Wool And The Gang, how cool are they?

Photos via Net-a-Porter

I never thought I'd see the day that Net-a-Porter would be selling wool, but here it is, in its most stylish form. Knitting kits by Paris knitting collective, Wool And The Gang. The kits include wool, knitting needles, patches for decorating, and a knitting pattern. Prices range from kit depending on the pattern from £69 to £120. Available now at Net-a-Porter.


Photo via Fashion Tribes

Studded Hair Band

Another really cool head band by Jennifer Behr, via

Fun Food Knitting Frenzy

From Le Chalet via Colette

Talk about a slow food movement! I don't know what the obsession is with making fake food with crochet or knitting, but I have to admit, it's a really fun thing to see other people do!


From Le Chalet via Colette

Fish platter by Cardigan via

Steal This Idea: Couture Luxury Hair Band

Jennifer Behr hair band, via

Found this really cool hair band on Colette. Take some ribbon, a Goody hair elastic; put them together and you've got a hairband! Decorate as desired. Now you can make a luxury hair band for all occasions! The possibilities are quite endless. This one from Jennifer Behr is decorated with Swarowski crystals. You can experiment with old jewelery bits as well.


Jennifer Behr head band, via

Ballet Flats For Emergencies

Rollasole in Silver Lining

They're called Rollasole. Lightweight ballet flats that can be rolled up. They sell them at dispensers at night clubs in Britain. How smart is that? Meant for girls who get tired of their skyscraper high heeled pumps and need "emergency" shoes. Ever experienced that? I'd say, sell them at airports and train stations! How many times have your worn a pair of good looking shoes that have let you down with a blister or sore bunions? Or just keep a pair in your purse for "in case of emergencies" or footwear "malfunction". I think they'd also make a nice pair of travel slippers, like for long plane rides or hotel stays. From my experience, footwear malfunctions on holidays are the worst!

They're only £5 - £6.95 a pop, a small price to pay for comfort!

Get them here.

Get Inspired: Vintage Couture

Dress and petticoat, Pierre Baliman, via

Just came across this photo from V&A Museum. So beautiful.

Liberty School of Sewing

Photo via

Check out the workshops at Liberty running this September though December 2009. Workshops in knitting, sewing, crafts, and many more. View course list here.

DIY: Make Your Own Knit Sweater Dress

Knit dresses by TSE

A lot of readers come here looking for a knit dress pattern. I don't have a pattern for it, but I can give you a guideline on designing one for yourself. As everyone has their own idea of what they would like to have for their project, I've prepared a basic knit dress diagram. I've taken some measurements down from a knit dress I do have. It is in size medium. Hopefully you can work out your own personal measurements. Then all you have to do is work out the gauge of your yarn to figure out the amount of stitches and rows. You can refer to Vogue's knitting book that explains this if you're not familiar.



Notes
Dress is slim fitting. Hemline of dress has a slight A-line flare. If you wan it more fitted just use the hip line measurement starting from the hemline.

Measurements are for a 3/4 length sleeve.

Size
Medium, fits US size 4-6

Dress Measurements
Width hemline 21" or 20" for less of an A-line
Width hip line 18.5"
Width waistline 15.5"
Width bust line 18"
Width shoulder to shoulder 15"
Width neckline 10"
Length hemline to hip line 10"
Length hip line to waistline 7"
Length waistline to bust line 14"
Length bust line to shoulder 8.5"
Length hemline to neck line 32"

Sleeve Measurements
Width sleeve hemline 10"
Width bicep line 13"
Length sleeve hemline to bicep line 11"
Length hemline to shoulder 16"

DIY: Woven Cable Knit Stole

Photo via Knit Lit

Steal this idea! You can knit a stole like this one by using this woven cable stitch pattern. I suggest making the width of the fabric 18 - 20"; how many repeats of the stitch depends on the gauge of the yarn you use. Keep knitting until you're satisfied with the length. You can vary the length of the cable by knitting more rows between the cable rows. Also, you can vary the width of the cable, but make sure to use an even number of stitches. I've worked this stitch pattern before and suggest doing a gauge swatch so that you get the hang of it and so that you can work out the repeats needed for the width.

Woven Cable
(multiple of 8 sts plus 12)
Row 1 (RS) *8-st LC; rep from *, end k4.
Rows 2, 4 and 6 Purl.
Rows 3 and 7 Knit.
Row 5 K4, *8-st RC; rep from * to end.
Row 8 Purl.
Rep rows 1-8.



