DIY Embroidered skirt

Anyone who's been within three feet of a shop recently might have noticed the huge trend for embroidery on clothes at the moment.

Now technically I don't "follow" the most recent trends. However I do love a bit of embroidery so it would be rude not too. I briefly considered making a little denim skirt and embroidering that but as luck would have it Rikki's Nan was getting rid of two button front skirts and offered them to me.

Well that was one job saved, next I just needed to decide what to embroider. This is actually my second attempt, my first attempt was a much more densely embroidered design in reds. It didn't complement to colour of the skirt and the idea of having that amount of embroidery focusing everyone's attention on one of my hips didn't exactly fill me with good feelings. Plus the embroidery had made the skirt all puckered up and nasty looking.

Naturally instead of giving up I spent an hour and a half unpicking all of my hard work and started again. This time I opted for pinks for the rose because it worked better with the blue and decided just to embroider the outline. 

Its a lot more of a subtle effect which I'm hoping means I won't be put off wearing it even after the trend is dead and buried. Luckily the skirt was a good fit out of the bag I just took an inch off the length [short legs]. Looking at these pictures its a bit snug but LOL Easter! 

I definitely prefer this to my first attempt. I used two strands of embroidery and a simple back stitch. I didn't use a hoop instead I just kept things taught using my hands.

So yeah I actually kind of love it and on the plus side no one else has one like this! 

In other news!

We are halfway through our second week of half term, we have no car and lil man has a cough..... Its great.......... [He made me drag the playdough box downstairs yesterday, spent five minutes playing with it and declared himself bored]

We still have a house full of Easter eggs and its far too tempting!

I cannot wait to be able to sew properly again! I've already said to Rikki the first chance I get I'm having a good long session!

I ran down the road in my pj's this week after the bin men. To add more detail, my pj's are a camisole and "french?" knickers? and I heard the bin lorry but thought I hadn't put the bin out [we have fortnightly bin collections so if you miss it you end up with a months worth of rubbish to get rid of!] Anyway as it goes Rikki had already put it out when he left for work, which the bin men took great delight in telling me! #mortified 

Much Love 

Frankie!

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90s style Tie Dye Dress

This dress felt like flogging a dead horse at times. I originally brought the fabric to make another simple sew kimono dress, but then I laid out the pattern pieces and tried to see it in my minds eye and it just didn't look right. So then I sketched myself a little deign for a halter neck dress with plaited straps and a bare back. I even draped it all on my mannequin and it did look really nice, and then I tried it on me and I remembered that unlike a mannequin my boobs do actually move, and the chances of me ever wearing something without a bra are slim, especially if the fabric is as unstructured as this. 

Luckily the skirt was salvaged and I had enough fabric left to create this slightly more simple dress. The top is from the third GBSB book and is a shortened version of the Cami top [I think I took about 4 inches off the bottom] and then the skirt is just a gathered rectangle.

It has no fastenings due to the loose fit of the bodice which made this is really quick make. In fact I re used some old bra straps for the top so I didn't even have the make straps. In fact I didn't even properly hem the edge I just overlocked the raw edges and left it. I think it adds a cool grungy vibe to it!

I did wonder if it was a bit short but I think its okay with black tights and I've been wearing it with a full slip on underneath anyway! I've also been wearing it belted, I do prefer how it looks with a nipped in waist but its nice to have the slightly looser option as well.

I think it looks pretty 90's personally which is why I've also been wearing it with a tshirt underneath. I think I remember my sister doing this with some of her strappy dress during the 90's and I think it looks pretty cute. And you know extra layers to keep me warm and stuff!

The fabric came from abakhans and is some form of drapey poly thing from one of the remnant bins. It cost £7.33 which seems pretty pricey for a dress but I would have had some left over for a cami top if I hadn't had to cut out the bodice twice. 

All in all I love it, I think it would be really cute for a night out with nude tights and thigh high boots [I have worn the absolute bejeezus out of my thigh high boots this winter. I literally had no idea how warm they would keep my legs and how much sass they would add to an outfit! FYI mine were £20 and came from shoe zone!]

So yeah now I just need an excuse for a night out on the tiles!!!

In other news I made this dress and then it started snowing a bit so I'm guessing that summer isn't quite ready for me yet.

I FINISHED my crochet blanket! a blog post will be coming soon.

