Baggy Bottom Blues

So in celebration of The Great British Bakeoff this week I thought I'd do a simple tutorial that occurred to me whilst re watching the final of the 2014 last week  - 'now that's a soggy bottom!'

Although I have to say I am very happy with the new way to test out how candied your peel is - I guess it's now okay to start throwing your bakes around the kitchen.

Tutorial - How to Sew a TSC Draped Wrap Skirt

I have a fantastic pattern for you today!

(Note: there is a slight revision to the pattern shown in this post as well as a walkthrough, which is in this post here. However if you want information about the slash and spread technique carry on reading!)

I've put my bralette top aside for the moment as I am waiting on bra underwires in the mail.

In this post I was intending to show you how to do the 'slash and spread' technique often used when adding fullness to a garment, but I got a little carried away and I ended up drafting a pattern. The resulting skirt was pretty simple so I thought I'd share my maths with you!

Every Dog has his Day!

So if you follow me on Twitter you know that the other week I found a gorgeous doggy fabric on eBay. The link is here, if you want some! I'm a huge dog lover and I've been looking for a pretty fabric that doesn't look like a dog's photo has been printed on it, as who wants someone else's dog on their pillows? Not to mention I don't think my Labs would take to them, either!

A Night of Designing

Yet again my bobbins haven't arrived! Really unfortunate as I'm getting that 'I need to sews something' itch that often comes after a while away from the machine. So I'm back to fashion sketching today.

If you'd like to give fashion illustration a go yourself, I've included some details in last week's post here.

I apologise for the bad photo, the light is pretty bad here and I haven't yet figured out how to change the settings on my iPad's camera. I'm just playing with ideas for my new fabrics that I bought a couple of weeks ago, I would love to make myself a dress as I've not made one in a while.

Have you bought any gorgeous fabric recently? Any photos would be greatly appreciated!

Really hoping I'll be back sewing soon, and hope you all have a wonderful weekend.

Toni

The TSC Guide to Female Fashion Sketching

My machine is still a bit wobbly due to the lack of appropriate bobbins I have to my name (fortunately they're in the post somewhere!) so today I'm not sewing, I'm designing. If you have me on Facebook then you know last week I went to my favourite fabric shop in Sheffield for the first time in a year or so and got plenty of material to keep me sewing. After all the alterations I have to do, of course!

Anyway, back to the post. I'm on a costumers course next year and half of it will be designing, half of it making. Because of this I need to get back into the headspace of drawing out my designs before i make them as opposed to just making it straight off like I usually do. So for the next however long I have before I go to university, I am going to design my clothing before I start making them.

Attack of the Buttons

Due to my art being more demanding (I've been making a crinoline today!) sewing wise it has become more alterations and editing existing clothing rather than making them from scratch. This has its upsides though, I'm slowly converting the amount of unworn clothing I have inherited from friends into wearable projects.

This week, it's a black Topman shirt in a medium, which fortunately fits me really well - the sleeves are long enough, and there's adequate boob room despite there being a bit too much fabric in the waist area. Fortunately for me, I normally tuck shirts in, so this isn't too much of a problem.

But what to jazz it up with? That is the question! 

Alterations - The Kilt Gets A Makeover

So a week or so ago I inherited a lovely kilt from my friend Jenny (thank you!) which smells funny and really needs a wash. I think it's a man's as it comes to my knees, so as I'm pretty tall I think this would be he appropriate length for a bloke.

The pleats were sewn down about six inches from the waistband - this was unflattering on a woman's skirt and so I was going to reduce them to roughly my waist to hip measurement - but I got a bit unpicker happy whilst watching the #GBSB and accidentally undid many to the waistband...

A Big Bag of Goodies - It's Alteration Time!

So today I inherited a bag of old clothes from my lovely friend Jenny! (Thank you!) it was a lovely afternoon and it was nice to spend it with the girls for once.

Seen as we didn't try any of the clothes on at the time - which in hindsight wasn't the best idea - I have an evening of riffling through them and ripping seams, sewing bits on here and there...

It fits in nicely with my grey skirt, which at the moment I still haven't found the right fabric for, but the idea is there of recycling and editing existing clothing to make your own, which is what Toni Sews is all about. 

Anyone else planning on upcycling clothing this week? Tweet me @tartantonaay with your ideas!

Toni

DIY Strap Alteration

Ever thought about buying a top and was put off by the straps? Well this is the tutorial for you!

So I bought this one from a vintage shop in Sheffield last week - but I knew I could do something with the straps in a matter of minutes as I looked inside the top - some are easier than others. This one was pretty simple as the straps on this one were hand stitched to the inside of the lining. If you have to undo some seams to get to where the straps are attached, consider how much you dislike the original straps and how long a time you can spend on the project. 

Tutorial - Menswear Sleeve Alteration

So I wear a lot of men's clothing as they fit me better in the arms and are normally longer in the body. I confess though, the sleeves really annoy me. They're normally annoying lengths and flap about a lot, so I'm using my Fifteen Eleven shirt to show you lot how to update your sleeves. Ready?

So first you need to unpick your sleeves. Personally I would advise not to cut them off as you lose your seam allowances, but it's your shirt, so it's your rules! (Blogger seems to be having a party at the moment, so the pictures are all over the place, sorry!)

Quilted Cushions

So to go with my recently painted room I bought some new bedding to match the colour scheme - but most of my old cushion covers are looking a bit tatty now or they don't match, I mean I love them and I will keep them, but as it's a new year, I'm sort of in the mood for something new, you know?

Last year I was given some gorgeous fat quarters by my friend Lily and her mum and I have some scraps to use up, so I thought I'd make myself some more covers for them. I love the quilted look but have only done a few things and I'm not too confident in getting it just right, so I wanted something a little more lopsided.

I am inspired by these two images I found on Pinterest, this first one is from Zen Cat Art.

Tutorial - Christmas Rag Wreath

Hello there. Today I'm going to try and get into the festive mood and use up some of my scrap fabric at the same time - I present - how to make yourself a Christmas Rag Wreath. This one's great for kids and adults a like as it's so simple!

You will need:

Wire (I used a coat hanger)
Scrap fabric - this depends on the size of your wire ring, I got through about 1.5m x .5m in 4 colours with my coat hanger.
Scissors
Decoration (optional)
Time. Indeed, this takes a while, but you can easily do this in an evening in front of the telly if you're careful!

Instructions:

Bend your wire into a circle, and put to one side.

Cut (or rip, depending on your fabric types) strips of fabric. Mine were about 3/4 of the diameter of the circle, by 1".

Get cutting!

After each batch, add them to your wire so you know how much more you need to cut. I tied mine with a knot, and in order, one of each colour.

Carry on going! I cannot stress how easy this is! After you've crammed as much as you can on, add any decorations you want, and ruffle up your wreath, making sure you can't see any of the knots.

You're finished! Told you it was easy. 

Next week I'm thinking present ideas - I know it's early, but these things take time...

Toni

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