Bangle Bling

I made this on elastic with silver seed beads between in Montees. The thin bracelet look likes a tennis bracelet but without the cost. I had a chance to wear it to a dance formal a few weeks ago and it was lightweight and didn't catch on anything :)

Adeventures in Sewing: Batwing Top

For the UCT Vaudeville Circus, one of the dances I did was a Tango to fit into a medley of the Phantom of the Opera music. The colours were red and black, a colour I don't own in a ballgown.

Thankfully I had some red fabric stashed away for a rainy day and red stretch lace, the result, a batwing top with lace insert in the back and lace basque. I paired it with my ballroom practice skirt and a some improvised floats made from the scraps. The best part was it only took an hour and 4 seams!

I now have a batwing top to practice in for Latin while my new dress takes shape :) 

Adventures in Sewing: Bunting

In the near future we are throwing a baby shower for a friend. With Spring approaching, the vibrant colours have inspired a rainbow/colourful theme of sorts.

To capture that Spring-time feel I thought I would make some bunting to add to the decor. Having never made bunting I consulted the internet, which gave a variety of answers, many time-consuming, involving doubling the fabric, hemming it, etc.

The material I used comes from Kolnick's Linen, who produce linen for a number of department stores in South Africa. Their factory shop regularly sells off their off-cuts in bundles for R2. I used half a bundle to make all the flags (all 60 triangles), the other half went to Barbie clothes for my young cousins.

I am taking the lazy approach to this sewing whim. I drew a shape of 20 cm for the based of the triangle and 25 cm for the height. Make a few templates and cut out the shapes roughly. Take Pinking Shears and add that beautiful zigzag edge to the sides of the triangle and presto, a flag is made.

I'm all for cheap and easy. I inherited a lot of my gran's sewing supplies, including rolls (and I do mean rolls) of bias binding in a multitude of bright colours. Instead of getting ribbon and folding in half and then pinning etc., I merely slipped the short edge into one flap on the bias binding and zigzagged over it to hold the flag in place.

Now that all the bunting is made, I might be able to get back to the sewing project lurking beneath of the bunting

Leave a little sparkle wherever you go

When I look around the sewing machine at the moment, all I see are sequins and more sequins and some rhinestones to complete the sparkle. Later when I go somewhere else I seem to be leaving a trail of them behind, which reminded me of this:

This is the material I am attempting to sew with, sequinned mesh, its not nearly as easy as I thought it would be. The mesh is also see through, so a lining is next on the list. Let us hope it works!

Adventures in Sewing: Horse-hair Braid

In my adventures into sewing a dancesport dress, I have come across are variety of sewing items that can make an outfit flounce, curl and create volume, the latest of which is Horse-hair Braid or in South Africa: Mesh Tape.

The pictures below are of the tape that you can buy at material shops that sell bridal haberdashery. This one is an inch thick.

While exploring the various tutorials I came across this tutorial that showed how to sew the tape to the bottom of the skirt. This their case, they folded it up again to create a hem, but in my case I left it exposed to add to the effect.

Unlike the tutorial, I did not pin it before sewing, as I stretched the Lycra as I hemmed it.

Each ruffle is two full circles to make the many curls needed to create volume in the skirt. In my case I could only get hold of white mesh tape, so the dress is decorated in silver crystals to match.

Adventures in Sewing: Crystal Designs

Every Latin outfit needs to be bling, the word opulent springs to mind, and the best way to do so is to apply a LARGE number of rhinestones to a dress, but cleverly, to suit your design.

I have a Hotfix applicator wand that heats the crystals and the glue on the back of them. Each crystal is applied by hand, following a design of some description.




Some advice I followed for the large crystals  "Make sure you glue AND sew your large sew-on stones! The larger Swarovski stones are now available in a wonderful variety of shapes and colours, and they can really add a great look to your stone design on your dress. But be sure to remember that these stones will stick the best if you glue AND sew them."


My dress half way through stoning:

Latin Bangle Bling

I've been experimenting with making various bracelets and bangles for dancesport competitions (Latin) and following advice from the wonderful interwebs and Pinterest, I have finally got a set of 4 bangles.

The set of 4 bangles are made from (plastic) boning and crystals. The plastic makes the bangles lightweight and the thinness of the boning means it is not ungainly to dance with. Boning is also hard enough not to break, but not stiff enough that you cannot bend it into a shape (secured obviously).

I vaguely followed this tutorial. I didn't wrap my fabric around the boning and glue it, but made lycra tubes and threaded the boning into it. Seems to have worked out, especially since the threads can't rub against my skin.

Each bangle took about 130 SS20 Swarovski Crystal AB Hotfix crystals. I prefer the Hotfix, as the glue takes ages to dry and the crystals can fall off. I've never lost a Hotfix crystal yet (I've probably jinxed myself).

I tend to use a cork board (or anything heat resistant and not fabric) to layout all the crystals to make it easier to pick them up with the applicator wand.

The first 3 that I finished

Chiffon Flowers

Chiffon flowers are great items to add as a flower in the hair, added to a dress as a strap (about 6 make a single strap) or as a brooch.

• Cut out circles of chiffon and fold into quarters.
• Start with four sewn together into a base, then add another folded up circle layoured until you get the volume you want.
• You may want to decrease the size of the circles are to get to the top layer or add beads in the centre for 'pollen'.

If you are looking for a tutorial, try the Ideas Magazine.

