Flower Corsage on Wrap Green Jacket
Accessorising a jacket This harks back to my love of flower corsages a la Sarah Jessica Parker in Sex and the City. It was a hair elastic, to which I added a clip, so I can wear it on the lapel of a jacket. Stylist Patricia Field started a few trends on that show and...
Not so Plain White T-Shirt
How to upcycle tees I loved my funked up T-shirts from a good few posts back so much, I am on a mission to make more. Plain white T-shirts are great but they can be a little ... plain. Besides you can't buy anything like this anywhere. In this example, I took some...
Denim Shorts from Jeans
DIY denim cut off short In the picture is a pair of jeans about to become a pair of shorts. I have a few too many pairs of jeans and wanted an extra pair of long shorts. The method is simple. Cut the legs shorter. But there is one caveat. Make sure you line up the...
No Sew Shawl or Pashmina
How to make a warm shawl In the picture is another one of these shawls I bought in India. The range of colours and designs in their fabrics is mind boggling. I knew I had to buy a few while I had the chance. My only problem was the minute I started buying I was...
Warm Shawl or Wrap
DIY pashmina In the picture is a wrap around shawl. I bought this warm, wide piece of fabric on the streets in India. In fact I bought a few similar pieces. The Indians wear them like we wear jackets or jerseys. It's a lot like a pashmina but it's not made of mohair....
Scandanavian Inspired Heart Cushion
Hanging heart decoration This is not exactly fashion. These little stuffed hearts are very Scandinavian and make nice house gifts. I make a few at a time. They are an extra to add as a gift with a bottle of wine. They consist of two pieces of fabric cut in a heart...
Elastic Thread Gem Stone Bracelets
Semi precious stone bangles I did not make the items in the picture. They came as they are from a supplier of semi precious stones. The stones in the picture are Clear Quartz, Black Onyx and Malachite. However, these bracelets are really easy to make. As said in...
No Sew Halter Top from a Silk Scarf
DIY Halter neck top Back in 80's we used to wear a scarf as a top for a night out. Fashion magazines featured various ways to fold and wear scarves. I bought this piece of silk recently. I wear it as a scarf. It is a small concession to the art print craze that is so...
Bubble Skirt with Threaded Bead Necklace
Bubble skirt tutorial The bubble skirt has been around a while and I still can't make up my mind if I like them. Fortunately I don't have to. All I did here was add thread elastic to the hem of this skirt with a wool needle. I made a knot on the inside of the skirt so...
Simple Shift Dress, Snow Agate Long Necklace, Vintage Scarf
DIY clothing outfit I was wondering if the need to make things out of nothing could be classed as a form of OCD? If so, then I must be well and truly afflicted with it. The shift dress should be familiar. I showed how I made the pattern, and other versions of it, a...
Vintage Floral Shirt with Rose Corsage
Vintage clothing I absolutely love, love, love this shirt. Yet another favorite vintage buy. Apart from the fabric that is was made in, some kind of crimplene or trilobal, the design is so pretty. These shirts used to be a dime a dozen back in the day. They wash and...
Square Doorstop from Left Over Fabric
Doorstop tutorial How do you like this? A custom designed doorstop. Doorstops are one of those items a person can never find in the shops. And one of those things that is so useful. This particular door is set high off the floor so the likelihood of ever finding a...
Long Length Necklace with Gem Stones and Charms
How to make a necklace Recognise the charm necklace? I made a few of them in varying lengths with different charms. They are dead easy to make. I bought silver chain, O-rings and the clasp from our bead shop. The charms are a mix of semi precious stones and silver...
Dye Shoes
Home shoe dying One way to extend the life of a favorite pair of shoes that have got a bit scuffed is to dye them. Flat ballet pumps like these are a wardrobe staple. And oh so comfortable. So when this pair started to look tired I had them dyed black. You can buy...
White Denim Box Style Jacket
Making boxy jackets In the picture is another version of this easy to make jacket from the last post. It's a take on a Chanel jacket which is bang on trend right now. Made in tweed type fabric, with a trim at the neck and on the sleeves it will be tres Chanel. I did...
