Women Fashion power exhibition!

Hi,

I hope you are all doing fabulously :) 

A week or so ago me and my friend Grace from college went to see the Women, Fashion, Power exhibition at the Design Museum in London. It was a really cool exhibition- looking a the the clothing of some very influential women in the world throughout history and now in the modern day. And there were lo just examples of interesting womenwearclothing and shoes too.

From visiting I did manage to tick one thing off my bucket list!!- to see a garment worn by Lady Gaga with my own eyes in person!! Look, I saw this black plastic bag dress worn by Miss Gaga herself!:

One of my other favourite pieces was this strappy black bolero type piece with these amazing metallic/almost holographic plastic pieces protruding from the sleeves:

Isn't it really intriguing? I mean you would definitely make an entrance in that!

And next up in my photo highlights tour- shoes! Here were my two favourite pairs. Wearing with attitude is a must :p they are pretty fierce. But what do you expect from an exhibition entitled women  fashion power...

And lastly these brilliant hats- by the one and only Phillip Tracey of course :) The one comes across as like transforming you into a mystical bird but I might have to go with the one in the middle if I could only have one as that looks soo warm and it is still very cold! :p

I would recommend a visit if you are near the design museum. There is tons more cool items to see that I couldn't possibly cover them all in this post :p

see you all again soon- with news of my show makes for college!  Yes I am now on my first show- which is why I have been so busy these last few weeks.  And I will also be bringing photos and news from Vodafone Fashion Weekend at Somerset House in london (as I visited in September) as I am heading there on Saturday!  :D

Bye till then! Xxxxx

More hattery :)

Hello everyone,

 

I hope your first few weeks of 2015 have been as fun and amazing as you wish the year to continue :)

 

I am now back at college, so back to more a bit more (mostly enjoyable :P) hecticness. Which Is why I was glad I made some more progress on my blue Hat I started on new years- before I had to hit the books again :P

 

I managed to get the lace pieces sewn on that I chose as my decoration:

 

 

You may recognise the lace motifs... they are from one of the dresses I picked up from the costume store sale a while ago :P I really like the pattern of the lace and have found so many things so far that it compliments, including the blue velvety fabric of this hat (which is actually from a spare curtain :P).

 

I also managed to squeeze in the time to make this little fascinator of my own design:

 

 

The main fabric coating this fascinator was another of my costume store bargains- they have all come in so useful! The leopard print fabric was from a shirt I didn't really need any more and I got the little metal charms when I was in the IOW one time. It was fun designing my first fascinator- From materials and a shape which seemed quite crazy it came out with the sophisticated but quirky factor I was aiming for I think :P I am happy... now I just need an event to wear it to! Haha :-)

 

Speak to you all again soon,

 

Bye XxXxX

Hatty, sorry I mean Happy New year!

Hello everyone!

I hope the first few days of 2015 have been as fabulous as you mean for them to go on! :)
I Haven't made lots of resolutions this year, just 2 main ones. To develop my skills as a costumier further and do well on my course and to keep working on becoming a better, happier and more positive person to be around. They will keep me busy enough for the year I think though!

I have started the first one off with a bang by getting to work and using some of the millinery materials I got for christmas on starting to make a new hat.  It is inspired by a 1950s style fashion interpretation of a sailors hat.

First I modelled it in card to check fit and proportion /look:

After posing round the house in my cardboard model I then got onto cutting out the buckram pieces, attaching the wire Around the crown and the brim, coating all the pieces in fabric using glue as necessary... which left me a bit messy :p And now after several hours of hand sewing I am on the verge of having a completed hat! Look:

Just lining, inside petersham band, hair loops and a bit of decoration if I choose so :)

Haha hat making is very addictive. I want to make a bonnet next!

I'm off to bed now so I can finish my hat in the morning... possibly running into the afternoon :p

Speak to you all again soon!  And once again Happy new year my friends!

Bye xxx

Happy Belated Christmas

Hi everyone, 

This is a Happy Belated Christmas post as my Internet was down for a short while. So first off I'd like to say that I hope you all had a fabulous christmas!!! :D

And next, as we have passed the christmas period I can bring you a picture of the contents of the crafty christmas advent Calendar;

Now onto a little bit about my Christmas, I had a lovely day with my family eating a delicious Christmas dinner cooked by my dad :D And then there was lots of present exchanging which is always fun too! Everyone was so generous and I got some lovely presents :-)

I got a wig stand (in my size :) which is extremely useful for testing hat patterns on:

And then I got lots of hat making materials So I can get to work and make a range of hats and fascinators using my new hat books I also got for inspiration:

I also got a book on wedding traditions in different cultures.  I have learnt so much from it  already! All the information will come in really useful for my 3rd year project I plan to do so I have been taking notes as I read :p

my last present I want to show you is my sylvainian families harvester. This is an older sylvanian family set so my family had to put quite a bit if effort into sourcing it! I thought it was really cute though and filled with all my sylvainian people and a bit of extra food and look at my bustling bistro!:

My last bit of christmas news I bring you is of the hats I helped my family make for christmas eve for fun. I used my new millinery skills. My hat is the crazy stripy one in the middle!