Stitch pattern from this source, edited by me for this post.

Liberty of London

Liberty is on Regent Street in London. I love the Tudor style building.

Liberty is one of my favorite place in London. It's the kind of place that you can spend all day looking around and being inspired. I love the history of it all. It was part of the Arts and Crafts movement, and it is still reminiscent of it today. It's a highly creative place, as you can go from looking at designer clothes and accessories to looking at their crafts department. They ave just about the most luxuriously merchandised crafts department I've even seen. They carry the full range of Rowan yarns and book, gorgeous vintage buttons, beautifully made silk flowers, and not to mention their famous Liberty print fabrics! Many designers are fans of the Liberty print fabrics, such as Marc Jacobs, Marni, and Cacharel and they use it in their collections.

Liberty print via


How to wear floral print; mix it up like Carrie on Sex And The City. She's wearing a Marni coat and Prade skirt.

Liberty is the ideal place to find some really special fabrics for sewing projects such as circle skirts. See DIY: Circle Skirts Part 1 and Part 2.


Floral Liberty print, Liberty print skirt, via

Biodyamic Gardening

Photos via

Ever wonder what they mean when they say a product is "biodynamic"? It is something like the word organic, but it means much more than that. It has to do with how the crops are farmed. It seeks the most sustainable methods for farming that preserves the health of the soil. Some say that biodynamic foods are soulful, in that it has healing properties. Biodynamic foods are also more vibrant, flavorful, and keeps longer. Part of biodynamic growing has to do with following the moon phases for when to sow the seeds and when to harvest to get the best out of the crops. I think this is a fascinating thing. This is what farmers used to do, but no longer do since the creation of synthetic fertilizers and genetically modified foods. Some call it lunar gardening. I find this idea intriguing as it related to astrology. Somehow this makes me feel that there is a greater force in the universe! I first learned about biodynamics when I worked the organic cosmetics shops, brands like Dr. Hauschka, Jurlique, and Weleda enforce strict biodynamic growing methods to produce ingredients for their products.



I found this DVD from Dr. Hauschka, on their website called Biodynamic Gardening. WALA, the manufacturer of Dr. Hauschka products also has tours of their gardens in Germany. I want to attend one of these tours, but they only do the tour in German!

Best Sun Hats: Staying Out Of The Sun

Hat by Jigsaw, Houston Trilby, £39.00, via

Really, the only way to be protected from the skin is staying out of it, but that's not always possible, so better hide under a brimmed hat when you go out. Stay protected and stylish this summer in a woven fedora. Carrie from Sex and the City first wore one on the show and then wore a Hermes version in the movie. I was able to find several versions on the high streets, from Primark to Next. But the best one I found was at TK Maxx for less than 10 quid. There is also a lovely version at Jigsaw.


Photo via The Sartorialist, Eugenia Kim braid fedora, £240, via


Carrie Bradshaw wears a cool straw fedora


Sex and the City movie, Carrie wears Herme hat

Decorated Luxury Hair Bands

Photo via, flower head band, via.

Remember the Sex and The City episode where Carrie wears a Chanel flower head band to Miranda's son's baptisim? I can't find a photo of it, but you SATC followers know which one I mean. I loved that. She also got quite a bit of attention from the other guests too!

Update: Here's the one I meant!



I think decorated hair bands are a lovely accessory to have for special occasions and they make more of an impact than a pair of shoes or handbag in an outfit. Anything worn on the head tends to draw far more attention. But I find fancy hats a bit outdated, unless they're small and novel. I love these elegant ones that I found. You can use them as an inspiration to make your own. You can use these directions from my previous post to cover a hair band in silk satin and attach feathers or flower with glue. Hair bands are pretty easy to come by now, so you could buy one cheaply at places like Primark or Next and decorate it. Otherwise you could try milinery supply shops, they'll have feathers and flowers too! They also have miniture hat bases that can be glued to a head band. Directions for making chiffon flowers here.


Feather hair band, via

For instruction on how to make your own hair band, see DIY: Hair Bands

Changes To This Blog

If you've noticed any changes to the layout of this blog, it's because I'm in the midst of commercializing this blog to generate income. I never considered this option seriously before, but current circumstance leave me with little choice.

Sadly, I recently lost my job at the organic cosmetics shop. The recession has really affected the business and they could no longer afford to keep me. The good news is that I have more time to think and write about things, but only because I'm not working! So keep coming back, as I am posting!

