The English Mademoiselle Diaries: sewing

Showing posts with label sewing. Show all posts

While I was in Jaipur I was in one of the many fabric shops in the Old City, when I spied this lovely block printed fabric which I proceeded to barter for and buy. When I bought it I though about using it as a wall hanging at university, but after assessing the space in university halls I chose to create a duvet cover out of it. So I headed out to the local fabric shop to find some fabric suitable for a bed linen, I ended up purchasing this wonderful blue material. Having measured up current duvet cover and adding 2 inches for seam allowance I pinned the two fabrics together and began to sew. then I added buttons and button holes by hand for want of a machine that can do button holes! Next up a quilt!

Please ignore the mess around my bed...

Would you make your own bedding?

XO, Miriam

I love searching through magazine racks in newsagents, so the other day when I was doing just that I found a single copy of this magazine. Now I love making and editing clothes and find inspiration for just that, see this post... so this magazine seemed like a good idea. I could not have been more right, there are so many wonderful ideas hiding between the cover pages.

Not only does it have DIYs and the like, it also has wardrobe tours, and interviews with budding fashionistas and DIY bloggers, from sewing to knitting... Most magazines like this tend not to be teenager orientated, but this seems to have the right balance of young adult and actual adults sorted perfectly.

And then there are the inspiration pages, which are my personal favourites.

No this post is not sponsored, and yes it is short but I could not resist writing a little something about it so I remember to find it again.

XO, Miriam

The skirt is by no means finished! I have more layers to add and a bow to make, but I am proud of what I have don so far, and I cannot wait to wear it the summer or maybe even this spring. Given it has been since last summer that I took to my sewing machine full of ideas tangled in measuring tape and thread I am glad I made the time to do so again before I go through what will probably be some of the most stressful weeks of my life so far in the lead up to my IB exams!

I am also looking for some feedback for my blog in order for me to do a good write up about for my CAS folder, which if you don't know is why I started the blog almost a year and a half ago.

XO, Miriam

If you did already know I am a massive fan of Doctor Who and bow ties! So when my boyfriend offered to teach me how to tie his I jumped at the chance, little did I know it was a red satin one, not too dissimilar to the 12th Doctors own tie *fangirls of the Christmas episode tomorrow *. So anyway I have "borrowed" the bow tie in order show the ladies that they aren't just for me and they are definitely COOL.

So if you are wearing a bow tie you need a shirt pronto or the whole things doesn't work, and after that well just play around!

Outfit Idea 1:
I kept this quite casual, perfect for going to the cinema or staying in with friends and family. (#OOTD today!)

Glittery eyes...

Outfit Idea 2:
Combining this years summer fashion trends, with my own style and designs obviously there is no other way tot wear a bow tie ;) Moving on, I would wear this to a date night, or to a meal out with friends at a cute new place one of us has found.

Outfit Idea 3:
A little bit school uniform, the skirt matches the bow tie for crying out loud, but before you criticise this I love it, I really like matching small accessories to statement pieces to tie an outfit together. I would wear this to school/college with brogues or Chelsea boots, some thigh high socks and of course some red lippy!

xoxo Miriam

P.S. I have been listening to the Arctic Monkeys and One Republic all day and I just can't handle how good they are any more...

So because I watched Disney's Peter Pan, I have made a Peter Pan collar to wear with Tee-shirts and the like..

So anyway this is what you will need:

Needles and pins
White thread
Spare material
Ribbon

How to make it:

Draw or print off a picture of half of a collar and cut it out:

Now pin it to the fabric and cut it out x4

Pair them up with right sides facing if you have patterned fabric, and sew either with a sewing machine or by hand around the edge, leaving a gap to turn it the right way out:

Repeat this with the other side, then sew them together in the middle:

Finally sew on some ribbon, I used 2 thin strips on each side:

And this is what it looks like on:

xoxo Miriam

You will need:

1m of your chosen fabric
1m of elastic
A sewing machine (this can be done by hand but it is time consuming)
Thread
Fabric scissors or pinking shears
Lots, and lots of pins
A measuring tape

Before making take the following measurements: Waist and waist to the desired length, for example the knee.

Cut the elastic inch longer than your waist measurement to allow for seams and/or mistakes when making.

Fold the fabric in half, then mark on how long you want the skirt to be plus 2 inches of seam allowance down the fold.

Then stretch the elastic as far as it will go and divide that number by 2. Now measure that length from the fold along the bottom of the fabric and make mark.

Cut the fabric, either using fabric scissors or pinking shears.

Mark 4-6 point on the fabric and the elastic at equal points then pin together. This will help when sewing to get a straight line.

When sewing the elastic on to the fabric, pull it as far as it can go so when you have finished the fabric will stretch with the elasticated waist band you have created.

Cut off any excess fabric.

Then go over the original stitching to with a zigzag stitch to make sure the elastic was firmly in place, and to improve the overall look of the skirt.

Then iron the skirt in order to get a neat hem line.