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! 

Tutorial: collar dress

Oh my god, this is my first creation in ages and ages. I've had serious sewing inspiration over the past few months but it has come to nothing due to lack of time. Finally, I'm on break and don't have many plans! I didn't really intend this to be a tutorial, mainly because I didn't know what I wanted to make (kinda made it up as I went along) but I photographed everything I did anyway so... a tutorial it has become! Hope you like it!

NOTE ABOUT MEASUREMENTS:

• They don't even matter that much. They're just there to help you / so you can see exactly what I did. The only thing I measured before cutting / sewing was the collar. Everything else was just estimation. 
• Basically, all you need is the general shape and a general idea of what size you are.  If you think you're around my size, follow my measurements! If you're not sure you can use a shirt / dress you own for reference.
• This dress is not super fitted! There's a bit o waist going on but it's not tight, there are no darts or princess seams or whatever. You'll have to make the waist area smaller / pleats deeper if you want something more fitted.

What you will need...

• About 3m of fabric (mine is from FabricTreasury on Etsy)
• Iron on interfacing. Whatever weight, depending on how stiff you want your collar to be. My local fabric store only had one kind so I just used it on both sides of the fabric. I got 1m and had tonnes left over. May as well get 1m though. Interfacing is useful haha.
• Invisible zipper
• Two buttons. There are more in that photo because I wasn't sure what I was gonna make at that point, but in this tutorial I'm only using them on the sleeves.
• Sewing machine!

What to do...

1. COLLAR

Collar Piece (1)

a. 19.5cm

b. 5.5cm

c. 24.5cm

d. 9cm

Cut four of these shapes from your fabric and interfacing. Make sure you have two pieces for each side! Iron on the interfacing.

Optional: add a border at this point so it gets properly sewn in. I used the border on the fabric I had, but you could do anything really. Etsy has tonnes of great lace / trim-y things. I think it makes it look more interesting. But yeah, up to you!

Right sides together, sew two pieces together along the yellow line (about 1cm from the edge).

Clip the corners and turn both sides inside out. Using your closed scissors (or something) to make sure the corners are pushed out all the way. Iron flat.

Collar Piece 2.

a. 6cm

b. 46cm

Cut two of these pieces out and iron interfacing onto both. This is what will make your collar stand up. On the inside of both pieces, use a pencil to mark where your fold will be on both sides (the yellow line). 1.5cm from the edge, I guess? Iron the fold along the line. Both sides should be exactly the same size.

Pin one of the pieces to the collar, folded edge against the unsewn part of the collar, like in the picture above. Make sure you get that curve in. Sew through all layers of fabric, like 1mm in from the folded edge. Repeat with the other piece. Make sure the two sides line up exactly!

Now that you're done, your collar should be able to stand up like this! If you pin it together, obviously haha. I actually closed up the bottom on sewing autopilot but... don't do that. Leave it open. I unpicked it. Aaanyway. This is the point I start to get excited because it's starting to look like an actual item of clothing hoho.

2. TOP

a. 17.5cm

b. 46cm

c. 33cm

d. 7cm

e. 17cm

f. 10cm

g. 17.5cm

Cut out one piece following the outside (solid) line only, with the curved neckline. Then cut two pieces - essentially the same as the first piece except cut in half and straight across at the top (the dotted line).

Right sides together, sew the back pieces to the front piece along the sides ('a' on the diagram) and the shoulders ('f').

Sew the collar to the top! Essentially do the same as when you were sewing your collar piece 1 to 2 - make sure both folded edges meet up perfectly when you sew through all layers of fabric. The neck edge of the top should now be enclosed in the collar. You will probably have a couple of cm extra at the back of the shirt. Just trim it. The end bits of Collar Piece 2 should stay open for the time being (you'll sew them up when you put the zipper in).

