Come on girls the Androgyny is kicking in and we need to be in on the action!

Right, so lets cut to the chase.

In college I'm learning to make a shirt!! So happy as the 'boy meets girl' look is coming in to style and I love  a pretty shirt! 

I haven't made my shirt yet but I have the pattern!

Here it is... Just for you!

This is a little complicated because there is so many bits BUT... Here goes!

My first draft...

Sorry about the poor image quality.

So here's the easy bits...

• Trace of the yoke and add a 1.5cm seam allowance all the way around.
• Trace the back piece off and also add 1.5cm seam allowance all the way around.
• Again trace the front and add 1.5cm seam allowance all the way around EXCEPT the Centre Front (CF for short) as this will have the button stand and overlap.

Here's where it gets a little more tricky... The sleeve.

Get a sheet of paper twice as big as the sleeve.Draw a line down the middle of this piece of paper.

Take your sleeve and split each side of your sleeve into 3 equal pieces. Slash up your lines, so the pieces are holding on by a thread, to create tentacle like pieces of paper.

Place this on to your larger sheet evenly on each side of the line you drew earlier. Stick this down at the top with tape.

Spread the two pieces either side of the middle by 8cm and stick down.

Now on the right side you spread and stick the tentacles down by 4cm and on the left by 8cm.

This is how it should look!

Now trace this off and add 1.5cm seam allowance.

For the cuff of the sleeve, just trace this off and add 1.5cm seam allowance. 

It's as easy as that!

For the pocket place your hand on a piece of paper. 

Mark 4 points around your hand.

Fold your piece of paper making sure the dots meet at the top.

Draw your top line and side lines.

Now decide the shape of the bottom and draw half.

Fold your paper the opposite way and trace.

Trace this off and add 1.5cm seam allowance.

Looks harder than it is! Right?

Mine looks like this... 

Now it gets complicated again. Collars! Take forever. Look great!

Warning!: Read carefully!

To start measure your neckline on your first draft. On mine it was 18cm.

Choose your collar stand length. I chose 5cm.

Then on top of that choose your collar length. Just to be different I chose 6cm. Normally collars are between 3cm and 4.5cm.

Add this and draw two lines going up from either end of your neck line. 

Draw a line across the top.

Draw a line for example I would draw it 5cm up, splitting your collar stand and collar. 

The rest is all very muddled and confusing but here are my images showing my first draft, adaptions and final patterns, hopefully this will help.

COLLAR STAND!

COLLAR!

Keep a look out for my shirt making post in the next few days!

Wish me luck!

XOXO

Your wardrobe isn't complete without a maxi skirt!

In pattern cutting at college we are learning to make skirts with all sorts of features and cuts.

The last couple of weeks before Christmas we made a pattern for a maxi skirt, using our skirt blocks (featured in an earlier blog) and then manipulated them to create flare and a button stand.

To start my maxi skirt pattern I traced around my skirt block and added length.
I manipulated the patterns so as to take out the darts. I did this by drawing vertical lines from the bottom of the darts and slashing up them. I then closed the darts. The skirt then automatically opened out giving it flare.
To create the extra flare I added 2.5cm to the hem line and joined this new point up to the hip line.

This is my manipulated pattern for my maxi skirt!
It looks like an octopus don't you think? Ha!


To create my final pattern I had to place this onto a sheet of paper and draw around the whole pattern adding seam allowance of 1.5cm. I didn't add the seam allowance to the CF and CB as these were cut on the fold.


---


For this skirt I had to buy 3metres of fabric that was 130cm wide!!!!


I failed this task!
As we were cutting our patterns out on the bias (this means it will stretch, this also means it makes it more difficult to pin and sew for me! Haha!) I had a few problems with the size of my fabric.
To problem solve my back piece was cut as two halves as I didn't have enough fabric. This meant I had to place a seam down the CB. I had a piece of fabric left over from another project, which luckily was the same fabric!
Of course this made my making longer than others! 


Note to self: Always get the right measurements of fabric!!!!! Ha!Ha!


---


Making the skirt wasn't too difficult, I just had an extra seam to sew compared to my peers.


I put my invisible zip and button hole on the right side of my skirt. I found these features really easy to sew, this was a bonus!


The hardest part to sew on the skirt was the hem! I had to over lock all the way around my hem. Then once it was overlocked I then turned up the overlocking and ironed this to then have to fold and iron this again,keeping it as small as possible!
It was horrific! It was stretching and moving and I kept burning myself on the iron! 
One word; Horrendous! 


---


This is my much loved button and very well fitted invisible zip!
Invisible zips are my fave! So easy to fit and look so great!

