Christmas 2016

"Libby, you disappeared again!"... I know and I'm sorry.

This Christmas I was extremely busy and so didn't have anytime to make anything big or difficult for my family. However I did stay up until 3am one night beavering away on these finger-less mittens for my friends. In total I made 8 pairs in one night, each taking 30 minutes. They where a real success, mainly due to the fact that no one was expecting anything.
The reason why this project is so quick, is that the wool used is super chunky. If you want to make a pair for yourself or as a gift for a friend, then use any wool that requires the use of a 10mm hook.The rest of the instructions can be found bellow.

ch- Chain
dc- double crochet
Create 2
Row 1- ch 15, then dc into the second stitch from the hook. dc into the next 13 stitches.
Row 2 to 9- ch 1 and then dc 14
Row 10- dc 14
To assemble the mitten simply sew the two shorter sides together remembering to leave a gap for your thumb.

I hope this has inspired you!

Sewing inspirations- How to create your perfect modest swimming costume

It's finally here! I released my very first Ebook about a month ago and now I'm able to share the second Ebook, that has been written especially for those wanting to sew modest swimwear. If you'd like to read it follow this link.

I hope this has inspired you!

My second Ebook!

So after a long wait, I'm finally in a position to share my second Ebook in my sewing inspirations series. I must admit that I had hoped to get the Ebook out earlier but that just hasn't been possible.The link should be going live tomorrow, so stay tuned!

The jumper dress

Hey guys! So today, I want to share with you a dress that I made for a photo shoot last weekend. The dress was super easy to make. In fact I made the dress I'm about to show you in one afternoon.

 I sourced the jumpers that I used from my local charity shop, so as to save money on the cost of the project and because it meant I would be using items that where already finished along the edges. This made the whole project a lot faster and made the final outcome look more professional.

If you'd like to make one for yourself, here's what you'l need:

• A sewing machine
• thread
• 2 jumpers
• 2 cardigans (or 1 if you skip the part where I replace the arms)

So with out further to do, let's get onto how I made the dress:

1. Firstly I took the first cardigan and carefully removed the sleeves at the shoulder seam.
2. I then removed the sleeves (at the shoulder seam) from the other cardigan.
   
3. I then placed the sleeves of one cardigan on the other by simply reattaching the arms at the shoulders.
   
4. Next I measured out the width of the cardigan (this includes both the front and back) and the divided the measurement by 4. This measurement will be the top width.
5. Using this measurement as the top, I created trapezium like shapes from the two jumpers, making sure that I used the full width of the jumper at the bottom of the pattern piece. At this point don't forget to add seam allowance. 
6. Then I cut out these trapeziums, which left me with 4 pieces to make the skirt from.
   
7. I attached these pieces to each other, making a complete skirt.
8. Finally I attached the skirt to the cardigan (when doing this, it's important that you make sure that the cardigan is buttoned closed)  

And there you have it, how to make a jumper dress. So as always,

 I hope this has inspired you!

Most popular posts of 2015

So I wanted to look back over 2015 and I thought the best to do that would be to look at the top 3 most popular posts of 2015.

My Tartan Skirt

The owl dress

Old t-shirts to new pyjama bottoms 

I don't know about you, but I can't wait to see what 2016 has in store.

Pyjama No.4

As you may be aware, I have a younger cousin. Sadly she won't be spending Christmas with my family this year but that doesn't mean she can't take part in our family pyjama party in spirit. Please forgive the slightly dim lighting in the photos, I was in a rush to get the dress sent off in time.

I made this night dress out of a pillow case and a piece of elastic fairly quickly, and I have to admit it was one of the easiest and nicest patterns I've followed in a while. You can find the pattern I used here.

The only changes I made to the pattern, was to add little rectangles to join the front and back instead of using a tie or ribbon to join them. As I didn't use a ribbon, I used elastic, to make sure that the dress would hold up. This created these ruffled sleeves.

Of course at the end, the dress had to be wrapped in frozen wrapping paper.

I hope this has inspired you!

OOTW: One item 4 ways

Hi, so this is something I've never done before but I've decided, I might as well try it out. I've used my favourite skirt, that I made and posted about here That post also shares how you too can make a skirt like this). So to further inspire you to make this skirt, I thought I might as well share some outfit ideas with you. I've never claimed to be some sort of fashionista, this is all just my personal style.

Outfit No.1

This outfit, is one that I would wear to church because I think it's slightly more fancy than what I might wear on a normal day, mainly due to the flower on the cardigan.