Lil man started with a cough last week but seems to have beaten it off! Touch wood [touches all the wood]

I'm halfway through the first game of thrones book, I'm enjoying it but OMG ALL OF THOSE NAMES! 

I went to Lil mans school worship on Friday........ They do an open worship where parents can attend and I've been putting it off because I'm less religious and more of a spiritualist and the school is very religious But Lil man kept asking me to go sooooooooo. That said It was virtually painless and Lil mans smile as he spotted me sat there was worth it! I did however knock over an entire pile of chairs when it was finished and it was time to tidy up, needless to say I didn't stay for coffee.

Much Love 

Frankie

Flamingo Pattern Hack Dress for Sew Style

So its been a good long while since I posted about being in Sew style , Fashion and home magazine. And I thought it might be a nice idea to show you the rest of the pictures I took that didn't make it into the feature!

Okay so the pattern was burda 6773 and the fabric was from abakhans.

The pattern was for a basic shift dress but I changed things up by adding ties at the sides so I cold clinch the waist. 

Funnily enough my Nan was telling me she made a shift dress like this in nearly the same colour when she was younger. Sadly here's didn't have flamingos on it but its still a funny coincidence. 

I'm super pleased with how it turned out and I think I might try and wear it a bit more next summer. I wasn't convinced that it was really my colour but everyone else seems to think it suits me.

Looking at the pictures I think I prefer the knot at the back so it creates a smoother shape in the front? What do you think? 

In other news

Christmas madness is upon us, we are schedualing people in left right and center this year becasue everyone seems to have crazy rotas and a few people are working over christmas. Even poor rikki is having to go in on boxing day!

Im tired and trying desperately to get the house tidy in time for the big mans arrival on the 25th

Lil man is SOOOOOOOOOOOOOO EXCITED! Whilst last year he understood what was happening this year he REALLY understands [Cue some awkward questions "if Santa brings presents why are you buying that for [insert name here]"

Anyway! 

Much Love

Frankie

P.S call me crazy but this might just be the year I make us a gingerbread house! [and by gingerbread house I mean biscuit house because neither of the boys like ginger]

xxx

VEGAS BABY!

Okay so I had planned on posting this yesterday and then trying to get back to the usual schedule and some more crafty stuff this week , but lo and behold lil man decided to do a nice sick on the carpet yesterday and I got nothing done.

Anyway I thought I'd do a lil blog post outlining some of the things I wore whilst I was there, But to be honest theirs less pictures than I thought there was so you'll have to believe me when I say I wore a lot more handmade stuff.

Okay so this is us when we got dropped off at the airport, yes I am terrified. I hate flying with a passion. I was all about comfort on the way there so I wore jeggings, my Hawaiian print crop top, a white mens shirt and my grey cardigan. I wanted lots of layers and the cardigan was perfect for snuggling up in when the aircon was on and using a pillow when I wanted a kip.

This is us on the 12 hour flight to vegas. FYI at this point i had snuck off to the toilet and removed my bra and was just wearing the crop top with a shirt over the top! I cannot recommend this enough, no uncomfortable underwires or scratchy lace. It definitely made me feel more comfy although I felt really weird removing my bra on a plane!

I also had to wear my hat on the plane so it wouldn't get crushed. I was going to leave it at home but it was so HOT I'm glad I had it so I didn't burn my head!

This is one of my African wax print dresses, I took all of them on holiday and wore two. I was a bit worried the lined bodice might be hot but I actually think the double layer protected me from the sun. Rikki could feel himself burning through his tshirt one day but I didn't have any bother. 

This is a little white number I picked up in newlook!

This is my wrap skirt and my off the shoulder top. I wore this to the most expensive breakfast me and Rikki had and felt like a Parisian movie star. The breakfast was lovely but the waiter thought I was a bit weird because I ordered two croissants and a muffin? [Rikki had an omelette and smash browns] he put my plate down and was like "and a big plate of bread for the lady?" do Americans not eat bread for breakfast? And technically its not bread its pastry and muffins which is basically dessert.

This was my £25 pound swimming costume from newlook which I loved wearing but has already started pilling [sobs] and considering my struggle to find good swimwear [post here] I think a strongly worded email might be in order. 

This is another bargain from newlook, I wore this during the evening to go zip wiring down freemont street. NOT A GOOD OUTFIT CHOICE! I had the whole thing up around the tops of my thighs and was trying to make sure I didn't flash my bum to whole way down! Not helped by the harness I had to wear. In my defence I didn't think I'd be doing the zip wire that night or I'd have worn jeans...... or full pants........ 

