DIY LBD SERIES - RECAP

Things have been so busy recently - with DIYs, collaborations and a side project (more on that soon I promise!) it's felt a little out of control. I'm half way through the fourth and final in the DIY LBD series (ok so maybe more like a third of the way).  Prior to finishing it, here's a recap of the three I have done previously. I have worn the crap out of all of them - that's the remit for a LBD right?

Black Wrapped Dress | Backless Dress | Gucci Inspired Rope Neck Dress

J BRAND COLLABORATION - JASON WU INSPIRED DENIM

Recently I had the pleasure of collaborating with J Brand Jeans on a AW11 Runway Inspired DIY. I chose to embellish some jeans with lace - a la Jason Wu RTW. Was such a fun project! Thanks to J Brand for arranging it - head over to their blog to check out my post and lots of other fun bits and bobs.

Lace has been popping up everywhere for the coming fall/winter season, and I couldn’t help but drool over the scalloped lace embellished dresses, sweatshirts and jackets that came down the runway as part of Jason Wu’s amazing AW11 RTW collection. What better way to get a bit of lace in your life than by doing it yourself? Never one to shy away from a challenge, I got to work adding some gorgeous black scalloped lace to my favorite J Brand style in an amazing bright lime green. Lace + chartreuse = two of my favorite AW11 trends wrapped up in one fun little DIY package!

To do this DIY you’ll need:

A pair of jeans (go for a bright color like green, orange or red)
Around 3m of black lace, scalloped along one edge. Try to pick lace with some stretch.
A needle and some black thread.
(& some re-runs of Sex and the City to watch while you do the project!)

1. Measure out enough lace to run down both sides of jeans.
2. Cut the lace to fit, leaving a little so the ends can be folded and sewed to the underside.
3. Line up the flat edge of the lace with the side seam of the jeans.
4. Pin in place.
5. Hand sew all the way around the lace, starting along the straight edge and then moving to the scalloped edge. This is when you’ll need a supply of your favorite re-runs – it took me about 2 hours to stitch the lace. Hand stitching works best because it allows a little bit of stretch for when you put the jeans on.
6. Complete both sides.

Voila! How easy is that? The scalloped lace gives a gorgeous and on-trend look, and a friend mentioned when I was wearing them that the lace was quite flattering on the legs, um, score!

HOW TO DIY - 5 STEPS

Finding time, the DIY toolkit and more. I often get emails from readers saying that they love DIY fashion projects but don't do any - common reasons for this include a lack of materials, inspiration, confidence and above all, time. Bearing that in mind, I've listed out below my 5 key steps to getting started on DIY fashion projects.

1. GATHER THE ESSENTIAL TOOLS

The first step is to organise a DIY essentials kit. This kit will have the key tools to support the actual process of your DIY projects, and without them it's going to be super hard to follow through when you're inspired.  There is a huge benefit in taking the time to collect the right basic tools at the start - it opens up your imagination and means less barriers to getting started on a project. To do this, get a box and started collecting. You can check out M&J Trimming, Ebay, Hardware Stores, Flea Markets and craft stores for these items . At a minimum your essentials toolkit could contain the following things:

• a good pair of dressmaking scissors


• a box of dressmakers pins


• a measuring tape


• chalk


• black and white thread


• needles


• a quick unpick

If you have cash to splash, invest in:

• a sewing machine (mine is a Singer model '2250 Tradition')


• a glue gun

A sewing machine is the best investment you will ever make in terms of the quality and type of DIY projects you will be able to produce. But I know they aren't cheap (my aussie one was AUD$600 and the one I now have in HK went for US$250) and it's a huge investment to make when you don't know how to sew or if you will even like it. Why not buy one with a group of friends and take turns using it? The person who enjoys it the most can always buy the others out if interest wanes. Find a local sewing school or sewing cafe and do some classes before you invest - Sweatshop Cafe in Paris and The Make Lounge in Islington are two fun places to learn how to sew. If anyone knows of any other sewing classes/schools/cafes they would like to recommend please leave a comment below.