And isn't my button just the cutest?
It looks like white and milk chocolate swirled together! Marvellous!!
I absolutely LOVE buttons! The one thing that comes in handy is loving sewing button holes too, especially on domestic machines!


For the waist band (which is where you can see the button) I had to measure the top of my skirt and added 4cm for the button stand (this is where you will have your button hole).
I decided on the height of my waist band and doubled it so that it had a fold at the top.

This is my waistband and interfacing completed patterns!

---


Here's the final creation! (I tried it on. It fits. So proud!)

This is the front and the back! How elegant and pretty does it look? 
Looks like a bridal skirt, right? I have my profession sorted! Ha!

Then here's the right hand side (with my adorable button and my invisible zip) and the left side, which I am sad to say is boring!


---


Hope you like! Let me know what you think!


XOXO

What do a Box pleat, Kick pleat and Yoke all have in common?

They all look good on this skirt...

Patterning!

FIRST DRAFT.

This is my First Draft, to create this I drew round my skirt blocks with all the  darts, notches and  the hip line.

I also added a line for my box pleat on the front skirt piece. (You might be able to see this on the far right hand side.)

I then added flare to my centre back line, by extending the hem and drawing a smooth line from the new end hem line to the hip line.

My adaptations and final yoke pattern pieces.

To begin my pattern pieces I traced of the yoke and closed the darts.
Once I'd closed my darts I re-traced the new yoke and added a 1.5cm seam allowance and cut it out.

My adaptations and final facing pattern pieces.

For the interfacing I drew a 5.3cm line from my waist down on my first draft.
I again traced it off and closed the darts.
I re-traced this and added a 1.5cm seam allowance and cut it out.

This is my open box pleat.

To begin creating my front skirt piece I had to trace it off my first draft without the yoke.

I then measured my box pleat (4cm) and times this by 3 and cut out a piece of paper 12cm wide and the length of my skirt.

I taped this to the edge of my pattern piece and folded equally, so it looks like a concertina, the folds then created notches.

I re-traced this, added my 1.5cm seam allowance and cut it out.

This is the box pleat closed.

This is my final front skirt pattern piece.
With all the markings, notches and 1.5cm seam allowance.

Final skirt back pattern piece, with notches and markings.

This is my back piece. This has a kick pleat in it. To create this I traced of the back skirt from my first draft.
To make the kick pleat I drew a 20cm line and marked it off on the CB line.
Along the bottom I added 5cm.
To create the diagonal line I used my set square to create the line and drew up from 5cm to join the diagonal line.
I then added my 1.5cm seam allowance and cut it out. 

Manufacture!


The waistband is easy you just half the size of your yoke (which is the piece at the top of your skirt) and add interfacing for extra support and security!


At the front you can see the box pleat which is a pleat you can have on most area's of a skirt and is made by simply folding the fabric like a concertina and then opening it half way, it's a little difficult to explain but VERY easy to do!


I thought my box pleat went really well for my first attempt though my ironing isn't great. Ha!


---

This is the yoke, found at the top of my skirt!
You will have a yoke on many of your garments, such as at the top of your jeans, back of shirts and other skirts and jackets, etc!
This part of the skirt was really simple and it was just like sewing the bits of a puzzle together!


---

This is the back, bottom, centre of my skirt, which is where my kick pleat is found. 
A kick pleat is to give you more lee way when walking, mainly in pencil skirts. I added it to this skirt to learn how to create them.
For my first time creating this pleat I think I did it really well and it turned out really neat!


Kick pleats are a little more difficult to create than a box pleat and just as awkward to explain.
But it is basically the way you cut your fabric and the way you sew the seam, when sewing the seam you do not sew the pleat together or it defeats the object of the pleat! Haha!
I found this bit a struggle but it turned out better than I imagined. 


---

This is my invisible zip, this is also found in the centre back of my skirt.
These zips are easy peasy!! You just have to work out how to fold the sides.
I really like invisible zips as I find them easy but very effective.


---

The two sides have no fancy pleats or zips in them but I thought I would upload the images to show you the box pleat from a side view and just to show you every part of my skirt properly!


For a first time making a skirt with all these features I think it went well! 
Although I do think I need to work on using these industrial sewing machines! 
You need a nack for these things. 
Something I've not gained yet! Ha!


---


Let me know what you think!


XOXO

Wish list #2

First wish list for the new year!

As it is coming up to my birthday (or it will be in March) I have started to pick out items I would like for my 17th!

Here's one of the most amazing accessories I have EVER seen!

These absolutely stunning Ray Bans from Asos.
At £140 I might be pushing my luck, but hey, I can dream! 

XOXO

Everything's a secret until you tell someone...

So for college we're doing styling in our brief and I have done an individual shoot with the word Secret. 

