The Black Maxi Skirt

For our second project in college we created a pattern and manufactured maxi skirts. To start this I used my skirt block and adapted it to create extra flare, invisible zip on one side and a waist band. This skirt was also cut on the bias which made it stretch and flute out at the hem.

The photo on the left are the adapted skirt pattern pieces I used to create flare. These were quite fiddly because they were long but they were easy to adapt. To create the flare I traced around my skirt block and divided it into three sections coming from the darts. I then slashed up the lines and closed the darts. This automatically spread out the pattern as seen in the picture. I then added an extra 2.5cm flare to the hem line at the side and joined that line to the hip. Below shows the final skirt pattern with a 1.5cm seam allowance and the waist band pattern which was very simple. To create the waist band I took a measurement from the waist of the skirt pattern and doubled this. I then added 4cm for the button stand and a seam allowance of 1.5cm all the way around. For the depth I decided on 4cm and doubled that hight wise so it was folded at the top. 

This shows the two back pieces sewed together

This shows topstitching

Unfortunately my fabric wasn't wide enough. To problem solve this I had to add a front seam and a back seam, so I had four pieces instead of two and I had to sew a topstitch on the front and back seam to finish the seam. Next time I will definately double check the width of my fabric.

Also because my fabric wasn't widenough the last pattern piece wouldnt fit on the fabric so I had to sew an extra triangular piece on to the bottom of the skirt pattern as shown in the image above. Once I had my whole front and back piece I inserted a concealed zip into the left side seam. I then closed up the right seam with a 1.5cm seam allowance.

The last step was to sew a button hole and button on to the waist band, I had some trouble with the machine but after a fiew practices it worked fine.

The last step was to hem which I found difficult due to the fabric slipping and being cut on the bias. I ironed up the hem 0.5cm, I then repeated this to conceal any overlocking/raw edges. I finished this by topstitching down. I learnt that its difficult to hem on a circular skirt compared to a straight skirt.  

This is the finished skirt in the photo on the left, I think that this skirt was alot easier and simple to make compared to the military skirt in the previous blog as there are no pleats. I also perfer this skirt to the previous one as it's a lot less structured and it drapes really nicely.

I really enjoyed making this skirt and I hope you like it, Thanks for reading.

Jenny xxx

The Military skirt

These are images of the finished skirt, I think that I did a pretty good job for my first project in college. I found the actual pattern cutting alot more difficult than actually making it, I think that this because pattern cutting is quite technical and you have to be very precise and I much perfer making and being on the sewing machines.

The most difficult part of this was sewing the facing to the zip as it didnt quite fit, and making all the seams match.

All in all i'm quite proud of this skirt and in the future I will deffinately work harder and concentrate more on my pattern cutting.

Thanks for reading, what do you thing of this skirt??

Jenny xxx

OOTD : The Red Maxi

Here's the DIY maxi skirt from a previous post, I thought that I would do an outfit of the day for a change. I kept this quite simple as close up theres alot of detail in the skirt, I paired it with a peter pan collar blouse (which seem to be pretty popular now) a midlength necklace and some black heels for height. I also wore some red lipstick for an extra pop of colour.

Thanks for reading! what do you think of the skirt??

Jenny xxx

Bargain Jewellery!

A few months ago me and my friend discovered risingtaste.com via blog stats and email, we were quite sceptical about risingtaste as you should be with new online shops. But nonetheless we went and had a look and found some of the cheapest clothing and jewellery so I decided to buy some jewellery ready for Christmas, and they arrived a few days sooner than expected.

 First I bought this necklace for $3.44

I fell in love with this when i first saw it on cute little strawberries but I was gutted when I found out that they only ship to Singapore!

I also bought this for $3.44

It looks really pretty in the light, one of my new favourites!

Finally I bought this bracelet for $0.99!!!

I've wanted this bracelet for a long time and I was going to buy it for £3.99 at a different website but when I saw this it made my Christmas!

Thanks for reading! What do you think of my jewellery and rising taste??

And if I don't post before new year then

Happy new year!! I hope 2012 will be good to you :)

Jenny xxx



DIY : Shirred Maxi Skirt

So I've finally had the chance to make my maxi skirt, this is really easy to make and it shouldn't be to expensive to make depending on your fabric. For this you will need to have a sewing machine and this will require shirring, if you don't know how to shirr then here's a link to the video I learnt from : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EU9ZL0kMV_c

You will need:

• 2 different fabrics (I used chiffon and a thin cotton) remember you fabric must be at least  waist measurement + 0.5 x required length
• Gold or Silver closed zip any length you like
• Sewing machine
• Matching thread (to fabric and zip)
• Elastic/shirring thread
• Material scissors

Step 1

Make sure your fabric is the right size, mine is 1.5m by 1m that is wide enough for my waist and long enough to touch the ground. if you wan a shorter skirt then you can cut it shorter.

Then hem one edge of both of your fabrics (the longer edge)

Step 2

Thread your machine for shirring and place your  fabrics wrong sides togther on the edges where you hemmed and sew a line of shirring, any width you like, I used roughly 1.5cm. Remember to stretch the fabric tight when sewing a new row.

Then sew about 11 more rows of shirring, you can do more or less as long as they reach your hip.
(This is very tidious but its well worth it)

Step 3

Fold the skirt in half right sides in and sew them together untill the end of the shirring. Then sew the inner layer first and the outer layer second, the skirt will have more movement this way.


 Step 4

Next cut the bottom of the skirt so its all the same length and hem the edges of both fabrics.