I'm also posting on a wider variety of topics, as I am making this blog more about lifestyle rather than just knitting. I'm covering topics that I am close to such as, natural cosmetics, fashion, various crafts, art, design, and sometimes just an opinion.

You can help me by viewing ads and spreading this blog to friends. I've also added a Donate button from PayPal. I've never considered this sort of thing before, but if you feel that my articles have helped you in any way, please send some gratitude! It will help me to continue writing quality posts about DIY and making things, which tends to be the most time consuming of posts.

My goal is to become financially independent in some way. While I am looking for work, I feel that some stream of my income needs to be separate from being dependent on an employer. I recently started design websites. You can see one of them here.

I'm open to new opportunities, so you've any ideas about where I can be involved, do contact me!

Mad Hatters

Stephen Jones hat, £245.00, via

Hats are a big part of British fashion. There is a long of milliner history here in Brittan. Many of its well known hatters are British, and many social events call for a hat, such as the horse races (like in My Fair Lady), or the regatta boat races. In May, I visited the V&A museum and saw their hat collection on view. The show was curated by Stephen Jones, famous milliner to the starts like Kate Moss, and Princess Diana, and commissioned by many designers like Alexander McQueen and Marc Jacobs. They were selling some hats by iconic designers such as Philip Tracy and Noel Stewart in their shop. You can see some of these hats in their online shop.



Stephen Jones talks about his careers in hats


Silk pleat headband by Ophelia, £75.00, via

Circle Skirts, Part 2: Half-Circles

From a women's designer clothing exhibition by Prada, photo via

What I love about circle skirts are that they are easy to make, but does not require too much pattern making skills. Choosing a suitable fabric is most important for a stressful outcome in this project. Look for fabrics that have a bit of weight to it, so that you don't have to add a lining. Bold floral prints are fun and uplifting. Because of the way a circle skirt hangs, keep in mind tha                                      t plaids, checks and stripes will look different because of the angle the skirt has to be cut on (this could be fun to experiment with).

In my first post, I gave directions for making a full-circle skirt. However, because of its fullness, it requires fabric that is quite wide, that is not always available or easy to find. In such cases, you can substitute with a half-circle skirt to accommodate narrower fabric.

Also in my post, I gave directions for sewing a grograin ribbon waistband. Some readers were confused about making this type of waistband, so I'm going to give directions for a facing to finish the waist. I gave directions in the original post in such a way that you could skip doing a paper pattern, but because of the facing in this one, I recommend doing a paper pattern so that it is easier for you to work out the facing.


Sex and the City, Carrie Bradshaw wears a circle skirt, via.

Materials
Light to medium weight fabric (minimum 1.5 yards for 60" wide fabric, or 3 yards for narrower fabrics)
Fusible interfacing
Sewing thread
7" invisible zipper

Tools
Fabric scissors
Pins
Pattern paper, tracing paper
Tailor's chalk
Rulers
Measuring Tape
Sewing machine
Serger
Iron

Measurements
Waist (measure exactly around where you want the skirt to sit, don't measure too low or too high!)
Length of skirt (knee length about 20")



Instructions
1. The waist measurement is like the circumference of a circle. Using this measurement, add 2 inches (for 1/2" seam allowance), then divide by 3.14. This will give you the diameter, but we are going to use this measurement as the radius for this pattern. For example if your waist measurement is 28", you will get 9.5" as the radius.

2. On your paper, mark point A (see diagram), draw two lines perpendicular from point A. From point A, measure 9.5" (of your personal radius measurement) from different angles many times, so that you can join them to form a circular line. This become your waist line. Then mark 1/4" above this line to mark seam allowance. Now mark 2.5" below the waistline and form another curved line. This become the pattern for the facing. Make a tracing of this for a separate pattern piece from the skirt.

3. Mark the length of the skirt from the waist line, marking the same distance along the waistline from different angles until you have enough points to join as one curved line. Mark 1/4" below the line to mark seam allowance.

If you measure the distance from point A to the edge of seam allowance hemline, this Will give you an idea of how wide your fabric needs to be at least. For example, if my radius is 9.5", and my skirt length is 21, the minimum width and length of fabric needed is 29.5".

Now your pattern is ready!

Note that the side seam allowances was already added in when the 2" was added to the like. waist for radius measurement. You can mark 1/2" inward to indicate this if you like.

