Thursday 27 February 2014

Day 118 - Easy DIY Maxi skirt

Once upon a time this skirt was a length of fabric and a pair of shorts. After a little ruffling around the edges and cutting to shape it is now a beautiful maxi skirt. It has some lovely movement to it and I am in love with the contrast of hard and soft. This really was a simple project, I started with the shorts, cutting the crotch seams and shaping the lower hem before I began to pin my skirt fabric with little pleats. Make sure your skirt fabric is large enough to go around your legs twice, this way you can add the odd pleat and give it a little volume and space to move. I didn't even sew the long edges of my fabric together, instead I chose to overlap the open edges so there is a little slit but nothing too revealing. I had to double my fabric over so that it wasn't ridiculously see through.

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Day 117 - elbow patches

Today is a very easy project, I've simply put some elbow patches on a very cosy jumper. I used last over pleather from Nat's costume making.  As I said very simple but I like :) x

Tuesday 25 February 2014

Day 116 - ink caddy refinished

So after some time fiddling with my previous layout I decided to restart this project.  Sometimes it is less effort too just start over. I'm going to use the inks inside to stamp it over time. Took a bit more time than I had anticipated but now everything is stored neatly and easy to access. 

Monday 24 February 2014

Day 115 - ink caddy continued...

Its still a work in progress but it is coming together nicely.  Once it's dry I can add some fun decoration and finish the drawers.  It will be a perfect container for all my inks and quills when it's done. 

Friday 21 February 2014

Day 114 - creating an ink caddy

As part of this project I intend to sort out the chaos that is my studio.  I have made a little dent but there is so much to do.  Today I have begun a box for my inks and stamps is in the Blue Peter stage right now but over the weekend it will be transformed. 

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Day 113 - diy button belt

Well this is a comfortable and stylish addition to my wardrobe.  The buttons are sewn directly onto elastic, so it has a lot of natural stretch and sits comfortably in my hips.  Many hours off buttoning and watching Buffy made this happen.

Saturday 15 February 2014

Day 112 - family portrait

Birthday present for my mum, a colour sketch of all my nieces and nephews looking smart and cute.  It's been a long time since I've sketched like this.

Friday 14 February 2014

Day 111 - diy revamped office chair

This is one of those awesome makeovers that looks way too difficult but was actually super simple.  I removed the back rest and seat after a bit of screwdriver action, with the screws gone out was just a matter of popping the cushions out from its plastic casing.  I used tacks to hold the fabric in place and clipped it back into the rim and that was that.  The seat ended up being upside down but I kind of like it like this. 

Thursday 13 February 2014

Day 110 - upcycled buttoned t-shirt

I've used an old stretchy top and a mans shirt to create today's project.  Using the buttons I've added some interesting detail and some extra room for comfort.  I used the original cuffs to create little cap sleeves. I think I'm going to add some hook and eyes between the buttons. 

Wednesday 12 February 2014

Day 109 - homemade Scotch eggs

l'm rolling in self satisfaction right now, having just scoffed a homemade Scotch egg. It's a bit time consuming but I think the effort is worth the prize.  I made the sausage meat with pork mince, garlic, thyme and parsley, Mace, paprika and salt. While the man boiled eggs for 5 minutes and cooled them in a bowl of water, I rolled out portions of the sausage meat between two sheets of clingfilm. Then it was a long job of pl pealing eggs rolling them in the sausage meat, then coating them in flour, then egg and finally breadcrumbs.  Bake at 200c for 25 minutes or until crispy. 

Tuesday 11 February 2014

Day 108 - overnight bag from dungarees

I started this on Sunday but after snapping a needle and getting frustrated I have up for a few days.  This morning I decided to take a few steps back, undo some of the work I had already done and start again. I used a pair of dungarees that were way too big and slightly too yellow.
I cut the bib and back off and cut above the crotch to get the basic shape and cut a lining to match. I decided to use the original side seams as the front which has given it a more interesting look and taken away the obvious trouser design. The straps are recycled from the original straps and I've even incorporated one of the buckles to make the length adjustable.  Very practical and Me, im just going to continue adding starry patches to decorate.

Monday 10 February 2014

Day 107 - tshirt yarn

Don't ask me what I'm going to make with this but I am using stretchy Jersey fabric to knit something.  It's been a long while since ive done any knitting taken me most of the day to get used to get to. 

Friday 7 February 2014

Day 106 - diy upcycled fashion

Well I am in love with today's creation.  I still need to go over all the stitching but I'm so happy with the way it turned out.  I used long grey socks with pink stars as my inspiration and as some subtle print on the inside of the arm and waist. To bring the pattern into the rest of the top I did a simple star cut out with some pink fabric underneath.  I may add some more fabric to the bottom hem as its a bit shorter than I like my tops. We'll see what tomorrow brings...

Day 105 - diy journal cover

This book cover was so simple to make.  It is just a sleeve made from a nice fabric.  I have so many cartoon fabrics which I think I may have to make loads of these from.

Thursday 6 February 2014

Day 104 - diy letter pockets

I took some time this morning to look for ways to decorate my letter pockets. I went for something simple, contrasting and effective.  Yay for stencils and sharpies...

Day 103 - handy pocket organiser

I haven't completely finished this one yet. The pockets are all there but a bit of decoration wouldn't go amiss and it needs some form of loop to hang out with. To make this I used an old Cork board, some hessian scrap and lots of split pins, which means no sew no glue... easy!

Tuesday 4 February 2014

Day 102 - furry waistcoat

I've been sort of working on this for a couple of days now but it's so cosy I keep just wearing it rather than sewing it.  Today I added some Chinese frog claps and now is even better :)

Monday 3 February 2014

Day 101- finally complete

It only took me a week to finish this but it works quite nicely and I'm glad I have one. Moving on to other things now...