Thursday, March 31, 2011

Happy Birthday Robyn

Today is my dear friend Robyns birthday. (ignore the date of the post. its actually Thursday 31st) I decided to make a cushion with a map of New Zealand on it so she can take it back home to Scotland with her. Its made out of a New Zealand made woollen blanket also so its extra special.
I put little x's in all the places that Robyn has travelled to and included extra thread and a needle so she could keep adding to it.





See below post for the lesson.

Cushion Making.


So these cushions are really simple and you can get really creative with them. Im sure alot of you would have made cushions at school so you can just apply what you already know.

Ingredients: I used an old woollen blanket but you can use what ever fabric you like for the base of the cushion. Some felt. I chose white but you can get what ever colour you like. Some Buttons for decoration and a print out of New Zealand.


So first of all, you may want to make a wee sketch of what you want on your cushion. For mine ive chosen the map of New Zealand and printed it out to use as a stencil. you can do the same with any picture you want.

Once youve printed or drawn your stencil you can cut it out and apply it to your felt with pins and then cut them out. (ignore the heart in all the following photos, I decided not to use it in the end)


Then we need to cut out 2 squares in the fabric that weve chosen for the main part of the cushion.
For my measurements I decided to cut mine 40cm x 40cm

Once youve cut out your squares, lay the felt cut outs onto one of them and pin them in place.

Once youve done that you can start hand stitching. (You can machine stitch it if you like but i recon hand stitching gives it more character and makes it look more home made.) Put on some good music or some telly to watch/listen while you do this. It can pass the time quicker.

Once you have finnished hand stitching add in what ever items you have chosen to decorate it with e.g buttons, ribbons or even more felt layers.

Once youre happy with it. Put the two good sides of your cushion quares and pin them in place.

After pinning it together. You can sew all around the edges with your sewing machine leaving a little gap (12cm) so you can turn it back the right way round.

Turn your cushion the right way out and stuff it with some cushion filler. Once it has been filled get a needle and thread and hand stitch the gap up. (you can get real crafty if you like and put a zip in the back instead so you can put a premade cushion insert inside instead).

Voila! youre done!

Thank You Nana

I was very lucky to receive a package the other day from my Nana. It had all sorts of goodies in it.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Tomorrow People

On Saturday night i went to see Tomorrow People. They were amazing! They are based in Wellington and are a 8-pc unit consisting of musicians from all ethnicities who found common ground in their love for reggae music. I really enjoyed it big time!

Im not much of a review writer so all you'll get out of me is that it was a mean as gig!

like their facebook page here https://www.facebook.com/tomorrow.ppl?ref=ts&sk=wall#!/tomorrow.ppl
and their site here http://www.tomorrowpeoplereggae.co.nz/





Sunday, March 20, 2011

Bat - man- shirt?

I wanted a new shirt but i wanted it big and comfy as if i had thrown on one of my boyfriends shirts for the day. I would have to say that i am quite inspired by Audrey Hepburn wearing the mens shirt in Breakfast at Tiffanys. I designed it so it looks like a mens shirt but is slimmer and has 3/4 cuffed sleeves so its a bit more feminine and cut the sleeves so theyre bat like.


Excuse the wrinkles. The photos were taken in the afternoon after a good day of wearing. Photos were also taken by my talented friend Julia.

Last Minute Dress

I was privillaged to attend a friends wedding this weekend. Being my usual self I left making my dress untill the last minute. I started making the pattern for it in the spare time i had between work, making final fitting adjustments to the brides dress and bed time three days before the big day. Luckily i managed to scrape through and finnish it in time to wear it. Phewf! I cant remember what fabric it is made from exactly but it is nice and heavy so it flows nicely and is a little bit sheer.

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Paw a Good Cause

Boston and I are showing our support for Paw Justice. Paw Justice is an organization that was formed to help deal with the problems of animal abuse and neglect.

Check their site out HERE!!!!

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

de Vol Clothing

Today i did a bit of a shop and bought a new jacket. I love, love, love it!!!! Im really into the whole cape look at the moment and when i found it in Frutti i guess you could say it was love at first sight. What topped the experience was meeting the talented lady who made it. She gave me her card and i really need to share it so you can look at all the amazing things that her and her partner create.

devolclothing.com   - hopeandanchor.co.nz
and visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/de-Vol-clothing/143174265578?v=photos

Jacket made by devol clothing.

Support locally made products!!!!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Character Cushions

Inspired by the camera bag i made a few weeks ago I decided to make some pillows to add some character to our plain couches. A gaming controller for my partner and a camera for myself.
They are made from an old woollen blanket and felt. Really simple to make. Keep tuned to learn how in the next few weeks.