FO: The Fur-Real Vest

Uni has started again and even though it's only the first week of the semester, I can already feel the work piling sky-high! And it doesn't help when I'm the kind who tends to shilly-shally.

Shilly-shally. I really like this word a lot. It gives a nice jingle when you say it and it totally describes what I do all the time.

Ok, enough with all that irrelevant talk. First of all, I want to thank all of you for sharing your opinions on my Candyman shorts and suggestions to make the best of it. Hopefully, the weather will turn warmer for me to wear it out soon!

Now let's get back to what this post is about - the Fur-Real vest that I knitted! (Say 'Fur-Real' with a tone of sarcasm.)

I bought the brown, furry yarn a year ago with the plan to knit a fur vest. But as expected, I procrastinated for a long long while. However, the sight of all the pretty 70's inspired fur vests hanging on the racks in the shops here this year substantially increased my desire to own a fur vest of my own (DIY, of course). I finally got my lazy self to start knitting my own fur vest a while ago, and completed the project in about a month. So, I now own a handmade knitted fur vest!

Here are some of the things that inspired my fur vest:

I used the pattern from DROPS design here for the back of my vest. The front pieces that I knitted are heavily modified from the original pattern. Maybe it's just me, but I felt that the original pattern was really WEIRD and it just didn't work out for me at all. I can't even remember the number of times I frogged the front pieces and the amount of yarn I wasted in the process. Instead of normal knit stitches, I also used a loop stitch to create a more fur-like look and feel. Finally, I added a wooden button to complete the vest.

What do you guys think? :)

Sewn: Candyman's culottes

Ok, this is the 3rd clothing item that I have sewn from scratch. After attending a very short course on dressmaking in 2009, my sewing projects have been progressing at a snail's pace. Also, I am beginning to think that I have an extremely poor taste at choosing fabric. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you will know that my very second sewing attempt did not go very well. The form and fit of the dress was great, but the prints on the fabric made it look like sleepwear. 

All the girls look so lovely in their culottes. Sewing pattern circa 1996

I cut the pieces in Feb 2011 and only completed it in Jul 2011.

I am utterly heartbroken and grief-stricken that this pair of culottes has suffered the same fate as the abovementioned dress. This pair of culottes is made using a vintage Simplicity 9686 pattern (design A) that I got from a thrift shop over a year ago. Apparently, vertical red and white stripes aren't a good choice for making culottes. I chose this design because I wanted my shorts to look like something that an ice-cream/candy seller would wear. Of course, not just any ice-cream/candy sellers, but the ones working in fairs where there's fun and laughter everywhere. Doesn't that just sound fantastic? Unfortunately, the plan fell through.

Disappointed.

My friends and brothers said that my culottes look like a pair of boxers. Maybe I am in complete denial, but I think this pair of culottes might just look all right if I wear it with other complementary clothing items. I am quite determined not to let this pair of culottes that I have painstakingly put together become sleepwear that I will only wear at home. In my own opinion, I think they look ok with my 'I HEART PARIS' tee and with the hems folded up (like in the picture below). What do you guys think? Please tell me your most honest opinion!

P.S.: I took these pictures during the height of winter, just for this blog entry! Brrrr....


P.P.S.: Uni starts again tomorrow! I hope I can still continue to write on this blog consistently...

Poncho

With about a month left for winter, I found myself waking up one morning thinking, "I better start wearing my poncho while the weather allows."


This poncho was sort of a going-away gift from my mother. The moment I saw it, I shrieked, "Mori!" But somehow I can't really pull the Mori look off. Damn. Anyhoo, I wore this poncho when I watched Harry Potter with a friend on Monday (which was overrated) and when I went back to uni  to finish some work today. 

LOOK ONE

Top (Grey knitted poncho): gift from Mum
Bottom (DIY dip-dye denim): DIY
Shoes (Equestrian boots): Kmart
Bag (White Floral Sling Bag): $5, Factorie, Sydney
Hat (Grey knitted beret): DIY, handmade
Mittens (Multi-coloured convertible mittens): Accessorize

I bought the bag on a sale for just $5, which was really lucky! The strap was initially a little too long for my stature, but I fixed the problem by poking more holes in it. Easy-peasy. This is just one of the many things that one has to learn to deal with in life when one is vertically-challenged.

