

x x x

DIY patchwork quilts

I have been making patchworks for 4 years now maybe, I just did them in my spare time (in the summer holidays usually) and they are simple and fun to do. They also make really great personal presents for people. (People are proper made up when you give them it!!) It is something you would keep forever! What I never realized is how expensive they are if you where to buy one! Hundreds of pounds!! And they are impersonal, sure they look great but £200?? I don't think so!

So I thought I would go through how I go about making one. So I have my own special one, which goes on the end of my bed. It is made up of fabric which has been a part of my life (old curtains from baby room, bed sheets, old clothes) so instead of throwing them away, I made them into something that I could look at everyday, and hopefully pass onto my own children (a long way in the future!!).

So what I first do is cut out squares of the fabric, you can choose what size squares, but I always do 12cm x 12cm. But that doesn't really matter as long as they are squares. You can use a paper template if it makes it easier. I then cut out more squares, I usually aim for a quilt of 12x12 squares, so that is 144 squares (!!) this is the most time consuming bit, but you can do it watching the telly! 

Next I machine sew the squares into strips of 12 squares, I like to alternate the squares but you don't have to, it is entirely personal preference. 

I then sew the strips together to get one huge square. If you feel like the square is too small, or needs neatening up, I sew a large border around the patchwork area of one colour. I finishes off it nicely I think, and makes it look less busy. All that is left to do is but a lining on the other side. I usually use a padded lining (already has wadding attached). This gives the blanket a bit more weight, but again it's personal preference. You can just use ordinary lining.

So attach this lining, you put the two right sides of the fabric facing together (inside out) and sew all around the edge leaving a gap of about 15cm. You then pull the fabric through so now the right sides of the fabric are now facing away from each (the right way round) you can then hand stitch the hole closed. You then can either sew an edging around the fabric, or just machine stitch an inch all around the edge to finish it off, and again this is personal preference. 

And voila! You have your very own patchwork!! And for literally a few pounds (unless you have to buy all your fabric). Nothing like the price of one from a shop, and these look much nicer because you made it with your own fair hands!!

If you fancy giving this ago, and need tips, or even if you want me to make you your very own, feel free to message me, comment, or go on my twitter or Facebook  and get in touch with me there!!

Hope this has inspired you to get the scissors out!!

x x x 

DIY studded collars for an OOTD

Studs are everywhere now, studded shoes, bags, jackets, belts and collars. The may look good, but the price tag that comes along with them aren't. So of course I thought, I can do that for the fraction of the price and off I pop to eBay and get myself some studs. This is the seller I used and they were £2.50. 

I used a mint green blouse I had bought from New Look, I thought it would look good contrasted to the silver studs.

It was really easy to do, the spikes easily pushed through the fabric and I used a thimble to press over the spikes to secure them in place.

I added three rows of studs, as it prevents hair being caught in them! They look like collar tips almost. I added them to the pockets as well.

I think they look really good! and for £2.50 I can add them to anything, plus they are really easy to remove again.

I wore it recently with a skirt I had made from Liberty fabric and some vintage lace that was lying around my house. Looked perfectly summery.

This is one customization that anyone could do themselves, so I would deffo give it a go on a rainy day (plenty of those at the moment) or to give an old item of clothing an edgy new look. The result looks professional and expensive! No one would ever know that it only cost £2.50!!

x x x 

Homemade Sequin Collar Shirt

After having a bad experience with Missguided.co.uk with a no show order and then them sending me the wrong order I decided their sequin shirt wasn't that nice anyway and decided to make my own for a fraction of the price. It was really simple to do and I think it looks amazing.


So firstly I started with a plain black shirt (but you could use any shirt you wanted). I got mine from eBay for about £2. I then ordered a bag of gold sequins for 99p also from eBay. I thought gold would contrast the black shirt perfectly! I also chose sequins of all shapes and sizes but you could use all the same shape if you wanted!!

I then used the holes on the sequins and a gold thread to sew them onto the collar of the shirt, and this did take a few hours (but saved me a lot of money).

So all in all this cost me around £2.99 compared to missguided's £25.99 (I think) so I think that is such a good saving. This is such an easy way of personalizing anything, not just shirts. Plus I think it looks great.

So I worn it quite a few times but I'm wearing later for a house party to celebrate end of exams (yey!!) with a pair of jeans I cut off into shorts, a plaited leather belt and a pair of pumps.