DIY: Knitted Sequined Collar

Right side

Wrong side

It's here, it's here!!! The pattern for my latest knitted creation is finally here:

THE KNITTED SEQUINED COLLAR 

Yarn: 1 ball of Moda Vera Ballroom yarn
Needles: 5.0mm
Gauge: I do not make swatches


Pattern:
(Please read the pattern very carefully before casting on! This is not a conventional written knitting pattern. If possible, try knitting the pattern using another yarn of a similar weight first. Believe me, frogging sequined yarn is a real pain in the arse.)

The picture above represents the knitted collar. 

The numbers represents the number of stitches and the lines represents where markers should be placed. For example, count 2 stitches from the beginning and place a marker.

The dots represents where a decrease should be made. For example, decreases should always be made AFTER the stitch marker on the left of the collar and BEFORE the stitch marker on the right of the collar. One dot represents 1 decrease and each decrease should be made as follows:

LEFT of the pattern: sl1, knit 1, psso
RIGHT of the pattern: knit, return, pass, return


Video examples of these decreases can be found here.

Summary: 
1 x Line = 1 x stitch marker

1 x Dot = 1 x decrease

1 x decrease on the left of the pattern = sl1, knit 1, psso

1 x decrease on the right of the pattern = knit, return, pass, return

Not all decreases occur at the same time, so read the pattern carefully! Ready? Here we go!
Cast on 180

Place stitch markers

Row 1 – 4: Knit

Row 5: Purl

Row 6: Knit all and decrease the RED dots.

Row 7: Purl

Repeat Rows 6 & 7 until the collar measures 5 cm from the beginning. End this repeat pattern with a purl row (i.e. Row 7)

Row 8: Knit all and decrease the RED & BLUE dots

Row 9: Purl

Repeat Rows 8 & 9 until the collar measures 6.5 cm from the beginning. End this repeat pattern with a purl row (i.e. Row 8)

Row 10: Knit all and decrease the RED, BLUE & GREEN dots

Row 11: Purl

Repeat Rows 10 & 11 until the collar fits your neck. I stopped when my collar measured 9cm from the beginning, but my neck is probably different from yours!

Cast off loosely. I used the cast off technique shown in this video. 

It is important that your cast off is loose! If not, the collar will fit very tightly around your neck!

Push all the sequins at the back to the front.

Block by pinning it in place and then hovering a steam iron over it for several minutes
Sew hooks.

You’re done! (n_n)

♥

Coming soon: Knitted collar

Knitted collar

Hi everyone! I'm awfully sorry that I haven't written a post for a while. I've been really busy with my uni placement. It's been really exhausting, but I'm starting to feel more settled down. So, here's just a quick update on what's coming up. This is the sequin collar that I knitted a few months ago. I have the pattern written and saved... somewhere on my computer... and I will be posting it very soon! ^_^

DIY: Felt flower brooch (and also other presents I bought for my friends)

In addition to the tiny little embroidered ornaments that I made, I also made (and bought) several other presents for my friends who came over to Sydney just a while ago. Here's the felt flower brooch that I made for one of my friends.

I made this felt flower brooch via the tutorial found on this blog here. I thought of making a brooch for her because she is often wearing cardigans and a simple flower brooch is the easiest way to dress up a plain cardigan! 

I also bought several other things during the post Xmas sale for my friends as belated birthday presents. This bright pink cambridge satchel is from Dotti and it was on sale at 50% off! What a steal. I couldn't resist it and bought one for myself too. I think my life is ALMOST complete. FINALLY!! I OWN A CAMBRIDGE SATCHEL (albeit a look-alike, not the real thing). A while ago, I was very very tempted to buy a bright yellow el cheapo one from eBay. Thank goodness I didn't, because it's likely that the quality would not have been as great. 

This is an eyeshadow palette from Sportsgirl. I like the variety of colours in this single palette. I think the beige (bottom row, centre) and grey-ish palette (middle row, extreme right) are great for a natural look. There's also black (top row, extreme left) and silver (top row, extreme right) for creating smokey eyes and bright colours for a more playful look. More importantly, there's a glittery gold (top row, centre) to enhance all looks! Dammit, the more I think of it, the more I think that I should have bought one for myself. But I really really shouldn't because I have a whole bunch of beauty products and make-up waiting to grow stale... T_T


Ok, that's all for now. My friends have left Sydney. I'm waiting for them to send me all the wonderful pictures that we took during their trip here. I'll write more about our trip around Sydney when I've sorted out the photos and stuff!


xx gwenstella

One word to define 2012: Graduation

// Oversized salmon top, Supre, $5 / Denim shorts, Cotton On, $10 / Necklace, Mum's / Sunglasses, random shop, $10 / Grey plimsolls, Kmart, $8 //

The new year has finally come and I can't wait to see what this year has in store for me. 2011 was kind to me and I hope that 2012 will be just as great. 2012 is really important and significant to me as this is the year that I will graduate. I will be starting another uni placement in a few days' time. But right now, I'm just spending my time frolicking under the Australian summer sun with my friends. 


