So I'm leaving for Australia in a couple of days and, just my luck, I woke up this morning with a cold. After some Googling I've found out that if I'm super congested, I might end up becoming partially deaf for a few days afterwards because of the air pressure during take off and landing. This is especially worrying because I'm travelling alone so I've stocked up with four different kinds of decongestants, have taken a Vitamin C pill and am hoping for the best. But oh dear. Dear oh dear. Dear oh dear oh dear. I will also probably be resented by the other passengers because I'll be infecting them all haha. Noooo.

But on a lighter note, I've finished another tutorial! I wanted to make SOMETHING out of this fabric before I left so while I wouldn't usually wear this (not because it's bad but because I don't feel like it's very me), it's something I can make in a day and I just felt like sewing something. I actually have a tonne of fabric left so might make another one with a pencil skirt tomorrow. We shall see.

I made it adjustable partly because it looks a little more 'real' that way, and partly because tighter/looser can be a slightly different look. Anyway, on we go!

What you need...

• About 2m of fabric
• 8" shiny metal zipper
• Two sliders and square rings (idk what they are called exactly haha). The sewing stall in my local market didn't have any of these so I had to get some kids dungarees + a bag from a charity shop and cut the metal bits out, which is why they aren't the exact same size. You do what you can! 
• Scissors, matching thread, sewing machine, etc
• A big flat surface (for cutting out the skirt).
• Ideally you will also have Wimbledon on in the background.

What you must do...

Fold your fabric in half lengthways. Using pencil or chalk, draw a semi circle (doesn't have to be 100% perfect) on the folded edge of the fabric. It should measure 1/2 your waist measurement + 1 inch around.

Figure out how long you want your skirt to be (could use a skirt you like as a reference) and mark another semi-circle exactly that measurement away from the edge of the first semi circle. Cut it all out and then cut divide it into two halves (this isn't actually necessary haha but it's what I did so it's part of the instructions to avoid confusion).

Cut two front pieces and one pocket. Make a hem on the top edge of the pocket and then simply stitch the side and bottom edges on to one of the front pieces. Hopefully yours will look a little less bunchy than mine hoho.
Right sides together, sew the two front pieces together at the sides. Leave the top and bottom open. Turn it inside out and top stitch the sides.
Place two of the waist pieces against the bottom edge of the front piece, one on either side. Sew through all the layers of fabric along that bottom edge. Fold the waist pieces over on either side and top stitch, again, through all the layers of fabric. Top stitch all the way along either side of the waist piece (top edge, not bottom edge), leaving 1cm or so at either end unstitched.



Right sides together, sew the bottom edge of one waist piece to the top edge of the skirt, making sure the side edge of the skirt meets the end of the waist.
Fold over the bottom edge of the other waist piece so that it meets the line of stitching on the other side, and top stitch through all layers of fabric so the edge of the skirt is enclosed. Leave 1cm or so unstitched on either side.

This time start with the bottom edge. Take the other two waist pieces and, sandwiching the waist edge of the other skirt piece between it, sew along the bottom edge of the waist piece/waist edge of the skirt. Flip the waist pieces over and topstitch, again leaving 1 or 2 cm on either end.
Take the unstitched ends of each waist piece and sew them together (place the edges right sides together, as usual, stitch together, turn the right way round and top stitch it all in place). Sew the skirt together as you do this, enclosing it all in the waist band. Leave one side edge open - this is where the zipper will go.
Also at this point you can fold in the top edges of the back waistband pieces (the only part which should be open) and top stitch along approx 4 inches towards the center on either side (see the markings on the waist diagram above)



Take the open edges of the skirt/waist and mark how far down the zipper will end. Sew the two edges of the skirt together from the bottom, up to that point (go over the last few stitches a couple of times to reinforce it). Then sew in the zipper by folding over the excess at the ends (does it have a special name? idk) and sewing it in to the waistband so it's all topstitched down. For the rest of the zip, just sew it right sides together against each skirt edge.

 

Cut our yer straps. I can't really tell you how long to make them because it depends on how tall you are, I guess.  Just make 'em pretty long and you can trim them later. Fold the long pieces in half lengthways and sew all along the length. Turn the whole thing inside out and stitch along either side of the length. Do the same with the smaller pieces.

Take the smaller pieces, put them through the metal loop, and sew the loop closed. Take one end of each long piece and fold it around the middle bar of the slider thingy at 1.5" from the edge. Fold the very edge over again and sew it down.

Put the other end of the long piece through the square hoop, pull it up to meet the slider and thread it through. Like this.

Sew the little strap bits into the back (about 4" in, where you left the back waistband open) and completely close up the waistband.

Put the pinafore on and pin how short you want your straps to be at their almost tightest. Enough that you can make it a bit tighter with the slider thing, or loosen them. Yeah, I couldn't find my pins haha. Make sure the straps cross over! Or not. I just personally prefer them that way. Just... sew 'em in!

And you're done! You have a new pinafore!

Wish I was wearing this in a nice outfit but... I'm ill and couldn't be arsed hoho. So yeah, just to show you what it looks like! Hope ya liked my tutorial.

Bye! 

Say hello to my tiny bespectacled eyes

Here is yesterday's marshmallow-y outfit. See, I try to avoid looking disgustingly prissy most of the time but sometimes it just happens. 

Hat: vintage // Bow: Asos // Jacket: vintage // Lace shirt: Asos // Skirt: second hand // Shoes: vintage

I am actually really short sighted and am always wearing either glasses or contact lenses. Why do I never wear me specs in outfit pictures though? First, because I am so short sighted the lenses makes my eyes look absolutely tiny. Therefore, if it's a glasses day, it's an ugly day. The second reason is a little more odd but if you wear glasses you might know what I mean. On days where I wear glasses, I feel more timid and like I can't see as well. I mean, I can. The prescription is totally fine. But my eyes feel like they are looking through something on my face, not like they are just looking and seeing. I'm pretty sure I talk more quietly, I'm more nervous about leaving the house, and I just feel weird. However! For the sake of my eyes, I have to get used to wearing glasses more often (you'd think it wasn't an issue for someone who's been wearing glasses since she was 10, but there you go). So here are some speccy photos I like from which to draw inspiration.

