Denim

Am I the only one obsessed with denim? Such a versatile fabric and so fun to customise.

When I shop not only do I look for pieces I love I think about how I can wear them, style them and also how I could possibly customise it in a few months/years time. This might seem silly but why buy something you know you'll be bored with in a couple months time? Obviously not everything can be customised but it's definitely one of the factors I think about.

Fashion should be fun and with denim there are so many different ways to mic it up a little. My favourite currently is frayed denim, I'm working on a shirt at the moment but have recently tapered some boyfriend jeans that I bought ripped, snipped off the hem and frayed away.

Other ways to 'do' denim;
● Mix up fabrics either layered or side by side (this looks cool with lace)
● Iron on patches are cute right now there's loads on Ebay at the moment
● Dye it: buy a light colour denim and have a play around
●Embellishment and embroidery

Hopefully I'll get the chance to show you my ever growing collection of denim from crop shirts (DIY'd) to midi dresses and jackets.

KatieCorriexx

(Image put together from images on Pinterest, follow my link)

DIY: Dress > Short shorts

Been on a bit of a DIY frenzy since I've finished my placement, which I guess is kinda good for my bank balance.

I currently have a playsuit that I absolutely love the shape of but not so fond of the print and I was going to buy some fabric and make up a pattern but I remember I had an old dress I bought from ebay for about a pound but the top was far too small for my boobs. BOO But the skirt was so large I thought would make the perfect pair of shorts so...I got sewing!

Step one. 

Lay the skirt flat and measure the front width and back width. Measure the crotch depth before taking to the scissors, and cut this measurement at the half point. Turn inside out and pin the front and back together.

Step Two.

Sew 1cm parallel to the edge and square along the top (basically a rectangle around the edge) Snip into the corners of the rectangle so the fabric lays flat. 

Step Three.

Either roughly roll or do as I did and measure to the point you want them rolled to and fold evenly, it helps to give each press a quick press to hold them in place. I then did a quick stitch along hidden points to keep it folded.

AND FINALLY...

This photo doesn't do them much justice but I will definitely take an ootd photo when I get round to wearing them!

Hope you like!!

Remember to follow my instagram for lots of fashiony photos and ootd's @ Katie_cmanning

Playsuit DIY

I bought this playsuit from the amazing Blitz Vintage in Brick Lane just after my birthday. I absolutely love it but more so because of the high waisted shorts and the AMAZING print but I know i'm never going to wear it as a playsuit so I thought why not seperate the top from the shorts. It's a really easy task, you don't need to be a pro using a pair of scissors and a sewing machine so anyone can do it.

 

Step one.

Lay the playsuit out flat and cut as close as possible just above the waistband.

If there is an elasticated band like there is on mine make sure you hold back the over locked edge and cut just above the last elasticated thread. This will need to be folded and sewn down to make it even along front edge, also to hide the over locked edge.

Step Two.

I love the white funky buttons on the shorts but i'm likely to wear a belt over the top so needed to change them for something a bit flatter. Unfortunately I couldn't find any two of the same in the button tin my nan gave me but I did find two 'make your own' buttons which you can cover in any fabric of your chose. I chose plain black. 

Another step that is so simple to do yet makes such a difference.

Step three

Once the shorts were done I finished the top with a rolled hem, and sewed the edged of the lapels together to make a boxy cropped t-shirt shape with a collar.

Now I have a super cute twosie.

I'll probably wear them more as separates and will style the shorts with a high rolled tshirt, rolled shorts, black studded belt.

The top i'll probably put on under my black pinny dress or with my my super high waisted black leggings.

I'll style both with my chunky gold chain and cut out boots.

So excited to wear these!! I love DIY'ing it's so fun creating new clothes from oldies, changing and customising things can make your wardrobe so refreshing when it's getting a little boring.

AND ITS FREE (mostly)

Have you done any DIY recently or want to customise something but not sure how?

Kates xxx

Re-vamping Valentino

So I told you in my previous post that I had managed to find this vintage Valentino blazer in a charity shop for under a tenner and here it is.

It’s absolutely massive and it’s shoulders are so big I look like Frankenstein which leads me to this revamp but I love it and I’m going to wear it as a coat rather than a blazer so it doesn't matter.

I haven’t revamped anything in ages and I’m feeling so un-creative lately so thought whilst I was back at mums and had my sewing machine to hand I thought I may as well.

The finished garment is pretty similar, the shoulders are just less structured. 

If I had the balls i'd totally unpick the whole garment just to have a look at the insides. It sounds super weird but after making a bespoke jacket last year at uni it would be SO interesting to see how other designers tailor their jackets.

 

 

This is my bespoke tailored jacket that put me through HELL in second year!

This is a proper random post but heyho

Katesxxxx

Vintage Spikes

Having no internet now i've moved in with my dad is KILLING me, I have to use my phone for everything because my iPad has run out of internet too. WAHHH. But i'm going to get it sorted this week!


The vintage treasures keep cropping up from my Nan and the other day she gave me this cute black/navy and white jacket, which reminded me of a similar pink one they've been selling in Zara, but the vintageness makes this one much better. I thought i'd add a bit of grunge to it to make it a bit more...me?

Before

You'll need

Measure one side of the collar and distribute the spike evenly (measurement is up to you)

Here I used an inch between each spike and placed a pin where the middle of the spike will be placed.

The actual pushing the spikes through was pretty difficult to get a photo of (maybe I should have done a video) but anyway this is how to;

-Make a small round hole with small pair of sharp scissors
-Because of the texture of the jacket follow the scissor blade through with the spike screw so the position is kept
-Make sure the screw is places from inside to out then twist the spike on top (it's pretty easy to tighten but if not use a screw driver to secure the screw)

 ANDDDD VWALAAAAAAAAAA



Not amazingly exciting I know but I LOVE it! Yet to wear it but I can't wait.