LOOK TWO

Top (Grey knitted poncho): gift from Mum
Bottom (Ripped&bleached denim shorts): Cotton On
Leggings (Maroon leggings): Taiwan
Socks (Black Thigh-high Socks): eBay
Shoes (Equestrian boots): Kmart
Mittens (Multi-coloured convertible mittens): Accessorize

You will notice that I am only wearing one mitten. The other one is.... missing! >_< And one reader was just telling me about how she lost one of her mittens in a previous comment. I think I either dropped it somewhere in the city when I wore it on Monday or misplaced it in my room. No matter what, I am not too sad about it. Well, nothing lasts forever. Moreover, I think wearing mismatched mittens is rather cute! :)


Which look do you guys prefer?

DIY: Refashioned Straw Bag

Dear Summer, I miss you so much. Winter has been cold and dreary. I want you back.

I guess you can tell how much I am missing summer right now. I could go crazy trying to keep warm in this cold and thinking about all the fun I had last summer. In preparation for Summer 2011, I made a refashioned straw bag! Whoopieee! I have always been inspired by Japanese fashion and this straw bag is a perfect example of its influences on me. Here are some of the pieces that inspired me:

(via)

(via)

I bought my mini straw bag from a thrift shop for just $4 over a year ago with the thought of making it look better, and finally got around to refashioning it this year. Do you like it? You can make a similar one following the steps below, or Google ‘japanese straw bag’ for more inspiration.

Materials:

Straw bag

Bits of different lace trimmings and ribbons

Glue gun

Steps: 

1. Use glue gun to glue a thick, ‘holey’ lace all around the middle of the straw bag. 

2. Use glue gun to glue another lace fabric slightly above the lace used in the previous step. 

3. Tie ribbons and glue them wherever you like. 

4. Add extra trimmings around the bag if you like.

I only used white trimmings for my lace bag because I didn’t want the trimmings to overwhelm the entire bag. Also, I was awfully scared of not being able to carry off such a feminine-looking bag. 

So, here you are, a very short and simple tutorial for the summer. I can’t wait to use this bag when summer comes!

Sewn: Cath Kidston Bag from Sew! Cath Kidston

A while ago, I wrote a review on the Sew! Cath Kidston book. The book came with the materials to make this floral Cath Kidston bag! Yes, it came with the fabric, the buttons and even the Cath Kidston label. (Sewing machine not included, haha)

So, here's my very own Cath Kidston bag! It's a really easy project that was completed within 2 days. Sewing it was such a breeze and a joy, such that I feel like making a few more with different fabric prints for my friends!

Where I added the interface

Work in progress

Work in progress, with pocket completed

I didn't exactly follow the original 'recipe' for the bag. I added some interface at the bottom of the bag because I wanted the bag to have a more defined structure. I think some interface at the bottom (rather than for the entire bag) is adequate, because erm, I don't want to make a box out of it! I also added a pink lining, complete with a pocket! Both the interface and the pink cotton fabric for the lining of the bag are additional things that I bought to make the bag because I really wanted this bag to be perfect. And... I think it's ALMOST perfect.

YUM.

The blue markings at the sides of the label are from my fabric pencil. I wanted to make sure that the label is right at the centre!

Why ALMOST? Well, I lost the buttons that were given to make the bag. I'm pretty sure it's somewhere in my pig sty (aka my bedroom), but I thought I should just forget it for now and simply buy similar ones to complete the bag. I'm sure the buttons will resurface sooner or later, and I will then be able to use them to make another of this bag! 

Look! Pockets!

Matching lining

But the buttons aren't the big issue here. What I am not fond of is the strap. The strap is of a weird length. It's not short enough to make the bag a handbag, yet not long enough for the bag to be worn as a sling bag. So, this Cath Kidston bag rests awkwardly in the middle of my torso, just slightly above my hip when I put the strap over my shoulder. To think that I was initially worried that I might have to shorten the strap because of my petite frame! Now I wonder how the bag would look when it's worn by taller people! What a shame for an almost perfect bag. Oh well, there's nothing I can do about it. I guess I'll just have to make it work out somehow with a good outfit! ^_^

I WEAR DIY: It's been so cold lately

Beret (Grey knitted beret): DIY, handmade
Mittens (Multi-coloured striped mittens): Accessorize
Top (Route 66 Navy Hoodie): Taiwan
Bottom (Dip-dye jeans): DIY
Shoes (Equestrain black boots): Kmart


I hate winter. Thank goodness for my convertible mittens.