Studio 47 House of Fashion Fabric

I got a chance to explore Studio 47 House of Fashion Fabrics in Woodstock this weekend and its large stock of fabric. I found spandex for R20 cheaper than the rest of Cape Town and a couple of other awesome stretch fabrics. They also have some wonderful lace and a large selection of stretch satin. You must however be prepared to browse and hunt down what you want!

Have Craft, Will Travel

Many a time I go away and pack myself a beading project to complete on my journeys. This is what my away case tends to look like: beading mat or felt, beads in individual containers, thread cards, needles and some thread conditioner.

I normally return home with a nearly completed object or UFO (Unfinished object) that needs glueing or a clasp.

Nature's Inspiration

Inspiration comes from many sources, this time a bouquet of flowers in my moms house, a gift from visiting family.

The lilacs, purples and green are stunning and I think would look beautiful in a bracelet or set of earrings.

New material, lots of ideas

New material! I love shopping for new material. All those lovely bolts of fabric just waiting to be turned into items. I spent the morning digging through appliques and satins for ideas for a new Latin American dress.

The Sewing Centre in Cape Town has a multiple of haberdashery items to make any sewer lose track of time as they browse their bounty.

Fabric City has four (4!) floors of fabric that you could spend days wandering through the bridal section, upholstery section, suiting, haberdashery and stretch materials. Warning: you will end up spending money in that store!

The result of my shopping adventure includes a sort of pinky purple satin and black applique roses and leaves to play around with.

I shall post photos as the work progresses.

Guess what my Easter weekend will be spent doing?

Beading: Completed Projects

With my thesis done and handed in for examination, it is time to return to the real world and with it the hobbies one can do when one has spare time. As many know, I do a lot of crafty stuff for fun and the occasional special commission for special events. As a result of my sudden spare time, I have finally managed to upload my completed beading projects onto a Pinterest board.

Homemade Chalkboard

Mom's chalkboard has finally gone up, only 2 months late, but better late than never right?

The frame is not actually a bought frame...my brother the construction guy made it from moulded skirting  board, cut on the diagonal and then painted in high gloss white paint.

The chalkboard itself is a piece of plywood painted in black chalkboard paint we bought from the local hardware store. But you can make it in any colour you want, just ask Martha Stewart :)

Memory Wire Madness

Memory-wire bracelets are just like slinkies, the keep their shape, wind onto your arm and go down stairs (with only a few bead injuries).

This fun bracelet is 20 spirals with a variety of rhomics, bugles and seed beads in red. Want bangles but not multiple individual bangles, this bracelet is for you!

Hermanus

I've been in Hermanus this long weekend relaxing and enjoying trying to spot the whales that are somewhere in the bay. Somewhere just past the kelp is a whale, there was water being blown in the air, but did the whale want to come say hi....no!

Hermanus is a rather tranquil place to stay, many paths to walk and a well paved promenade. There are tea shops in abundance and a Fish and Chips restaurant in the Harbour that looks small and cramped by serves some awesome food.

As with most of my trips to new towns, I did a walking tour (with my mother strolling along reminding to slow down!!!!) around the houses. Coming around a corner I stumbled across this Mosaic studio (closed) and snapped a few pics through the doors.

The sign pointing to the studio (SAICS) has beautiful mosaicked letters, with glass pebbles and patterned tiles in them.

Mosaic Magic

Mosaic work is a craft I have wanted to try for a few years now. I've been meaning to read a book, watch a tutorial or go to a class and finally I have :)

Yesterday I went to a Mosaic class in Observatory run by Bit by Bit Mosaics. I got to make a potholder.

The things I have learnt from this; I will be leaving it to someone else unless I really cannot find what I want. Breaking up the glass into slivers in hard on the hands and I am terrible and laying out a design that I have not had a great of time to ponder over the final effect.

The final product was a bit too coarse than I wished, but I was rushed for time. The next step is grouting the tiles.

The picture below is my moms potholder, a sort of Asian style tree with copper and black background.

Purple Pillow

I did some basic embroidery on a pillow a while back, based on a design I saw in a book 'beautiful beaded bags' by Dorothy Wood.

I now have new cushions for my couch :)

New Colour, Old Style

In May I wrote about the red skirt which seems to pop up in all official ballroom events (Intervarsity, medal tests, socials etc). I've been meaning to make another one in a different colour and my mom beat me to it recently. Turns out the pattern is fairly straight-forward. A simple tube skirt made from Lycra and six full circles inserted at regular intervals. The only terrifying thing is making sure you sew on a straight line (not my forte).

Latin Flavour

As well as my ballgown I've been sewing a Latin outfit. The joke goes about a 1/10 of the fabric and the same amount of sparkle. After much debate I went for blue (options were lumo pink, green, red or blue). You need to be bright and sparkle for Latin, not my strong suit!



I wish I had proper photos of the inbetween steps but I changed design halfway through the process so what I started with is not at all what I ended up with.

Once again I used Swarovski Crystals from Crystal Catalyst and had to Hotfix each crystal on by hand with an applicator wand. Talk about taking forever. The sense of accomplishment when you're done is awesome, the hours prior are just painful. You can vaguely see the starburst pattern on the top and then there are crystals dotted over the whole skirt.



The skirt is two full circles, so it flares nicely when it spins and because it was sewn on the diagonal it flares more on one side than the other.