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Source: Pinterest

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Please comment below if you wear glasses! I need some more bespectacled ladies to follow haha

Bye! xx

Rambling, York & outfit post

This whole Google Friend Connect malarkey is a little confusing. My followers still appear on my blog so... who knows? Well, anyway, just in case it does shut down (apparently it will) please follow me on Bloglovin! You can import all the blogs you follow here (:

HI guys. Hi. Hello. Currently writing this in a window seat on a semi-sunny day w an iced americano and some popcorn. It's pretty good. Hope yer all well!

Past couple of weeks have been weird... but I'm recovering! Apparently I don't deal well with having nothing to do. It feels like I'm never resting because I was never actually active in the first place. Home has turned from a cosy nest into a kind of hell haha. I lost all motivation to make myself look nice which means I feel even less comfortable with myself and even more like 'what is my life'. Luckily, over the past couple of days I have had quite a few things to write on my to do list and now feel a lot better! Thank goodness! I got up early today, made myself look okay (I think), crossed a couple of things off my to do list, and am now outside, writing this blog post, listening to a disco playlist (thanks BBC) and feeling kind of like a real person!

Other than that, in general things are pretty fantastic! I feel more 'myself' than I have done in a very long time. Time really does heal all wounds. I mean, it's a kind of silly thing to say. It doesn't make you feel any better when you're wounded, and by the time you've healed it's simply irrelevant. But... it is true! It's a beautiful thing to know you went through something monumentally shitty and you were strong enough to come out the other side. And it's great to know that the whole experience made you an even better person. It's like in comparison to how low I know I can feel, feeling 'okay' doesn't just feel okay anymore, it feels awesome. I don't have to lie to myself about how I feel anymore. I don't have to tell myself 'don't think about it, stop thinking about it, think happy thoughts' because it just doesn't hurt me anymore. This is all compounded by the fact that I managed pretty damn good exam results considering how shitty this year has been for me! YEAH! So, life lesson for me - never stop working!

Alongside milling around and doing little bits and bobs here and there, I went to York the other day! My friend had been a million times so we could wander freely without worrying about getting lost or anything. Always a plus. It was really, really lovely. Definitely going back, especially because of how close it is to Durham.

First we went to the Railway Museum, because why not? It was actually pretty fun. Reminded me of being a kid. I remember going to a railway museum when my family lived in the UK the first time around (we moved to Australia when I was 6) and thinking they were magical. Something about those huge machines and the smell (is that weird) and idk. I tried to take photos of the royal coaches but they didn't turn out that well so... you'll just have to go check it out yourself.

York Minster was just gorgeous, of course. Love me a good cathedral hoho. Wikipedia tells me its Great East Window is the largest expanse of medieval stained glass in the world. Whaddayaknow? Because they're always restoring / cleaning the stained glass, they have a 'stained glass of the month' type thing where you can look at the designs up close and read about them etc. ...it's pretty kewl. I'd recommend. Is this starting to sound like a tourist website?

My friend had a sudden hankering for ice cream so we went on a quest to find the perfect parlour. We found this store. Isn't it cute? There seemed to be a lot of cute places to eat / sip in York. We had lunch at this other cafe I don't remember the name of, but it was really nice. Fond as I am of Durham, there are very few places to get good coffee here, so it was especially nice. Will definitely try to document where exactly I go next time I take a York trip. There seemed to be a bunch of places worth checking out next time. If anyone has any recommendations, please let me know!

So sad I didn't get good photos of this. It's the Shambles! Part of the two rows of houses have slumped so close together over time that two people leaning out of either window can shake hands, apparently. I've heard it's especially nice at Christmas.

The river! Unfortunately a little more impressive than Durham hoho.

What I wore hoho. 

Some other pictures from the past few days?

I love these little Edwardian arcades. There are a couple of them in the middle of Newcastle I think. They remind me of the ones in Leeds! The thing about Newcastle is that it has such incredibly gorgeous buildings (Grey St has the second highest number of listed buildings in the UK) but they are kind of ruined by what is put underneath them. I mean, the other day I was sitting in Savannah Cafe watching some guys paint part of a stone building navy blue. Perhaps repainting? I don't know. But at some point... it was painted navy blue  for William Hill haha. There are so many gambling shops in the UK, it's really unfortunate. BUT ANYWAY. The point is, the center of Newcastle has some really beautiful architecture. I'm a fan.

I also went to 9 Bar Coffee for the first time yesterday, despite living in the North East for almost two years now! I love it! I can't wait to go back and try the food because it looked seriously good. In fact, the whole place looked seriously good. It's a shame we've had no real summer this year because it seemed like a great place to people watch outside.

Also bought some new fabric. I have no idea what to make. Possibly could be used for a dress but may be a little heavy. I have to decide soon because I'm off to Brighton for a few days at the end of this week and then straight off to Sydney! Thought I might make a pinafore kinda thing but I'm worried that soon I'll have seen so many of them on other people that I'll be totally sick of them and not want to wear it. Dear oh dear.

Another outfit. Whenever I get bored of my wardrobe (like right now) I tend to revert back to outfits I've been wearing for literally years haha. Sometimes its good to wear tried and tested outfits. At least you know you feel like you.

Thankyou Will for photos! Do go check out his new blog. I know little about film but if you're a film person, you should follow him!

Thanks for reading guys (:

Bye!