Details;

Cardigan: Mango

Necklace: Claire?

Skirt: Made by me (take a look here)

Leggings: Next

Boots: Primark

Outfit No.2

I find this outfit to be a bit more toned down, due to the comfy-ness of the jumper, than the previous outfit and so would wear this to college.

Details:

Jumper: Gift 

Necklace: Bijou Brigitte 

Skirt: Made by me (find out more about it here)

Leggings: Next

Boots: Fatface

Outfit No.3

This is the exact outfit I was wearing, on Christmas Eve last year. I don't know why but it makes me feel so festive when I wear this combination. It must be the star on the jumper.

Details:

Scarf: Gift

Jumper: TK MAX

Bracelet: Gift

Watch: Gift

Skirt: Made by me (you can find out more about it here)

Leggings:Next

Boots: Fatface (they're the same boots that I had on in the previous outfit)

Outfit No.4

This outfit screams winter time to me, as not only does it include a super cute Christmas jumper, it also has fluffy boots!

Details:

Jumper: Next

skirt: Made by me (for more information take a look here)

Leggings: Next

Boots: Gift

I hope this has inspired you! 

Let me know how you would style this skirt.

One hundred posts later...

I can't believe it! This is my 100th post and to celebrate I thought I would look back at some of my favourite posts.

I posted about this skirt back in February and since then it's become one of my all time favourite skirts. Its tartan pattern is similar to what's in trend at the moment but the fact that it's jersey makes it so comfortable. If you're interested in finding out more, take a look here.

 These shorts are made from a pair of old t-shirts and I made them for my sister back in March. Since having posted about these I have also made a pair for myself and the shorts have been a real hit with my sister over the summer. To find out how you could make a pair for yourself simply take a look at my post.

Although the headbands above where my most recent project, I still had to share it as one of my favourites just due to the amount of fun I had making and designing them. If you'd like to find out how you too could make a headband like these, then take a look at this post to find out more.

I hope you've enjoyed looking back on these posts as much as I have and of course, I hope this has inspired you!

My cousin's Headbands

I made these headbands for my cousin's birthday and I swear I'm in love, I could have easily made 10 or more of these, as they are just so easy to make.

My original inspiration come from the book "half a yard heaven" by Debbie Shore. However I was unsure if the headband that I first made would fit my cousin, so I sort of started making up my own pattern.

So today I'm going to share with you how I made the last two head bands. They're so simple and easy that you'll be making loads of them out of your scrap material.

You will need:

• Ribbon (two lengths measuring 13-14 inches)
• A rectangle of fabric (as wide as you like, mine were between 5 and 7 inches wide, but roughly 11 inches long)
• A needle and thread

Method:

1. Take your rectangle of fabric and sew the two 11 inches long sides together, right sides facing.
2. Turn the long tube inside out, so that the patterned side of your fabric is showing.
3. Place the seam in the middle of the tube and flatten by ironing. 
4. Next, take one length of ribbon and place the shortest side on top of the shortest raw edge of the tube, with the rest of the ribbon running along the length of the tube. 
5. Now fold the top of the tube into two right angles, with the straight sides covering up the ribbon.
6. Then sew along the sides covering up the ribbon and turn inside out. Your fabric should now be hiding the joining seam of the ribbon and tube. 
7. Repeat the last 3 steps on the other side of the tube.
8. You now have your basic headband, decorate as you please and you're finished.

Sadly I forgot to take photos during the making of these headbands but leave a message in the comments section if any part of this is unclear and I'll see if I can help.

As always, I hope this has inspired you! 

How to make a free form swim dress(The Meer Dress)

Today I have something really exciting to share with you!

I have made a free pattern so that you too can make a swim dress, with leggings and an under top, using a free form method. Using the Meer dress instruction which I have linked down bellow you will be able to make a custom made swimdress for you're self like the ones bellow:

The Meer Dress Pattern

I hope you have as much fun making this dress, as I have in designing it!

My Tartan Winter Skirt

You can't deny that the tartan skirt has been the surprise star of fashion this year and when I first saw this style I knew that I really wanted one too. So I was super excited when I found a navy blue, red and white jersey tartan fabric for just 20p at my local fabric shop (I say local- it's actually a 2 hour drive away!). I completed this skirt in November and I've worn it almost everyday, that's how much I love it.