2. COLLECT INSPIRATION

Look around you for inspiration for DIY projects - in magazines, on blogs, style.com, on the streets, in shops, in your local department store. Start asking yourself, could I DIY that? Collect and keep images and ideas, have a folder on your laptop or computer titled 'DIYS to do' where you regularly save off inspiring images from blogs and websites, tear images out of magazines, and take pictures on the streets. DIY ideas can be fleeting we've all got a million other things to think about, so make sure to nail down your inspiration when you have it. This allows you to come back to it later on when you have time.

3. EXPERIMENT ON THRIFTED CLOTHES

The easiest DIYs involve altering and experimenting on thrifted clothes. This is really how I got started. Creating a garment from scratch is really a daunting task (for me too!), but making changes and alterations to existing clothes is a surprisingly easy place to start. Add fringing, studs, feathers and buttons as a start. Check out local charity shops, seconds stores, flea markets and garage sales for clothes that you can experiment on. The less you spend on these items, the more likely you are to be imaginative.

4. STOCKPILE DIY MATERIALS

Get together a collection of cheap materials - such as chains, buttons, studs, ribbons, and zips,  which can be used to DIY items of clothing or accessories. Often you will find these materials in the most unlikely of places - thrift stores, hardware stores, newsagents and stationary stores, plumbing shops and junk yards. All these stores have a million different items them that, with a little creativity, can help you produce professional looking DIY projects. I have a tendency to stockpile these items when I see them, even if I don't have a use for them at that particular moment - they always come in handy down the track. I also try not to spend too much on these things - DIY for me is a way to satisfy my fashion cravings without breaking the bank.

5. MAKE TIME

I get asked alot 'how do you find the time to do DIY?'. Time is one of the biggest factors in being able to carry out DIY projects, and what stands in most people's way. Most of us lead busy lives - between work, socialising and (occasionally haha) going to the gym, there is very little time left. My biggest tip is to commit time to doing projects, as that is one of the only ways they happen. I generally commit to doing one project over the weekend - Sunday afternoon is my favoured time to put on some Sex and the City and have a 'crafternoon'. You could commit to doing a project a month or fortnight and take the time to prepare for it. Still torn between other commitments? Organise to do some projects with friends so that you can kill two birds with one stone. Or do some DIY whilst on public transport - beading and other sewing projects are possible. I also always have a project to do while sitting in front of the TV, most of us waste a fair amount of time watching the new Weeds/Breaking Bad/Californication (etc) episodes - so make it productive DIY time.

And lastly... Don't be afraid to have a go. Have the confidence to make DIY inspiration reality, the worst thing that could happen is that it doesn't work out. Reduce fears associated with this by using cheap and thrifted materials. Every good DIYer has a project graveyard, a place for those DIYs that didn't work out as planned. I have ruined so many projects by getting scissor happy and cutting a dress/skirt too short. A word of advice - more is more when it comes to hems and scissors, trust me! Remember, projects that go awry can always be refashioned in the future, so there is no such thing as a complete fail.

Has this post answered some of your questions about how to DIY? Feel free to add any comments or further questions you have below - would love to know if anything else stands in your way from doing DIY projects. Share the love and DIY!

DIY TRIBAL PRINT KIMONO

Tribal and aztec prints have featured heavily in the last couple of seasons, and don't look to be going away any time soon. I recently purchased a gorgeous red printed scarf when I was in thailand, with tassels and coins on the ends. As much as I loved it, there isn't a huge need for a scarf in HK until at least December, and I was really sad seeing it just languishing in my closet. I posted a whole year ago here about wanting to make a kimono/poncho style top - and have finally got around to it! Tip: You can use the same technique as shown below to make a winter cape using a thick printed blanket or throw rug.

DIY:

You'll need a large square printed scarf, scissors, and a needle and thread. I used a sewing machine for part of the process but you can easily do it all by hand.

1. Fold your scarf in half and mark the half way line with chalk. Lay the scarf on the floor or on a large table and cut down the chalk line, cutting a little bit over half way through the middle of the fabric.