:p they were all based on historical styles I was really making everyone be a costume nerd :p

See you all again soon,

bye xxxx

Millinery meanderings

Hi everyone,

At college at the moment we are on our carousel of different costume techniques that don't feature as part of the day to day of our course :) We get to do one week of millinery, dance ear , dying and breaking down and also a week of wig dressing. 

The week of millinery has just gone and it was such an interesting and enjoyable week. As some of you may remember I did a millinery course at the London college of fashion last summer. That course mainly focused on blocking techniques, whereas the week just gone at college we looked at cutting and shaping buckram to make hats- something much more achieve able at home without too much special equipment. I was so pleased with the result. We had to focus on the period of the 19th century to base out hat designs on. Here is the reference image I chose as a starting point for my hat, I found it in a book in the library: 

I didn't make my hat from straw however as I wanted to try fabric covering it so I went with a kind of golden straw coloured velvet instead.

Here is my final hat, I was really proud of it. Everyone else's was amazing too- it was amazing to see all thst had been produced in just a week!:

It is pretty big- you would need a lot if hairpins through the loops I sewed in to hold it down!

As this post was millinery themed, I thought it would be a good time to show you the fascinator I was making outside college that I just finished :-) It was from a kit from Hats on Heads (a millinery company- I bought two more of their kits from create and craft as well). It was pretty fun to make and not too much of it was given to you pre - done so I did actually lean quite a few skills.  Here it is:

Now I just need an occasion to wear it to! :p

Hehe,  I better be off to bed now, I hope you enjoyed my millinery meanderings.  Please do leave any comments below or ask any questions if you have them xxxx

Also don't forget tommorow the advent calendar giveaway ends do if you have entered already go do so now before it is too late! Good luck :-)

Speak to you all soon, 

Bye xoxoxo

Innocent big knit- Hatwalk!

Hello,

I hope you are happy and well :)

Yes, the time has rolled around again for the Innocent Big Knit! I love taking part, though so far this year I have only managed 10 hats in between doing my uni work. I reckon I can fit in making a few more before the deadline is up but I wanted to show you the 10 I have sent in so far;

Rose hats! Hehe, I made some fabric roses using the technique I learnt on my bridal wear course at LCF. They look quite effective I think, and the cream ones really match the theme of my blog :P:

Next were a couple of mouse ones- I usually make a couple of these as they are always fun and pretty quick really!:

Hahaha, next Mcdonalds, or Moschino (That brand did a mcdonalds themed collection of clothing/accessories :P)- you decide! These are a fun Idea I came up with this year. I love mcflurrys so I thought I would pay homage to their creator :OP:

And last but not least some little bear ones. My nan gave me the sparkly brown yarn and the buttons were in a pack from my friend for my birthday one year:

I hope people like my little hats and that all the hatted bottles as part of the big knit fly off the shelves so Age UK get lots of money to put towards their good cause!

I will be back to see you all again very soon,

Have a good weekend!,

Byeee xxxx

A Jolly dolly day :)

Hellooo,

 

I hope everyone is having a lovely weekend so far :-)

 

I've had a wonderful day today :) First of all I got out all of my Blythe dolls to gave them some long overdue love and attention! I revealed to Catherine a new little hat I created for her ( a bejewelled bear hat :o) as a sorry for leaving her in a box for so long, hehehe I think she liked it:

 

 

It will keep her warm now it is getting colder. (I also got a chance to make a few more of the Blythe hats,with matching scarves :P for my shop :)

 

Hehehe talking about things getting colder- I got a new girl to add to my doll collection today;

 

 

Scoops Waffle Cone! hahaha she is a Lalaloopsy doll- a super, super, kawaii one.

 

I have many plans for little outfits for her some of which  I will start making on my weeks holiday in  the IOW with my family which begins tomorrow, I can't wait!