Very Easy Tapestry Box Jacket
Sew a box shape jacket In previous posts I have said that I am not a great seamstress. To make sewing easier, I only buy patterns that come marked EASY or are from the EASY section of the pattern catalogue. This particular Chanel inspired jacket is one such pattern....
Mildly Distressed Black Jeans
How to distress denim Distressed jeans are one of those fashion items I don't get. Why would someone want to wear grotty clothes? But I semi bought into the look. In the picture is a pair of old black jeans. I took a foot scourer and "wore" them out a bit. The effect...
Hair Clip on Beanie Hat
How to upcycle a beanie A few posts back I showed how the sisters to this hair clip were used to embellish a pair of flat pumps. I bought the hair clips together in one pack. The last one got used on this beanie hat. Because it is a hair clip, I can slide it through...
Skinny Leg Jeans from Wide or Boot Leg Jeans
How to make skinny leg jeans Got a wardrobe full of bootleg jeans? Love skinny leg jeans? Change them. The inside leg of your jeans is usually a flat easy seam unlike the outer leg seam. Pin the inner leg as per the big white stitching in the picture. Fit the...
Festive Flags or Bunting from Fabric Scraps
How to make bunting And now for something different. It might be obvious from this blog that I can't bear to waste and have a desperate need to use up left overs. We have Christmas in our summers here in South Africa. I was feeling a fiesta coming on and we have a...
Vintage Scarves
Retro scarves In the picture are some vintage scarves. I love how a scarf can give an outfit a lift. That little something to take an outfit from OK to all that! And as said so many times in this blog, the colours, fabrics and designs of vintage apparel are...
Jewellery Making, Assorted Chain
Chain jewelry The last post showed a selection of layered neck chains. The effect in that instance is very Chanel. In the picture you can see how widely chain can vary. From the metal used, to the shape of the links as well as size and weight. I manage to find chain...
Brocade Trim to a Cardigan, Multi Layer Chains
How to upcycle a cardigan The story with this cardigan started off with me unpicking the label at the neckline as it was scratching and driving me mad. Unfortunately I cut the actual jersey and it started unravelling. I managed to darn the nick by hand but the repair...
Jewelry From Semi Precious Stones
Stone bead necklace More glass and crystal beads a la the last post. The beads or crystals come in strings or bags so I often end up with more than I need. Mixing them up like this uses up the leftovers. To make sure I end up with some type of flow or balance between...
Easy White Cotton Shift Dress, Long Length Multi Gem Stone Necklace
How to make a shift dress Here is one last version of the shift dress. I ran out of fabric and had to stitch two pieces of fabric together to get the full length of the dress, hence the interesting effect at the bottom. Actually I quite like the addition. The...
Sewing Instructions for Green Satin Shift Dress, Nipping, Cutting Curved Edges, Plastic Clip Necklace
Home made shift dress In the picture is another version of my favourite shift dress. Recognise a similar necklace? A few posts back I showed it in black with one of the slip tops I made. The bits come from a craft shop and you clip them together. And recognise the -...
Making a Pattern, White and Black Spotted Shift Dress
Making a shift dress pattern Here is the shift dress. There are only two pieces to the pattern, the dress part and the neck facing. No zips or buttons to worry about. It is dead easy to make. I made this particular one a bit longer. All you do is cut the dress...
Original H and M Shift Dress, Making the Pattern
How I made a shift dress pattern In the picture is a shift dress I bought at H and M a while back. Finding a pattern to make this dress proved impossible. So in the end, much like the slip top in earlier posts, I decided to cut a pattern from this dress. It's not easy...
Why Buy Vintage?
Vintage shopping Am not going to show how to make anything today. In the picture is one of the vintage shops we have here in South Africa. If you look at the clothes and fabrics in this picture, the colours and designs are so vibrant and utterly gorgeous. That alone...
Scatter Cushion Covers Using Left-over Fabric
Cushion cover tutorial So today's item is not one you can wear. It's a scatter cushion cover. I used different coloured fabrics for the back and front to use up perfectly good left-over fabric. If it's a standard scatter cushion, the dimensions are 45 centimetres x 45...