2. Sew back and forth across the end of the cut in the fabric, so that it doesn't fray or rip.  Then sew the other raw edges - I rolled them over twice and hand stitched.

3. As you can see, in doing this you have cut the neck line into the kimono. Then it on and sew arm holes by simply securing the back and front together with a stitch on the outer edge of the fabric. And its done! The coins and tassels on the edges really add to the top so feel free to add a few things like this if you like. Fringing would also be a fun addition to the ends.

Wearing: DIY kimono, Topshop bikini top, thrifted denim shorts, Nat-sui flats, Karen Walker Sunglasses.

DIY Bronze Bolt Necklace

Very simple bolt necklace using suede and a bronze bolt thingy.

If you love frizzy hair you should definitely move to Hong Kong. I recommend it.

A DIY week in pictures

Heading out to the islands on a junk
DIY bronze cuffs

Swarovski Hello Kitty Launch

DIY cactus terranium

Vintage floor tiles

Coloured Lanterns in a boutique in Hong Kong

Wide leg trousers via Elle

Vintage straw visa and fan

Late night beach party

Cropped Missoni via Elle

DIY Burberry Tribal High Heels

I recently made my own version of the gorgeous bead embellished heels from the Burberry 2012 Resort collection. I crafted mine by creating beaded embellishments to go over my shoes. This DIY is such a simple way to update your wardrobe - you can even use chains or different coloured beads for a different look.

Wearing: DIY Beaded shoe embellishments, New Look wide heel shoes, tribal mini from Thailand, Country Road singlet, Karen Walker Number One sunglasses.

DIY:

You need - brown and red wooden beads and black string.

1. I strung the beads so that I had two red and two brown strings of beads for each shoe - about 15cm long each.

2. I then tied two of each color together, securing at each end with black string, and then tying that string together in a bow at the back of the shoe. Essentially you will have 'necklaces' of brown and red beads for each shoe.

Voila! The best bit about these embellishments is you can wear them with any shoes, they also look great on some black t-bar flats I have. Instant tribal wardrobe updater.

A Pair & A Spare Spotted at Boohoo.com

The lovely Katey tweeted to me recently saying that she had spotted me in the recent boohoo.com style newsletter. How funny. This photo was taken by Wayne Tippetts at London Fashion Week last September, feels like a million years ago!

Wearing: Thrifted beaded jacket (possibly my favourite piece of clothing ever), vintage dior mens shirt, alexander mcqueen leather bustier, DIY camel shorts, thrifted envelope clutch, asos floppy fedora.

Hope you like the somewhat sour expression on my face, ha.

DIY Caramel Front Pleated Skirt - Collaboration with The Style Net

A little while ago the gorgeous Brooke of The Style Net suggested we collaborate on a DIY project to be hand picked by you (remember here?). We got heaps of votes for the front pleated skirt option so I set about making one. I tried to make mine a little different to the original (cue a Clueless soundbite - Murray after shaving his head at 'the Val' party: 'cos I'm keepin' it real. 'cos I'm keepin' it real!') , whilst sticking to the general premise of the style. It was incredibly simple to make, so be sure to check out the tutorial here at The Style Net. I chose to pair the earthy caramel of the skirt with my favourite colour of the moment - blue, and some tribal accessories.

Wearing: DIY skirt (tutorial here), A Pair & A Spare blue pocket front silk singlet, DIY bronze cuffs, tribal belt as a necklace, Nat Sui T bar flats, rope bag from Thailand.

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Rug Skirt Giveaway Winner and Friend In Fashion

Here's a pic of gorgeous Jas of Friend in Fashion looking banging in one of my rug skirt creations. I adore how she's styled it and don't her legs look amazing? 

What better day to announce the winner of the Rug Skirt Giveaway? The winner is:

Torill - torill.92@hotmail.com 

Congratulations!

Bronze Hex Cuffs

 How cool are these huge bronze hex nuts? Perfect as cuffs.

Wearing: (stuff you've seen wayyyy too much by now) DIY pink mini, DIY rug bustier, Ash peep toe boots