4. Cut out the paper pattern to lay onto the fabric.

5. Fold fabric in half lengthwise if you have wide fabric, or layer two pieces of fabric with right side facing each other (mind the direction of print if you are using printed fabric). Use pins to hold in place.

6. Lay pattern pieces onto fabric as shown in diagram. Trace outline of pattern pieces with tailor's chalk. Place pins inside this marked line and cut along these lines.

7. Insert zipper on one side of seam. Sew along the side seams with 1/2" seam allowance. Press seams. Serge seams and hem line.

8. Make facing for waist line. Fuse facing pieces with fusible interfacing on the wrong side of fabric. (I prefer to fuse it lightly fuse the interfacing to the facing just to hold it in place, cut along the facing, and then fuse it again to secure it in place. This prevents the glue on the fusing from transferring to the iron board).

Sew one side seam of facing. Press seam. Sew the facing to the skirt along the waistline, with right sides facing each other, 1/4" seam allowance. Then press and fold facing inward, top stitch to keep in place. Serge raw edge of facing.

9. Finish hemline. Fold 1/4" along hemline and sew.

You're finished!

Other Notes
Presumably, if you want to make a full circle skirt from narrower fabrics, you can do this with having more seams. You can take this pattern and use the radius measurement and divide it by 2. Use this measurement to mark the distance from point A. You will have to cut 4 pieces instead of only 2 .

See also: DIY Circle Skirts

So you want to study Knitwear? Part 2

Weardowney, via.

My previous post about studying knitwear was quite popular. I've also come across other types of training that is less in the area of design, and more technology based. If you're interested in manufacturing knitwear, here are some places that you could look further into.

Philadelphia University
This is not a fashion school, but a textiles school. This school offers the use of computerized industrial equipment! It's very rare of a school to offer that. So if you are interested in being technically focused, this is a good opportunity. It is an undergraduate program.

Stoll
This is one of the top manufacturers of industrial knitting machines. They do however, provide training courses for industry professional and machine buyers alike. They offer a short training session at their headquarters in Germany and China. Do note that this is NOT a design course. It is merely an instructional course on how to use the machines. For knitwear students wishing to learn the use of industrial gauge machines, this might be an option.


Stoll knitting machine, via.

Shima Seiki
Like the course mentioned above, this is serious training, it is more like computer programming. The training is for working with industrial machines to production. A really interesting option if you are interested in engineering having to do with knitting.


Weatdowney Knit Couture book

Weardowney
OK, so maybe you are just a regular person who just wants a cool place to learn how to knit. If you;re in London, England, you could go to a place like Weardowney's School of Handcraftsmanship. Maybe you have some time to spend in London for a holiday? You could even stay in their guesthouse for a total experience! That would be a fun holiday experience!

Nigella Lawson is No Slave to the Kitchen!

It's cookery shows like Nigella Express that I find so entertaining and inspiring. Nigella Lawson makes it effortless, an absolute domestic goddess she is! I'm all for effortlessness when it comes to cooking; I don't really see the point in perfection in it. I really like the format of the show, it's incorporated into real life setting, no pretentiousness, just really good cooking that she encourages everyone can do.


Nigella Express, Caramel Croissant Pudding

Tom Palumbo

Came across this collection of Tom Palumbo fashion images. Really worth having a look! There;s something very precise about the compositions in these photos that these that we don't really see so much in current fashion photography. Maybe it's the time spent, we work so fast paced nowadays.

Get it (Mark) Fast!

Photos via Kasia Bobula.

My latest designer discovery is Mark Fast. How cool is this dress? Susie Bubble has been reporting on Mark Fast's work and wearing it too. His work has been roaming all over the presses, and I think his work warrants it! Watch this space!

Lavender Delights

Left: Pint of Lavender Ice Cream, via. Right: Time Online recipe, via.

I love the scent of lavender. There;s something about the idea of lying in a field of lavender that would be so dreamy and not to mention highly relaxing. August is the high season for lavender harvest. So if you have any in your garden, pay attention! It's the sun and heat that make lavender at its most fragrant.

I never thought of lavender as a herb for eating. But here in England, it's used in edible delights such as tea, ice cream, biscuits and (white) chocolate! I've never tasted this combination yet, but I'm hoping to soon! I've found a couple of recipes for honey and lavender ice cream. (BTW you don't need an ice cream maker to make ice cream, it's a common 'pudding' in the UK).

Times Online: Honey and Lavender Ice Cream
Waitrose: Lavender Ice Cream

More about Lavender and its uses in beauty and cosmetics.