Posts Tagged ‘tutorial’
-
DIY tutorial of the week: make your own statement neck piece
Statement necklaces are big this season, and are excellent for adding interest and detail to a plain t-shirt or dress. I recently spotted a really cool plaited jersey neck piece in an East London boutique for about £60, and thought I would have a go at making one myself. It actually turned out waaay better than I had initially planned – with a bonus ‘rose’ detail that came about by accident when I was trying to work out what to do with the ends.
It’s relatively quick and simple to make and you don’t need any specific skills – apart from the ability to plait. I wore it on Sunday and attracted loads of comments from people wanting to know where I bought it!
Here’s a step-by-step tutorial to making one yourself.
You will need:
• 90cm x 150cm of jersey fabric in colour of your choice (if you want to make a longer necklace, you will need more than 150cm in length)
• Extra scraps of jersey to make two ties – I had enough left over because I bought a metre-length of 150cm-wide fabric
• Water-erasable fabric pen
• Scissors
• Gaffer tape (or someone to hold your braid)
• Ruler
1. Lay your fabric out flat and mark out 30cm points along the shortest length. Do the same on the other side.
2. At your first 30cm point, rule a line with the water-erasable fabric marker along the longest length so you create a 150cm x 30cm strip.
3. Cut along the line so you end up with a length of 150cm x 30cm fabric.
4. Rule another line at 30cm along the shortest length – this should divide the length of fabric in half. Cut along the line. You should now have three separate strips of fabric measuring 150cm x 30cm. Dab out any visible pen marks with a wet cloth.
5. Gather the ends together and gaffer tape the ends to a chair – leaving around 10cm of fabric loose at the end. (Warning: make sure the chair doesn’t have a varnished or painted surface as the tape may damage it. You might want to choose some other surface, or alternatively, ask someone to hold the end for you.)
6. Start plaiting the three lengths of fabric together. Ensure you keep the tension consistent so the plaiting is even.
7. At the end of the plait, use a narrow scrap of the same fabric to secure it by tying a double knot. Ensure you leave around 10cm loose.
8. Unstick the plait from the chair and use the ends of one knot to tie a double-knot around the other end. Do the same with the other end of the plait. You should now have a plaited loop.
9. Line up the ends of the plait in your hand and trim it to make sure they’re even.
10. Pull out and fan the ends to create a flower shape. That’s it – you’re done!
TOTAL SPENT: £9.10
COST OF DESIGNER NECK PIECE: £60
TOTAL SAVED: £50.90Check out the video below to see how I made it…
Make your own statement neck piece from OolaMoola on Vimeo.
-
What would grandma do? Make a granny blanket!
Last year the crafty blogosphere went a little bit nuts over Cath Kidston’s £160 vintage-style crochet square blanket (see left). I actually liked the colour palette so much I cut the pic out of the catalogue and stuck it in a scrapbook for inspiration. Now, I can’t crochet to save my life, so I’m not exactly an expert on crafty stuff, but a lot of bloggers were talking about how easily you could make one yourself – and for a whole lot less than the hefty £160 price tag.There are a load of online resources to help you get started on making a crochet square from scratch. One of my absolute favourites is Pip’s tutorial for ABSOLUTE BEGINNERS over at Meet me at Mike’s.
It sounds unbelievably straight-forward, and Pip gives excellent advice on such matters as crochet hook size and exactly what kind of yarn to buy. She’s also posted here as well.
She also links to some other cool resources for making granny blankets. Check it out – it might just get ya hooked (geddit, geddit?).
-
DIY tutorial of the week
We are loving this ultra-thrifty ottoman re-upholstered with an old tartan skirt. Totally genius DIY! The step-by-step tutorial is courtesy of ModHomeEcTeacher over on Curbly.com. We found it on the utterly brilliant Design Sponge blog. Let us know if you’re tempted to make it!
Posted in Decor
-
DIY tutorial of the week: Spring basket
Check out this timely and super-pretty Easter craft tutorial over at MayaMade. We love the detailed instructions and awesome step-by-step images. Let us know if you made it!
Many thanks to MayaMade for sharing her super-clever tutorial with us, and to Meet me at Mike’s for telling us all about it!
