new hair...and many new clothes

Hi all,

I had a couple of pillowcases which i was deliberating whether to make into skirts, but couldnt find anybody who had made the kind of skirt it wanted. I wanted to make a cute little ra-ra skirt...but I didn't want to cut up the pillows if it was impossible. FINALLY i found a post on Crafster ( here ) So i made a skirt out of just a cute puppy pillow case and the bottom of a failed t-shirt recon, (from like 2 years ago) and it turned out cute! I really love the tiny grey polkadots and the little pink bows.


After the success of my first skirt i decided to make a second, this time i gathered the fabric rather than just pleating (I lined both pillowcases & overlocked the seams obviously to stop them from being see-through), and I used the logo part of the waistband which says 'Ramp Worx' which is a skate park in Liverpool ( I don't live in Liverpool though...).


I also made a new dress from a t-shirt which had been given to me, which i LOVED the colour but t-shirts don't ever really sit right on me, so i turned it upside down, cut off the collar and sleeves and made it into a bodice, then i gathered and sewed on around 3 metres of cute flower fabric i got for £1 a metre in Tooting, (i only used about half the length). I think it's really cute and love it with just a cardigan over the top. (technically it should be a summer dress but i love it too much to wait!!)


On top of this i took in a pair of skinny jeans, which were just that bit too baggy, i also took them up because i'd brought them on sale for £5 from the tall section.
And I also made my mum another pair of pyjama trousers, this time out of an old duvet rather than brushed cotton, and i also used a drawstring rather than elastic for the waistband.
Am currently in the process of making removable covers for the seat cushions in the kitchen.

Oh, and i dyed my hair magenta, to get into the christmas spirit :)


If i don't remember to post before christmas, All my love and hope you have fabulous holidays!

Until next time
Thanks for reading
Katie
Xx

And I return...

Once more i promise a blog and it just never materialises. All this unimportant education is really getting in the way of my important blog!
Oh, well i completed that plaid ra-ra skirt i mentioned in my last post, i REALLY like it. And as a bonus, it only cos about 50 pence (about $0.75) because i recycled the zip from an old pencil case and the fabric was a long offcut that i brought for 50 pence at a charity shop.
AND, i conquered my fear of the button hole! every time i have attempted one it just hasnt worked, it probably doesnt help that my sewing machine is from 1975...but yes, I finally worked it out!.

Also last week I altered another t-shirt into a quite revealing dress...which i then proceeded to fall down the stairs in (the bruise was really quite spectacular)((it still is actually...))
I used this tutorial on about.com

Oh! and i also made a new skirt, it has a slightly elasticated waist band, and it's (currently) got two layers, one is a cute geometric print, in pink and green on white and the other layer is white with grey pinstripes. the under layer ( the grey pinstriped one) is actually part of an old frilly sheet, my mum went through our linen closet and threw a lot away and it is one of the things that i liberated from certain doom. I didnt even need to alter it, AND it already had lace attached to the bottom! it looks good, and i feel like such an eco warrior!

I have actually had a quite sparse sewing week, have been ill so my hair looks bad...and with bad hair i just never seem to want to do anything.
But this week hopefully i'll be making more...and remembering to post a blog on it!

Katie
xoxo

Buttons!,,,,and some recon..=]

Hi all!!
Long time no post, but college carries me away. I have been making things, just not been writing about them. Recently i got given a t-shirt, which was pretty much plain but had 'Arth Guinness' written on it. As oversized boxy mens t-shirts arent really my style i simply recon'd it. I toyed with creating an asymmetric t-shirt, but decided it wouldnt really work with this one =].

I removed the sleeves and turned it into a dress, then i embellished the straps with buttons, and made a little collage on the bottom left thigh, I was trying to make a cute punky type dress without too much fuss, and seeing how easy this was i think i may do it with a couple more of my tops, maybe even combining them. =/ i havent yet made a decision, but i'll probably do it at some point. just need a couple of print-loud tee's to combine...got a LOT of idea's =]
Here's the one i actually did:
Sorry for the aweful photo :(. here's a close up of the collage type thing; I used different materials, lace and buttons, and stiches to add texture, and in person it actually looks good, i'm just a terrible photographer. :(

Also this weekend I made a new flower broach using this tutorial 'flowers from anna's garden'
it's a really easy to follow tutorial, and I LOVE my one =]

I ALSO, made a scoodie!!
I'm not entirely sure if it suits me but it is FABULOUS, i got the tutorial from here. It is a really easy tutorial to follow, even I can do it.
To make the scoodie i used some REALLY old green knit jersey and an old fleecy under sheet warmth mat (type thing :P), look at me recycling!! i'm a little eco warrior :P.


And this is me in my scoodie =]
all wrapped up and warm for winter...in my bedroom :P



I shall post when i make more =] i've started on a plaid skirt, so i shall post it if i dont fail with it =]

Love, Katie
xoxo

a blogger.

Hi All,

I have decided to become a blogger, mainly because the people in my lives appear to be unenthralled by my constant banter about sewing, but also in a vague attempt to keep myself motivated.

I have recently finished my school education, with a lowly B in textiles, but the B was accumilated in the exam, i got an A on my practical, thank goodness. Over the summer I have started sewing as much as i can ( i have been on my sewing machine at 4 AM, which - as my father gets up at 5 AM to go to work - has needless to say been met with hostile responses). I also discovered the world of sewing blogs, and i am not attempting to replicate some of the amazing one's i've favorited - I simply want to chronicle my vague attempts at being creative. This blog is going to show my own ideas (the ones of which work are few and far between) and my attempts to follow the tutorials etc. of other bloggers.

Recently a friend of a friend of my grandma's passed away, and seeing as she was a tayloress (as my grandma's aquantances invariably seem to be), she left behind a corncopia of buttons. Due to a general dissinterest by any of the immediately affected parties, these have fallen into my hands. I spent about a day just looking at them all, and imagining all the projects i could now do which i couldn't before (which wasn't that high, but they're still pretty), and they're now sitting on my shelves in colour coded pots. I think that overall my favorite pot is the green ones, they give off a sense of magic - which sounds very lame, but the act of being obsessed with buttons in the first place implies as much.

I may post photo's of the buttons, but i fear that since i have about one photo of my family on my computer, six of a bunch of buttons may be a tad strange.

Katie Xx