For this I had minimal idea's...

But as it was Christmas time I thought I would play on the idea of presents being a surprise and a secret, I also love christmas and the festive spirit so used one of my three christmas trees in the shoots and alongside my little sister, Eleanor!

I did make the mistake of taking the images after christmas so I was stressing trying to find presents and things but luckily it's Eleanor's birthday on the 5th of January and we wrapped up her gifts and used those and a few gifts unwrapped from christmas! 

I took lots of images with her sneaking into the front room and looking at her presents and playing with my me to you bear! (That I got for christmas).

Many of the images she isn't looking at the camera and lots of shots were done again and again as she kept laughing or moving! 

Worst model ever! Though she does have the figure, and she is very pretty and STICK THIN!!! So jealous!

Any how, here are my fave images... Hope you like!

Sorry about her being the wrong way round; but I like how this is very colour themed (not intentional) with the blue and silver.

She thought it was necessary to crouch when sneaking through the door; fool!
I really like how this works though, as you can see the tree and the brick fire place, looks very authentic. Don't you think?

Again, sorry about the rotation...

Look at her stealing the chocolates, the cheeky monkey! Trust my sister to be wanting food! Ha!

I like this as she actually didn't know what the present was and she was actually intrigued by it, so this she didn't really pose for!
There's my beloved Me To You bear as well!!!

She looks a little shocked at this but I liked how she had so much concentration on the bear!

She going to suffocate the poor bear! But at least she looks happy and festive, though I think I should crop the big blue bag out, I think it ruins the christmas'y, happy effect! 

I really like this with the little wood fire in the background and the brick fire place. Perfect Christmas picture, this one's going on my wall! Ha!

This is a more distant version of one of the first images, I really like this, I'm not too sure why I just feel it works well, as it builds up the story of christmas!

I took the images so as to make a story of christmas and the suspense up to christmas day when you open your presents and reveal the secret! I understand they are not set out in this order but blogger seemed to want to mix them up! 

Why not choose how you would arrange them and let me know!

I hope you like the images and enjoy the christmas spirit even in the new year!

XOXO

New Years Resolutions...

This year I have decided that I need to stick my resolutions, because to be honest I'm not very good at it! At all!

I have made a few resolutions this year! Here's mine, why not let me know what yours are?

1. To keep on top of my blog and do at least two blogs a week.

2. To keep a note book or pad with me at all time to make notes of idea's, things I want, things to blog about, that kind of stuff...

3. To save money, it is the one thing I'm not great at but I got a bank account last year and I am doing well with saving money and keeping note of how much I have, where I spend it and what on... I got that idea from my Nanna! Ha!

4. To read more and actually finish a book before starting a new one! I love reading but I always get distracted by new ones before I finish the old ones!


5. Actually start and keep up with my LookBook!

Let me know what your resolutions were, maybe we have similar ones!

XOXO

I've got my creative head on...

So I've been looking into the sales and new spring/summer collections coming out and I've found LOTS and LOTS of things I would love to try and make...

These are just a few I would love to make this year, so keep a look out on my blog for these gorgeous garments...

One: 

If making these fails, I may break down. I have been drooling over knicker shorts for months! I love that these are not basic black and really want a pair in red and blue! (I think I am obsessed with Red and Blue a little too much just lately! Ahh well! Ha!)

Two:

LOVE! LOVE! LOVE!
I have some gorgeous blue satin fabric that I bought months ago and saw this top and thought the satin would fall perfectly for this style of top!

 Three:

You may remember these from my wish list... Well I never got them! I've never made trousers before so I thought it would be a good challenge! Wish me luck, I'm going to need it on this one!

 Four:

 Five:

 Six:

I'm not sure whether to buy this and tie dye it or make my own in a groovy 'hippy' pattern, or even in several different patterns! We'll have to see what I feel like wearing in the summer months! Ha!

 Seven:

Are these not the most fabulous shorts in the history of high waisted'ness! 

 Eight:

I love this but really want it in black, to my luck they don't sell it in black in my size!
Though this orange is growing on me... Ha! 

 Nine:

Ten:

Very Vivienne Westwood, Right?

 Eleven:

I really, really, really wanted this for Christmas but didn't get it (not that I'm unhappy with what I did get), but I looked in the sale to find that they don't even do it in my size anymore and thought to myself, I don't need them, I'll make my own! Wish me look! Ha!

 Twelve:

Yes I know this was on my wish list... I just love it!

I realise this looks like a lot of making, but you'd be surprised I have seen a lot more! 

I have a real making mode on at the moment, with the new year starting, I thought I would begin a new wardrobe and to start that I thought I would add my own touch!

Keep a look out for these, my christmas presents post and my sale buys!

XOXO