P.S.: No, I did not knit this pair of mittens. I will never ever knit a pair of convertible mittens because it's too much of a hassle. 

Liebster Blog Award

Woohoo! Robbie from knitxcore awarded me with the Liebster Blog Award back in June this year. I was really shocked and flattered, because I think Robbie only started following me this year!

According to Robbie's blog entry, this is what the Liebster Blog Award is about:

The Liebster Blog Award started in Germany (obvs) and was intended to drive traffic to hidden gems (blogs with less than 300 readers). Upon acceptance of the Liebster award, the recipient is then obligated to "pay it forward" to 3 small blogs that they enjoy.

- Robbie from knitxcore 

Since then, I have been mulling over the 3 blogs that I want to present the award to. It was really hard for me because I realised that a number of blogs that I really love have wayyyy more than 300 followers. So, after almost a month of thinking, these are the 3 blogs that I have decided to present the award to:

Sew I Thought

Two words that sum up what makes up Angela's blog: Vintage + sewing. Check out her blog and you'll be amazed at how talented this girl is. 

Ali Foster's Blog

Ali Foster has heaps of great ideas for refashioning boring tees and reconstructing doudy, old dresses. Her blog entries never fail to inspire me. :)

???

Right, I can't really think of a third blog to give the award to now. I know that's not the rule but I really want to give the award to blogs that I really like, not just settle for a blog just because I HAVE to give it to 3 different blogs. I swear, I will give the award to the 3rd and last blog once I come across another blog that I love!

I hope you guys will enjoy these blogs as much as I do! That's all for now! (^_^)

DIY+I WEAR DIY: Dip it and bleach it (Dip-dye jeans)

After my success with bleaching my denim jacket last year, I have been having the hankering to do another bleached denim project. Then this lovely dip-dye jeans design started showing up all over the Internet and WHOWHATWEAR even did a DIY write-up for this look. But seriously, you don't need someone to tell you how to do it, it's really simple. So....... here's my DIY dip-dye jeans.

Well, they are not exactly jeans... It's actually a very sturdy pair jeggings (leggings+jeans) made from denim-like material. The elastic pull-on design makes this pair of jeggings soooo comfortable to wear.


I was actually planning to do a 3-tone spin to it, where the area above the crotch is the darkest and the lightest shade begins at the midpoint of the thigh. Unfortunately, it seems that the bleach that I used was not strong enough to bleach my jeans. So, in the end, I ended up with the normal two-tone jeans. Boohoohoo. 

Jacket (Fake leather jacket): random shop in Singapore
T-shirt (You don't mean nothing at all to me T-shirt)
Jeans (DIY dip-dye jeans): Kmart, DIY
Boots (Doc Martens Wannabe): Rubi, $49.95

Oh well, but I am still loving the way it looks. What do you guys think?

By the way, my t-shirt says "You don't mean nothing at all to me". I'm not a big fan of double negatives in English, but hey, it works well for a rebel look. Moreover, it was on sale for just $1. ;)

Sorry about the grainy pictures. I have no idea what went wrong. :(

Where have all the colours gone?

Oh look, my hair glows in a golden brown colour under the warm sunshine. I just dyed my hair a week ago using  L'Oreal's new Sublime Mousse hair colour in Golden Brown. As usual, the do-it-at-home permanent hair dye does not become very obvious on my natually black Asian hair. But I'm still happy enough with the way my hair currently looks under the warm sunshine.

Cardigan (Black, long cardigan): Mum's
Dress ($5 Granny's Floral Dress): Ally, $4.99
Stockings (Grey knitted ribbed stockings): Sportsgirl, $7.95
Accessories (Red ring, Grey ring, Flower ear studs): Diva, Sportsgirl, Target
Boots: Kmart, $29.95

Anyway, this is what I wore for a shopping trip at a factory outlet centre a few days after handing in my last assignment for the semester. I have no idea how my wardrobe ended up so... dark. This dreary weather is really getting into me. I need more colours in my life. 

But I am quite pleased with my current ring collection. These are the 2 of the 5 rings that I currently own. I think I will have to come up with a good way to store my growing ring collection soon! I bought the red ring on sale at Diva for just 3AUD and I really adore the ornate designs at the sides. The earrings are one of the 3 pairs in a set that I scored in another sale for just $2. Yes, that means $2 for 3 pairs of earrings ;)

Right now I'm just trying to recall the last time I bought something that was NOT on sale...