A pretty little find...

I have been recently searching for a new mannequin, as my poor little adjustable blue one (called suze) is falling apart beyond repair. :(

I came across these little beauties, and thought that they were too pretty not to share :) They are all covered in a range of vintage fabrics, from Cath Kidston to Laura Ashley!

All images from www.corsetlacedmannequins.co.uk



It makes them as much of a decoration as they are a tool for making clothes!



I love the lacing detail down the back!



and a lovely range of vintage mannequins too...








... I think some definite saving up is in order!



:)

DIY Lace Peter Pan Collar :)

Fat amounts of uni work has been preventing me from making things! :(
But, deadlines are nearly out of the way,
so here's my most recent sewing project...

I recently discovered LouLou Loves You,
and I wanted one of the pretty collars so badly! But unfortunately, £40 is slightly out of my 'poor student' budget, so I set about making my own :)

I drew my own pattern on a piece of white cotton, slightly based on the collar pattern I used for my peter pan collar on my recent DIY 60's dress.

I cut out 4 pieces of the white collar pieces and pinned them together in two pairs.
I used some lace trimming, thread and back ribbon as decoration:



After sewing the white collar pieces around the outside,
(leaving the thin end open, and pinning in about 30cm of black ribbon into the other end)
and turning it inside out, I got this!
I had to hand sew the open end up after turning it in the other way, and I then stitched them both together to get the collar shape...





I used this as the base for my collar.
I then hand sewed three rows (using about 2m) of this lace:



onto each side, spacing them equally.

After quite a long session of hand sewing, here is what I ended up with:
(Very pleased with the outcomee!!)

The front,



The back,






I've been trying it on with a few of my dresses, turns out it seems to go with most of them!
AND it cost about £3.

Happyhappyhappyyyyy!



:)!

What do you think?

Using my new flower loom :)

First of all,
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Hello 2010 :)


Amongst the other wonders that Santa left me in my stocking,
I received this lovely flower loom!


Photo source here

I have been experimenting with it a lot since Christmas, and I have finally produced something that I am quite pleased with!

You place the pegs on the loom wherever you wish, each different position will create a different size/style/shape of flower. You can also use any sort of yarn or thread!

I made this one out of light grey and pink embroidery thread:



After sewing the middle together and removing it from the loom, I added a pearly button in the middle to finish it off:



I then sewed a brooch pin to the back of the flower to that it could be worn as a corsage:



I then attached it to my coat!



My coat is lined with pink and is mottled grey on the outside, so I thought this colour combination would suit it :)



I plan to make many more!
:)