I hope everyone is also having fun! :) 

The start of something good

My friends are finally here in Sydney! They are here for a short holiday and I will be travelling around Sydney with them for the next few days. It's gonna be a blast!


I just came back from the airport just a while ago. I've had a long day! I met my uni friends for lunch in the afternoon in Newtown and went to the airport to meet my friends in the evening.


Here's the outfit that I wore today and the things I bought in Newtown!

// Cropped lace top, Supre / Skinny jeans, Kmart / Doc Martens Wannabe, Rubi Shoes / Snakeskin clutch, DIY / Necklace, eBay //

I had lunch at this gourmet burger place and ordered a duck and bacon burger. It was deee-li-cious! I took a picture of it but then it sort of mysteriously disappeared while I was transferring the files to my computer, which is really annoying. So, no photo of the yummy burger. :(

Cheap rings from a thrift store at just 50c each

Vinyl records

I got the Bill Haley record for a friend and the Buddy Holly record for myself. I'm not quite sure what I feel about my growing collection of vinyl records. I do not own a player... yet. But I will definitely get one when I complete my degree. My records are mostly just sitting on the shelf, smiling at me. They are very patient and kind. However, transporting them when I leave Sydney will definitely be a headache.



I also tried a couple of vintage stuff in the thrift shop and other shops along the street but they were either too damaged (i.e. torn), too outrageous (i.e. extra large padded shoulders that can only be worn at a costume party) or... just not pretty enough for me to spend my money for them (i.e. meh). Oh well, perhaps better luck next time. The next time I go back to Newtown, I'll be buying a Ritchie Valens record. :)


So, that's all for now! Tomorrow is the start of my new adventure! ^_^

Have a happy holiday

The next few weeks (or rather, the next 2 months) are going to be a crazy one. My beloved friends are coming over to visit me in Sydney and I'll be having lots and lots of fun with them for a week. Then, I will be starting another placement for uni which will last 6 weeks. It's going to be really intensive. I hope everyone is having fun this holiday season. 


Here are some embroidery that I have done as little xmas presents for my friends. I didn't take pictures for all 6 designs because I've already given some away. Also, I didn't add the lace as the instructions asked because I think they look better without the lace. 

Even after making these tiny embroidery thingamabobs, I'm still not quite sure what I feel about. They are so time consuming and the end products are usually just a tiny 'ah' or some sort. And they are SO taxing on my eyes!


Oh well, that's all for now. I really should stop screwing up my own body clock and just go to bed.


Happy holiday! I will definitely write another post again before the new year comes. :)

DIY: Chanel-inspired ballet flats

This DIY project really makes me want to LOL. I don't usually type LOL on the internet, but this time, I really have to because it's exactly what I was doing while working on this DIY project.

I bought this pair of nude/beige ballet flats at an outlet shop for just $2 yesterday. Yes, $2, just $2! I was really lucky because this was the last pair for my size! But, when I tried it on, it was TOO PLAIN for my liking and I decided to do a DIY with it. For some reason, the image of the classic Chanel two-tone ballet flats immediately came to my mind. So, I grabbed some sticky tape and my trusty black Sharpie, and this baby was completed in less than half an hour.

I wouldn't normally DIY a pair of shoes because, let's face it - they wear out and they are NOT CHEAP. But hey, this pair of flats only cost me $2 and the DIY is as easy as doing 'Colour By Numbers'. So, with nothing to lose, I took a leap of faith and got on to put my idea into action (which, by the way, is something I should do a lot more often).

I'm not sure if it's the (shameless) idea of the project itself, my courage to do something like this, or the smell from my black Sharpie, but I was literally giggling to myself while making this. So, I hope you'll have fun too!


Materials:
1 pair of beige/nude flats
Black Sharpie
Sticky tape
Nude/beige ribbon (optional)


Steps:

1. First and foremost, test an area of the shoe with the black Sharpie. I know Sharpie is supposed to work on  virtually all surfaces, but it's better to play it safe. I tested my Sharpie on the under side of the flats to make sure that the ink comes out really black and stays permanent when dried!

2. Put sticky tape at the back of the flats as shown in the picture and colour the strip at the back with your black Sharpie. Do this for both flats.

3. Put sticky tape across the front of the flats, and make sure that both left and right side matches!! Then, colour the top of the flats with black Sharpie.

4. If your flats didn't come with a nude/beige bow, you can make one of your own and then stick it to the flats to complete the Chanel look. I was lucky that my shoes already came with the nude bows! :)

There you go. That's all. Wasn't that simple???


Also, I'm not sure about what you think, but my friend thought the shoes turned out looking like a Malayan Tapir...............................

P.S.: I wanted to post this later this week, but Polyvore stuffed my blog posts up when I was creating the inspiration poster on the website last night. So, bah, I decided to post it up today because I think some people might have seen the inspiration poster last night...


Image of the Chanel flats from here
Inspiration board created using my Polyvore account here
Image of the Malayan Tapir, which, by the way, is in the danger of extinction, is from here