DIY PRINTED TRIM MINI SKIRT

Being addicted to all things tribal, printed and mini I recently collaborated with College Fashion in making this embellished mini skirt that channels the bang-on-trend Aztec/tribal vibe that I love so much (check this out if you don't believe me!). At the risk of sounding like a broken record, for this project I took a little inspiration from one of my favourite Sass & Bide collections, a few pieces from which you can see below. Same same, but different.

I had a somewhat blah black thrifted skirt in my closet that I thought would be the perfect base for this project - and knew that with a little imagination I could make it something I would want to wear all the time come summer.

You need: 
- A skirt - check out your local thrift or dollar stores.
- Around 2 metres of embroidered trim
- A needle and thread (or sewing machine)
- Scissors

How to: 

1. To create the basic mini skirt, I shortened the longer skirt to mini length. To do this, measure the appropriate length by using a skirt you already wear as a guide for cutting.

2. Hem the skirt by rolling the fabric over and sewing down.

3. Cut two pieces of trim to match the length all the way around of the hem and waistband. If you want you can use a lighter to lightly singe the trim so it doesn't fray.

4. Hand sew (or use a sewing machine) to attach the printed trim to the waistband and the hem - sewing both edges to secure. Update: For the top piece I located the edges of the embroidered trim on either side of the back zip, and for the bottom piece I overlapped the trim and sewed  it down on the left hand side.

And there you have it, all done! A perfectly chic, on-trend and inexpensive mini skirt which will take you into spring without so much as a backwards glance.

Wearing: DIY Mini skirt | H&M t-shirt | Karen Walker Sunglasses | Mango Boots | Locally Designed Rings | DIY Bell Bracelets

On another note, I'm speaking next week on my favourite subject of reworked clothing and before & after  projects at a conference for Redress. Looking forward to it.

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BEFORE & AFTER: DIY TRIBAL PRINTED MINI DRESS

Ok so I have to admit to being completely and utterly addicted to before and after projects. Any sort of 'before = rubbish, after = rad' gets me.  Embarrassingly I sometimes find I'm unable to tear myself away from dodgy home reno shows, or worse, extreme makeover. For some reason I have a weird fascination with the cinderella-like transformations that are inherent in these projects, and I guess that's part of my love for majorly overhauling thrifted clothes.

I was recently rummaging through my local thrift shop and spied a hypnotizing tribal printed fabric (fyi - I like to keep on alert for fabrics when sorting through mounds of secondhand clothes) but when I pulled it out it came in the form of a not so sexy collared dress. Not totally unwearable but not something that was ever going to be at the top of my Saturday night party dress list. The fabric was so amazing and Mara Hoffman-like that I knew it was to be the subject of my next before&after project.

See, I told you the fabric was drool worthy didn't I? My bf tells me he thinks he had a bedsheet set in the same print when he was 6 but that's neither here nor there. When he said that I couldn't help but dream about the amazing cape I would make if I ever stumbled upon those bed sheets...

These were the particular Mara Hoffman s/s 2012 fabrics that inspired me. Umm same same, but different right?

To do this project I got a little tricky with a pair of scissors and my sewing machine.

How I did it:
1. First I cut off the collar (seen in this project) and turned the dress around so that the back was at the front. This gave me a completely different high necked look.
2. Then I took the dress in at the back of the waist by around 3 inches by sewing two new darts - it was key that the waist on this dress fitted snugly.
3. I measured and then cut about 15cm off the bottom of the skirt (I always go shorter when in doubt about a thrifted dress, it's an instant update!).
4. I cut about 6cm off the sleeves and rehemmed.
5. I folded the nape of the back of the dress into a V and sewed down.
6. Finally I swapped the mismatching white buttons for light pink ones that were more understated.

And there you have it. I also popped over to a friend's studio yesterday and used her overlocker to finish the hem properly.

I like to think that with a little love this dress emerged from its chrysalis into the butterfly that by rights this fabric deserves to be. I've been enjoying imagining all the places and outfits in which this dress will play a part in the future - perhaps I should warn all my friends back home that I may not be able to take it off at all while I am back for christmas!

Wearing: DIY dress, Zara suede boots.

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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.

DIY Multi Colour Bodycon Dress

I saw these multicoloured rugs down at my local dollar store, which are made out of recycled jersey t-shirts. They have a great amount of stretch to them so I bought a few for fun. I fell in love with the multi-coloured, ever so slightly tribal look. After making the skirt you may have seen a few days ago, I also decided to make a dress.

DIY
You need: 4 rugs, a long white zip for the back, a sewing machine.
1. Sew two of the rugs together at the long edge to create one large piece of fabric. Do this to the other two rugs as well. I just hand stitched this.

2. Pin the zip down the middle of one of the pieces of fabric.

3. Sew the zip onto the fabric.

4. Cut the fabric where the zipper has been sewed on to complete the opening.

5. Trace out the dress shape onto the fabric using a bodycon dress.

6. Pin the two large pieces of fabric together flat and sew down the marked pattern of the dress.

7. Cut the excess fabric off along the stitch line - its best to do this once the seam has been sewn as the fabric starts falling apart once you cut into it.

8. This is what the finished dress will look like - turn it inside out and away you go!

Here's the back.

DIY On the Runway - Sass and Bide AW11

The tribal inspired brights on the runway for the Sass & Bide AW11 show were absolutely amazing - take note if you plan on going on a safari anytime soon. One DIYable detail of the show that particularly caught my eye was the imaginative draping and belting of colorful scarves over mini dresses. I have to say that unfortunately Sass & Bide is a little out of my price range these days (having come so far from being the only jeans that I would wear as a 15 year old) so I am definitely going to be seeking out a technicolour scarf and belting it over a simple mini dress.