Tuesday 28 October 2014

Distracting DIY

So today I'm a little busy on other things, I've been living in Chesterfield for nearly a year and a half now, and we finally have the budget for me to decorate my room.

It's been pretty frustrating trying to take photos for the blog (just see last week's tutorial-that's going to need redoing) the wallpaper was truly awful. Fortunately I'm opting for paint, and hopefully it'll make a better backdrop.

My sewing stuff is tucked away and everything else is covered in dust or sheeting. As I'm off college this week I'm really trying to get it finished whilst I can, hence the late post! I really hope your sewing projects are going swimmingly (or should that be 'sewingly'?) and I should be back to normal next week. Happy Halloween folks!
Toni

Monday 20 October 2014

Tutorial - A Spooky Three in One



So here it is, my first DIY for you lot! To celebrate halloween, what are your plans? Are you hosting a halloween party at yours, going out on the town in fancy dress, or taking kids round the neighbours for a trick or treat? I can tell you one thing, you (or your mum, or even your kids!) would look extra spooky in a homemade halloween 3 in 1! It can be worn as scary scarf, an 'orrible overskirt, or a petrifying poncho, giving you lots of options, especially if you haven't decided what you're going as yet.

It'd work brilliantly in miniature, but also it would be a great holiday craft to do with the kids, as all you have to sew on is a button. Here is how you do it...you will need:
  • 1 square of fabric, see how to measure it below.
  • some scissors,
  • a button,
  • a needle and thread.

You need a big square of fabric that roughly measures from one hand to the other. The best way of measuring it is to take two handfuls of fabric along one edge and wrap it around your shoulders, letting the fabric run through one of your hands, then mark the place where your hands end up. Or, if you don't have the fabric already, do the same with a piece of string, then measure that.

Your fabric needs to be square for this one, but you could turn it on it's corner if you like. Use any other geometric shape you desire, but they might need some preparatory calculations first. Personally I would lay off the circles for this one, as I think cobweb points fit the halloween theme perfectly, but it is up to you. Make sure you cut your selvedges off!


Find the centre of your fabric and mark. Cut from any point on the edge of the fabric to the centre of your shape in a straight line.


Calculate 1/4 of your neck size divided by 3.142 and measure the product of your calculation around the centre point, and cut this circle out. The circumference of the circle should be 1/2 of your neck size, but if you've done the maths right you don't need to worry about that!



Using the same measurement as before, cut two lines that distance apart from the first cut you made from the middle of your shape to the edge. Your new cuts should line up with the edges of the circle you cut out in the centre. It should now look like the pattern above.


Almost done! Now you need to sew a button on for your skirt. Sew it wherever you like, but have a fiddle first, take the wrap and put it around your waist to see how it lies, have a look on google at wrap skirts. Place your button and snip an appropriate button hole. 


Now you can wear it as a scarf, a poncho and a skirt, but make sure you're wearing something underneath your new hem, as we don't want you to be flashing anyone, do we?

I'll take this point to mention that I'm on Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr and Google+, and would love it it if you dropped by. I hope you enjoyed my first DIY as much as I did, and hope you enjoy happy holidays!

Toni

Monday 13 October 2014

Autumn/Winter All Sewn Up

So this supposedly quick sew has turned out to be a not so quick sew...but in my defense I have had my job inductions to do as well as all my college work, so there are my excuses for not having started sewing it yet.

Excuses aside, it has been cut out. Yes it has.


I'm going to start sewing it tonight! I'll have to go out and buy some woollen tights so I can wear it through the winter. Here's the other fabric I'm using for the front 'yoke' bit, it's a warm fabric that's grey. Now I think about it a black or a navy might work better, but other than the photo on my Pinterest board, I was inspired by a grey top that was similar in colour to the one I happened to have in my fabric box, so I thought 'hey, why not?' also as much as I love a navy, three quarters of the clothes I own seem to be blue, so I am very bored of navy at the moment.


I better get started, there will be a lot of pleating to do. See you on the other side, folks.

Next week, to celebrate the upcoming milestone of 500 page views I am uploading my (deep breath) first ever tutorial! It's perfect for adults but it also works brilliantly in miniature. It's quick and this makes it perfect for a kid's project as as well as being fast to make there is not much sewing going on...bit weird with this being Toni Sews Clothes, but I thought I'd start off simple. Tune in this time next week for a spooky DIY.

Toni

Monday 6 October 2014

Autumn/Winter Dress...Almost There

So this is what I took my inspiration from this week for my dress, drafted from my blocks I drew last week. Initially I was going to copy it exactly, but then I realised I only really have some tartan that would be the correct drape for it.


Considering that, I decided that the top section  should be something else other than tartan, to contrast with the it and to make me look less like I'm buried in plaid...that's what I'm aiming for anyway. Considering it's going to be below the knee and have long sleeves it might not work, but I'm going to try it out and see what happens.

Here's the pattern so far...


I've split the front 'yoke' bit up with pleats, a little like the ones in the picture below. (The pleats are going to be in that big rectangle on the right.) It's one piece of fabric from the shoulder to the hem, but I am aiming for it to look like they're cascading down the front of the dress...I'm hoping my sewing skills are up to scratch!


I cut the block down to strips the made the strips wider at the bottom than at the top, to give myself more fullness in the skirt. I didn't want to put a seam in at the waist as that would have given the dress more panels and would have made it more complicated - the bit I really want to focus on getting right is the yoke and the pleats, as that is where the faults are going to be easier to spot.


Having said that, as I've flared the pattern out from above the breasts and not the waist, there is a possibility there will be too much fullness there, which might have to be combated with more pleats on the waistline, perhaps like this? Maybe this is a little casual.


I've tried to keep the back as simple as possible as this was meant to be a quick sew - it was only meant to take me a few weeks, but I haven't even drafted a sleeve yet! This will take me a while...I'm aiming to start sewing it by this time next week, after which I have my first ever tutorial for you!

Is there anything you've started that has taken a lot longer than anticipated? How long did it really take you in comparison?

Toni