Do a couple of pleats on the waistline of the front piece. No need to be super specific, as long as they're in the same place / the same size. Make 'em as deep as you want. It's not a big deal.

a. 22cm

b. 51.5cm

c. 32cm

Cut two sleeve pieces. Fold each piece in half lengthways (right sides together) and sew along the side edge until you reach the yellow dotted line. At that point, separate the edges and hem them by rolling them over once (only a little) and sewing.

Because I used a border on my collar, I added another little bit to the bottom of the sleeves. Whether you do this or not, you should add interfacing because you'll be putting a button + buttonhole in. So yeah. Just hem.

Sew the sleeves into the armholes. Basically just line up the seam on the sleeve with the side seam of the top and sew all around the armhole, right sides together. If you have a little extra fabric at the shoulders, like I did, just do one or two little pleats at the top. It'll look like you planned it haha. Once again, to add a little more of my border, I sewed it all around the bottom. Up to you if you want to do that. You should now have something which looks like a nice, wearable shirt. I mean, if you wanted to you could just add a shorter zipper or some buttons up the back and make it a shirt. BUT I'm making a dress, so on we go.

3. TURNING IT INTO A DRESS

Get yerself some more fabric for a skirt. It doesn't matter how much fabric you use as long as it's enough to reach around the whole of the bodice. But I used about 2m and gathered it. I do that by setting my machine to the longest possible stitch, sewing all along the edge, taking hold of the bottom thread and pushing the fabric along it gently. Kinda like a draw string. Once you've gathered it all (or not), sew that edge of the skirt all the way along the bottom edge of the top, right sides together. 

Then you'll need to install your zipper. I am terrible at putting zippers in, so I used this page. Make sure the zip goes right up to the very top. At this point you can fold over the raw edges at the back of the collar, and just fold the top of the zip over. Make sure everything is all nice n' neat.

Finally, sew up the back of the skirt up to the bottom of the zipper, and hem. And you're done!

Hat, collar and shoes: vintage

tutorial: a lazy girl's beehive

So, being a lover of 50s / 60s fashion, there is only so much of this...

and this...

and this...

... a girl can take before she's popping down to Boots to get the cheapest hairspray she can find. So I've done this a couple of times, using tutorials I found on Youtube. It looked pretty good. But there was just one problem! The detangling process. I hate backcombing. It's irritating to do, it's irritating to get out, and you risk damaging your hair if you do it often (especially in my case, as my hair is bleached and not super strong).

Now there are lots and lots of tutorials out there for beehives, so this isn't anything super special. The only difference is that I'm doing absolutely zero backcombing, so it's something you can do every day, and it's really easy to take down.

What you need...

A hair doughnut (you can get them from Primark right now for a pound or two)

Hairspray

A million bobby pins

What you must do...

As you can see, I have relatively long hair. This is where all the fullness in the back comes from pretty much (though I definitely have more than I need), so if you have shorter than medium-length hair, you might need to use a different tutorial? I don't know!

Start off by vaguely sectioning off your hair at the front-sides and the top (behind your fringe). It doesn't have to be super precise...unless you want it to look super precise? idk. The top section should not include the hair on the crown of your head.

Tie up the front section so it's out of your way, and pin up the side sections in the direction of the crown.

Get your doughnut and, using the hair on the crown of your head only (leave the hair about half-way down the back of your head) create a bun with the doughnut just so the hair is covering it. Use your bobby pins to make sure it is secure, and hairspray it.

Hahaha, christ.

Get your front section and distribute it over the bun you just made so it sits on top in a round shape. You should do this quite loosely, and use a lot of hairspray. 

Keeping in mind the shape you want it to be, gather all of the hair from the back into a kind of ponytail type thing.

From the bottom of your hair, basically twist the ponytail around, but so it incorporates your hair on the sides with it. Do this more tightly at the nape of the neck, and more loosely as you go towards the bun. Tuck the excess hair into the twisted ponytail on the back of your head, and pin until it all feels secure. Hairspray!

Hooray, a beehive.

Plus accessories hoho, plus the blouse is from Sheinside.

Bye!