Summer seems so very far away but hints of spring are finally finding their way to British shores. There's nothing more British than our trend of getting our pastey white flesh out as soon as the smallest hint of sunshine arrives and I've tracked down the perfect, eco-friendly piece to do it in. The Summer Tank Dress.
Those fabulous folks at Threadbanger have put together an easy peasy how to that will help you turn an ever-so-ordinary tank top and an uninspiring t-shirt into a suave little summer dress.
A bit of a snip with your scissors, a run through or two with a sewing machine and the fun bit with the embellishments and there you are. A summer dress where there was no summer dress before.
Keep hold of those tired t-shirts and tanks and turn them trendy.
Bridesmaid
dresses. What to do with them once the confetti throwing, cake cutting and granddad dancing is over. You can hardly chuck them on again when the weekend rolls around and go out for a boogie. What might have wedding radiance on the day may not be the best thing to wear while throwing shapes on the dance floor of a sweaty Hoxton club.
A fine idea for wedding outfit repurposing is this rather lovely ruffled rose pillow I stumbled across on Craftzine.
Samantha Baldwin's two-part pattern waltzes you through making the actual cushion cover and then going all flouncy with the ruffle. There's a clear and concise photo slide show to make sure you get it just right too.
A rosy glow to your home and no more space taken up in the wardrobe by all those purposeless ruffles. A whole new life for a dress that thought it was bound for moth balls. Very cool.
The hills are alive with the sound of recycling fabrics. Quite frankly there are tons of fabulous fabrics out there just begging to be re-purposed. It's green. It's innovative. What's not to love? Not sure where to begin? Maybe Cut Out and Keep can help.
A far cry from Sound of Music-style jumpsuits from curtains the Full Circle Skirt from a Tablecloth tutorial on the Cut Out and Keep site will lead you to look at your every-day fabric in a different light.
The site celebrated its 200 000th craft project earlier this month and is a treasure trove of craft booty. Join them and share in the crafty how to love.
Just remember to wash any food off your tablecloth before turning it into evening wear. No one will be impressed with curry stains on your couture.
Encouraging people to create their own craft by giving them a little help is a fabulous way to shove nervous crafters in the right direction. Embroidery is one of those things that can be a bit overwhelming if you don't know where to start. So how does connecting the dots embroidery style grab you?
The Leethal site is a combination of all things crafty and otherwise from hand dyes to feeding the ducks in a Portland park. I challenge anyone to wander through it and not find something that want to whip up in their own crafty mitts.
The Connect-the-dots Stitch Sets, which come in four themes: Cryptozoology, Craft Tools, Woodland Creatures and Dinosaurs, feature four images with a fifth mystery image that is only obvious once you've stitched it.
You can find out a little more about the set on the Leethal blog here and get your paws of them in the Leethal shop.
London-based label DIYcouture has launched a collection of couture clothing with a difference. Rather than all the ready-to-wear yawn-a-rama you can buy from any old designer label, DIYcouture gives you the patterns and know how to make your own garment.
The team call their patterns "ghosts that come into being as each person begins to build them himself with his own interpretations" in a bid to combat the trend of fast, run-of-the-mill fashion that has been relentlessly stomping off the catwalk and into the shops.
The patterns come in book form and run from hoodies to Grecian dresses. There's a handy hints page on finding your fabric to go along with your pattern purchase to make things super easy.
For a quick insight into crafting your own couture the site also features a handy 'How to' section showing you stitching, joining and pleating.
Be your very own designer label, dahhhhhling! You'll look fabulous.
Back in days gone by they were a classy bunch. Graceful, debonair and chic; the dress of the 40s and 50s took a fair amount of putting together but was worth it for the finished look. Inspired by her grandmother's photos and vintage fashion photographs of the period, My Vintage Dresser was created.
Katie dreamed up the vintage pattern shop when her job became a bit unstable and has gone onto create a place where you can find a treasure trove of vintage fabulousness.
You can dig up retro goodness to your heart's content with a classic selection of sewing and knitting patterns. From 1960s pleated skirts from Vogue to P&B Wools patterns for fine tailored jackets, every pattern will have you itching to get your retro on.
Katie also teams them up with the opportunity to attend workshops covering everything from vintage hairstyling and makeup to where to source vintage and how to put it all together.
You'll be crafting yourself vintagey before you can say "Make do and mend".
Meoooooow! Mrrrow! Meoooow! Moaw? Cats get bored. They get insistent. They end up patting at your hair and 'settling down' on your keyboard while you're trying to do very important tweeting. The only solution is to whip them up something to entertain them while you're too busy to scratch behind their ears. Which is where we turn to Fantastic Toys.
Fantastic Toys is crammed full of felt, paper and fluff lovelies for you to make yourself. Their Cat Toy Critters, with a free downloadable template, are made from felt and thread, and can be filled with catnip to drive your kitty wild with cat distraction, while you get on with your life a little less cat-harassed.
They also have an Etsy shop with some fantastic things including an Alice in Wonderland paper playset inspired by the children's classic.
Handmade treats for kitty, no more accidental tweet that say "ppppppppp;;;;;;;;;;;;;iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiikkkkkkkkk" for you.
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