  By using a jersey I was able to make a slightly tighter fit. I made this skirt using the same technique as in my Boden skirt. The only change I made was to make the skirt slightly longer, so as to give that more sophisticated look that I love so much about the tartan skirt.

The hardest part of this project was the pattern matching due to the large block lines that are so unforgiving. But that is easily overcome if you're super careful and tack every thing before sending it through the sewing machine.

This was such a lovely skirt to make and is an even nicer skirt to wear.

I hope this has inspired you!

My sisters swim dress for summer 2014

Some of you may know that for summer last year I made a swimming dress for me and my sister but my sister has now out grown her old one so today I spent the morning making her a new one. I found the material yesterday for £2.50 and I absolutely love the way the dress has turned out, it's funky and cute but not too childish (as my sisters getting to the stage where she wants to look a bit more grown up).

I made this by tracing round tops, skirts and dressed from her wardrobe to find the best fit. However I now have a free pattern that shows you exactly how you too can make a dress like this, which you can find here.

I also made a bikini bottom in the same fabric so that if the dress does ride up by accident it won't be as obvious what they are but for obvious reasons I won't display them on the internet.

I also had to show you the hairstyle my sister was wearing today. You can find a video on how to do this hairstyle here.

Those of you who have been following my blog for a while may realise that recently I have been distracted by my exams but I'm soooooo pleased to tell you that I have finally finished and I'm really excited to get back into sewing.

I hope this has inspired you!

Mans shirt to cute skirt

FREE PATTERN
There will always be room in fashion for cute skirts and what's better than having the satisfaction of saying you made one yourself. Well here's a quick (30 minutes) skirt that you can make from an old mans shirt. I made my skirt out of an old stripy shirt of my Dads.

You will need:

• An old, mans, shirt (the larger the shirt the more volume there will be in your skirt)
• a sewing machine (although this can be done by hand if you are ok with sewing with jersey)
• plain black, or any colour that matches that of your shirt, jersey.
• thread that matches your skirts base colour.

Instructions:

1. First cut the shirt to just bellow the arms
2. Then sew down the button fastenings so that the skirt won't be able to be opened by the buttons.
3. Next measure your hips (or waist depending on where you want the skirt to sit) and cut out a length of jersey material that is your hip measurement in width and is about 11cm (4 inches) in height.
4. Finally attach your strip of jersey to your skirt/ cut up shirt. This yoga styled waist band is better explained in my active skirt pattern.

I hope this has inspired you!

Simple Crochet hook holder

Some of you may know that recently I've been getting into crocheting (since my mum taught me back in November). And once I got some more hooks I realised that I needed some where to hold them so I made a hook holder from left over denim, which I have from making these.

So here's how I made it:

You will need:

• 2 larger rectangles
• 1 smaller rectangle
• some left over wool
• matching thread
• sewing machine

Instructions

• First sew the 2 larger rectangles together, right sides facing. Leave a gap to turn them inside out.
• Next turn them inside out.
• Now get your smaller rectangle, turn over all the raw edges and sew down three of the four edges. The edge that you have not sewn down is the top of your holder.
• Now sew (leaving a space large enough to fit your crochet hooks) from the top of your smaller rectangle to the bottom. Sew four lines from top to bottom that are evenly spaced out along your smaller rectangle, to create the individual holders as shown bellow.

• Now roll up your holder and sew on the button equal to where your gap is.
• Then get your wool and chain as many as you need to reach your button.
• Finally fold your chain in half and place the beginning an end parts of your chain inside the gap, you used to turn the rectangles inside out, and sew it down.
• Now you should have you hook holder.

you could jazz it up with cross stitch designs, applique or a crocheted border.

High-low skirt tutorial

I first saw these skirts in South Korea, whilst on holiday. Once home I couldn't find any I liked the look of so I decided to make my own. I took pictures along the way to show you how I made it.

• I started out with a dress that was a few sizes to large for me.

• From here I cut off the top of the dress (the part where the arm holes finished).

• Next I folded over the top of the skirt to make a waist band to insert elastic. For my elastic I measure around the part of my hips I wanted the skirt to sit and cut off that length of elastic. I didn't add any seam allowance, so as to make the elastic stretch when I'm wearing the skirt. This gives it a nice fit.

• Once the elastic was inserted I pinned on an s shaped line and cut along it. ( Just a little tip, the pins can then be moved until you have the shape you want before taking the scissors to your garment)

• Then simply hem and your high low skirt is completed.

This skirt is great for both formal occasions and informal occasions.

I hope this has inspired you!