 

She says she is pleased I am starting on her clothes soon as Catherine said she could borrow some of hers- but they don't really fit scoops, as you can see from her just trying the hat :P:

 

After my dolly filled morning I went out with my friends I hadn't seen for quite a while since I went to uni. We went to Costa Coffee and I had one of their sticky toffee coolers (milkshakes) which was delicious and then I went back to my friends house and we had some yummy pasta, chatted and watched TV- a very fun afternoon!

 

And if all that wasn't enough loveliness for one day when I got home I found this letter from my friend Eleanor over at My life, my thoughts, my hobbies It was lovely to read- I haven't received a letter in forever! And she even popped in some fun Halloween stickers for me too:

 

I hope my reply letter will make her as happy as her letter made me :0)

 

Thank you Eleanor! xxxx

 

I am off now to finish my day with a bit of Strictly come dancing with my family before we get packing.

 

See you soon,

 

Byeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee xxxooo

 

Hatwalk 2013!

Hi,

 

I handed in my innocent hat bundle (30 in total :) to the Age UK shop near my college- I think I was a little bit past the deadline but I am not sure :0/ (They said the deadline might be continuing for another week or so- I will have to check it out and see if I can make a few more in time- like different coloured domos I wanted to try). But in case the deadline has passed I wanted to do my full hatwalk for this year before I forget! :0)

 

I have blogged about lots of the hats I made but not all so let the show begin! :P:

 

 

Hehehe, I love making the tiny hats- I can't wait for next year to join in again!

 

See you all soon,

 

ByeBye xxxx

More hats!

Hi guys,

Sorry I haven't posted sooner! I have been settling into my new uni accommodation (the house I share with a landlady and her dog Mabel :P) and have been going into the college for the different induction days too- I start properly sewing/costume making/my course on Wednesday!!! :D Soo close now!!!!

 

I have finished a few more hats in the time I have had because the induction days in the college aren't full days so I have been having a morning or afternoon off most days.

 

Here is my little collection of apple/fruit hats:

 

They were quite quick to make but hopefully quite fun, and I think they are pretty appropriate for the fruit smoothie bottles they will be sold on! :oP

 

Some little 'love hats' (using my applique heart I designed on top)- I am probably going to make several more of these in some different colour combos :):

 

Hehehe, and last but not least my ice cream scoop hat! This one is mint choc chip (my new food love!) I will probably also try to re-create some other flavours too as these ones are super fun to make with the little cherry and whipped cream :o):

 

I am home for the weekend now so it is nice to be with my family again, I missed them lots being away from home just a few days! I'm off now to raid my fridge to get the leftover cake from my birthday that they have saved for me whilst I have been away- and probably to get started on more hats :P Then we are heading off to Autographica (an event where you can meet astronauts etc... that my brother likes to visit each year).

 

I hope all of you have a great weekend!

 

 

See you all again soon,

 

Byeeeeeeeeee my lovely friends :) xxxxxxxxxooooooooxxxx

Getting ready for uni!

 

Helloo,

 

For several weeks I have been getting all the bits and bobs I need for Uni like pots, pans, books, course supplies and..... clothes! :D Haha, I have enjoyed doing my clothes shopping, choosing lots of lovely outfits to wear.

 

I wanted to show you a picture of my most special, glam, saving-for-a-special-occasion dress that my mum and dad got me as an early birthday gift:

 

 

I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE, LOVE IT! I was drooling over it in the shop and said to my mum one day I will wear a dress like that! Then the next day she surprised me by bringing me one home :D It is sooo beautiful and it fits me perfectly :-) I am so happy to have it in my wardrobe ready to bring out for that perfect occasion! (and to put on and walk around in it in front of the mirror when I want to, lol :p) 

 

As my college is about 1/2 hour walk from my uni home I planned on using my bike some days and having a nice little cycle there instead. As another early birthday present my dad helped me do up my bike (which I haven't used in years!):

 

 

I got a cute basket :3:

 

And my dad made me a wooden vintage style crate to go on the back to give me even more carry space. I chose to put 'Gutermann & Co' the sewing thread makers so we painted it on the side and on the other side I want to paint 'Finest sewing thread' in an old fashioned style font to complete the look :)

 

Tomorrow me and my dad are taking some of my stuff up to my Uni home so that will be fun.

 

In other news here are my latest innocent smoothie hat creations:

 

 

An American style pretzel hat :D- I am going to make more in different colours.

 

And some little flowery hats that remind me of baby hats:

 

 

 

I used pastel self striping yarn and I think it gave quite an interesting effect.

 

I am off to carry on with more now, and check I have packed all my stuff properly for tomorrow!

 

See you soon,

 

Bye XXX