Gnome Hat

For sports day at school we had a form mascot competition. My Form decided on a Gnome theme, so that evening I set about making this "high fashion" hat. I basically crocheted a semi-circle, folded it in half and sewed down the straight side.

The rest of my team where amazing at looking around their homes for possible gnome related clothing, which all helped us to win the competition. The end result can be seen below.

Marissa did an amazing job of being our form gnome and Amy, Bronnen, Holly, Lucy and Nicole did a great job in persuading the allotment club to let us "borrow" their wheelbarrow. You can't see it in the photo but our form tutor also made a last minute contribution in the form of a makeshift fishing rod. 

I hope this has inspired you!



Bordered Scarf

FREE PATTERN
These summer floral scarves seem to be everywhere and when I took a closer look at one in a shop I realised just how simple it would be to make one for myself.
This pattern is really simple but does require you to know how to crochet.

 

You will need:

• Floral material, something you think would be suitable for a summer scarf. (I measured my favourite scarf which turned out to be 48cm by 175cm)
• Matching  or contrasting thread (I used white to bring forward the white in the material)
• A crochet hook (4mm preferably but any size would do)
• Double knitting yarn

 

The main scarf

Fold over all four of the sides about 1cm, so that wrong sides of the fold are facing.
Pin in place
Next sew around the edge of the material so as to secure all the rough edges out of sight.

The border

A point = chain 3 and slip stich into the first chain.

1. Chain 72, if you are using the same measurements I did. If you are using your own measurements of your shorter sides then any number devisable by 3 should work.
2. (single crochet 3 and then create a point) repeat this all the way across your chain.
3. Now simple sew this onto the shorter ends of your scarf and voila you have a new summer scarf.

I hope this has inspired you!

Boden Skirt

Free Pattern

This pattern is great for beginners or an easy sew for more experienced sewers. My inspiration came from this Boden/ JonnieB skirt. I hope you enjoy making this custom made skirt.

You will need:

• Striped jersey material. The original skirt was blue and white but any coloured stripes would work. To find out how much fabric you need see step 2 in the instructions.
• Contrasting elastic, I used red but it depends on the colours of your stripes. The elastic should be around 6cms wide (about 2.4 inches). To find out how much you need see step 1 in the instructions.    
• Thread that matches both your striped material and your wide elastic.

 

 Instructions

1. To work out how much elastic you will need measure around your hips. DON'T add on seam allowance because it's the stretch in the elastic that keeps your skirt up. 
2. To work out how much fabric you need multiply your hip measurements by 1.15 and add on seam allowance (i.e. it should be 15%, plus seam allowance, bigger than your elastic in width). Make sure that the stripes are parallel to this length of the fabric. This should allow for leg movement but still be tight fitting. For length measure from the bottom of your hips to your mid/ lower thigh and add on seam allowance (depending on how long you wish the skirt to be). I would suggest you go no longer than your lower thigh because this may infringe on your leg movement.  
   
3. Cut your fabric and elastic in half.
4. Attach a piece of elastic onto one of your jersey pieces. Use the thread that matches your elastic. Do this by laying the elastic on top of the side that should be half of your hip measurement (the top of the jersey piece should not be visible when done but the finished side of the elastic should be visible). Start sewing. While sewing pull on the elastic to make it the same length as your piece of jersey.
5. Repeat step 4 on the others of jersey and elastic.
6.  Now sew the 2 pieces of elasticated jersey together. Right sides facing and the elastics facing each other. This should be done in a thread that matches your jersey material.  
7. Now simply hem the bottom of the skirt (the side with no elastic).

Voila! You have your own custom made Boden skirt. 

I hope this has inspired you!

Coming Soon!

I'm so excited to announce that a new free pattern will be posted soon. I've been working on this pattern for a while (I couldn't post it while I was in the middle of the exam period) but I can't wait to share it with you. My inspiration for this skirt can be found here so stay tuned!

  I hope you will be inspired soon!

Exams are OVER!!!!

All my external exams are over for this year. Yay! So to celebrate I pulled out some old torn jeans and made yet another pair of shorts. How I make my shorts can be found here.

This is how they used to look before they became ripped and then became my newest pair of shorts.

This time I made them a lot shorter than I have before because I wanted something different, which would give me more options with my wardrobe. I also zigzag stitched the bottom of them and deliberately let them fray (in my option short tighter fitting shorts look nicer when allowed to fray).

I'm not sure how much use they will get (other than being worn with leggings) because the weather has taken a dramatic turn.

I hope this has inspired you!   

Puple bow top

Hello again! Sorry my posts haven't been very regular recently. It's because currently it's the middle of the exam period where I live. But I've decided to take 10 minutes out to do a quick post for you.

I made this top as a Christmas present for my little sister (I've not actually done any sewing for awhile). The design was improvised but I can tell you roughly how I created it.

• Firstly I got one of my sisters simple tank tops and traced it's design.
• Then I adapted it by making the straps wider and arm holes a lot larger, so that it became a design feature.

• I didn't have enough floral material so I did the back in a pale blue.
• I finished off the arm wholes with bias binding and the neck hole with the pale blue material but in the process making it stand funny. So I pulled down the blue material and added a purple bow; funny how mistakes can turn out to became nice features. 

Sorry that this post couldn't be more helpful or insightful but chemistry is calling me!

I hope this has inspired you!