 

Step 5

In this case the zip is for display only but you can make it functional if you want. Sew the zip on the seam be sure to match it with the top if the skirt, you can trim a bit off if you like.

Give your skirt a good iron and now your skirt is done! Simple and quick, It might not be exactly the same as the origional but its pretty close. I'll post an outfit of the day with this skirt as soon as I can.

Thanks for reading, I hope you have fun making this skirt if you decide to make it. If you have any questions then feel free to ask!

I hope you had a great christmas!

Jenny xxx

DIY: Deco Den Compact

                                                                                                                Deco Den is a really nice hobby

and something fun to do when your bored and its quick and easy. This is more of an example than a tutorial, as I can only really show you an example of what you can do with your embellishments and give you some tips, that way you can have any design that you want on your make-up case or pretty much any plastic cover.

First if you cant find embellishments that you want then a good shop to get them is : http://fullmoon07xxx.ocnk.net/ (definitely recommend this onlineshop)

Otherwize you should be able to get them from a craft shop.

You will need :

• Embellishments
• Glue (Do Not Get Fast Drying Glue)
• Something to decorate (e.g. Phone case, Compact case, jewellery box...)
• (Optional) Tweezers and Q-tips.
  

Step 1

Figure out what design you want to create. Once you know where you want everything place your biggest pieces down first and then glue them down, this will be easier when filling your smaller pieces. (for bigger pieces you can glue the backs and then stick them down.)

Step 2

If you have lots of different sized embellishments then keep gluing them down (remember big to small). If you have embellishments similar to mine then stop when there too small to place with you fingers, that way you wont get covered in glue.








Step 3

Next add the smaller pieces, first glue the surface eavenly and then you can place them down with a pair of tweezers, this way is a lot faster and less fiddly.
(you can use a Q-tip to spread the glue in smaller areas)







Step 4

Fill all the spaces you can with your small embellishment it will look better to fill as much of the cover as possible, unless its part of your design to have some of the cover exposed.









Step 5

Finally fill any small gaps with emaller embellishments (I used nail art Rhinestones)
Then leave your Deco Den case to dry over night (try not to touch it)  

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this post! If you have any questions feel free to ask, and if you tried this or done this before how did it go??

Jenny xxx

A Trip To The Garden Centre

Recently I went to our local garden centre with my dad, I only found out not long ago that they now have a craft shop and I was quite annoyed than none of my friends had told me about it sooner as there aren't many local craft shops.

They have a lot of really nice things this time of year so I thought I would share some pictures (I felt like such a tourist taking pictures of everything)

This is a Dress they have from the Philippines, its almost £400 but it looks amazing especially up close.

I got 3 packs of embellishments for 99p each, I'll be using these in a DIY later this week.

This trip has definitely helped me to get into the Christmas spirit. Wheres your favourite place to go this time of year?

Jenny xxx

The Innocent One

These past few weeks we've been doing styling shoots in college, I just wanted to share the independent shoot that I have done at home with my friend Shelby. 

Originally we were given the word "secret" however I found it easier to use innocent as the theme instead.  For this shoot I dressed her in white (unfortunately we didn't have white leggings) I also kept her make-up quite natural and I fluffed up her hair clipped in some pom poms and a ribbon.

The Idea for this was to have an innocent girl as the main object and for her to look quite angelic which is why I used a partial blur and gave her a dreamy glow, I also added some glitter and stars that ended up looking like snow which was fortunate as I wanted to have a shoot of her playing in the snow but we haven't had any snow yet.

Here's the pictures:

I hope these look pretty innocent, any feedback would be great!

After we finished we thought they looked like Christmas cards, so we made one:

Merry Christmas! 

Jenny xxx

Who's Met William Tempest?

Last week on Friday William Tempest came to visit our college and talked to us about his career and life in college and afterwards as he was a fashion student at Mid Cheshire college several years ago.

If you dont know who William Tempest is he is a British Fashion designer from Cheshire (were i'm from!) He's also attended The London College of Fashion and worked at Giles Deacon in London and Jean Charles de Castelbajac in Paris.

During his talk we had a chance to ask him questions but not many did and as I was a bit star struck and scared to say anything so I held back.

 

However, after the talk he went through his portfolio. (which looked amazing) 
His portfolio has definitely made me want to be more creative with my work and I have learned how effective simple things can be, such as embelishments, the media you use or just the colour.

 I have also learned to concentrate on the smaller details, like the shape of a neckline or what material to use as sometimes they can make a big difference to your garment or work. 

What will I take from his visit?
Ans: I will try to gain more experience in the field that I wish to work in and I have now become more aware of what I am attracted to and can hopefully condence this into a style of my own.

Here's his website address: http://www.williamtempest.com/

He has worked with many celebrities and a lot of them wear his dresses regularly including Emma Watson, Rihanna, Victoria Beckham, Leona Lewis and so on...

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this post. What do you think about William Tempest's work??

Jenny xxx

3 Weeks Till' Christmas

This is just a quick post to let you know whats coming up this month, I always feel quite crafty when winter comes and I really do need to learn how to knit but there will be more DIY posts this month including the Crinkle long skirt from a previous post.

 There will be other Christmas posts, after the 15 there will be more frequent DIY posts. For now I wanted to show you my Christmas tree that was put up on Dec 1st, its a tradition that my dad has done since he was a child and one we do every year.

This year we got a white tree and decorated it in blue, as our tree isn't very big we also bought mini baubles.

Thanks for reading, I hope you liked this post

Have you put your tree up yet? what does it look like?