This is another african wax print cotton dress, I wore this for a day of seeing the other end of the strip and visiting hooters....which was less fun than I thought it would be? I thought it'd be like a southern bar with country music and stuff and it was a bit dull to be honest. Although the shorts they wear are TINY. Rikki however always the gent told me he didn't think the girls were anything special. What. A . Babe.

This is us at the top of the effiel tower in vegas, it was a pretty dull day that day and we actually had to come down because it was raining but I got some great pictures before we did!

Things I also wore but didn't photograph

Kimono Cardigan

Corset topped dress

African wax print dress Purple

Lace croptop

Hawaiian print tie shoulder dress

gingham Lilou dress

Halter neck simplicity parts

I was pretty pleased with everything I packed, I had a change for the evening and I felt quite stylish all the time!

In other news! I'm planning on getting back into the grind as soon as the child is feeling better, My house is just about recovering form the wedding and post honeymoon chaos. But still needs a big clean which I'm hoping to do later.

I'm also embarking on the fun task of changing over EVERYTHING! boy is that fun! I got so aggravated by the tesco website I just ordered myself a new clubcard in my new name!

I've also started knitting a baby quilt because we know someone else who's having a baby. I mean seriously people you can just netflix and chill you don't have to "netflix and chill"

Much Love

Frankie

xxx

Owl Print Box Pleat Skirt

First of all the quality of these pictures is just not good, please don't blame me... blame the muggy, awful weather we've been having. 

Anyway recently my sister and her lovely husband sent me some of this awesome owl print fabric because they saw it and thought of me!

Anyway when I first saw it I had to have a good think about what to make. I thought this might be a bit too twee for a skirt and I had almost convinced myself to make a full set of bags for when we go away. I was about one step off cutting out when I thought to myself, jeez Frankie don't be a massive bore! Just make a fricking owl print skirt for the days you want to pretend to be a 1940's housewife! 

So I did! [as it goes I had enough for a makeup bag as well!]

I used the box pleat skirt pattern from the 2nd Great British Sewing Bee book, and to be honest I was pleasantly surprised it's a pretty good fit straight out the bag and with only having three pattern pieces to trace its not overly mind numbing.

Its actually a pretty quick sew, and I think I'll make it again as I love the look!

 However!

I did encounter my biggest pet peeve. Side zips. 

eurgh side zips I just hate them, I really can't explain it more than that they just suck and make me feel wonky! So I'm going to alter the pattern for a back zip instead! 

I've already took an inch off the length, which is pretty standard for my short lil legs!

I''m not sure what type of fabric it is? Its not heavy enough to be upholstery fabric but its got sort of a canvas feel to it? It works nicely for this skirt though and it sewed up really nicely too. 

I always struggle to style lighter skirts but I think this top works pretty well. Actually that's a lie, I struggle to style anything lighter because I'm a messy person and I know Its inevitably going to stain.

I think the two box pleats at the front and back are pretty flattering for my shape. 

Construction wise there's not much to say, it went together pretty quickly. I didn't baste my pleats in I just pinned them. Its a lapped zip with a button tab. Although I think the pattern calls for a hook and bar but I thought it would be a nice opportunity to use one of my single buttons [sounds a bit like a personal ad doesn't it really, single button seeking fabric for fun, fashion and maybe more?] 

I stitched in the ditch the waistband down, its not perfect but its not awful so I won't be getting my seam ripper out. 

I didn't bother pattern matching but I did spend a long time trying to work out which way to use the fabric. I'm pretty sure I've got it the right way but the owls are pretty random so I'm not sure it matters.

And I whacked a lil label in right at the end!

I'm trying to put these in all my me made clothes, every time I iron I seem to be sewing one in!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx 

me made may 16 week 1 roundup!

Ive got to say I am loving this years me made may, I'm not sure if its because I took a break from me made the month before or because Ive just got more to wear this year but its going awesome! touch wood!

so here's a quick round up of what Ive worn!

day 1

Panelled Purple suede skirt, I actually ripped the back seam of this bending down awkwardly but its all fixed now.

Day 2 Miette cardigan!

day 3 Pany Print dress!

Day 4 spotty drapey shirt! and an eye infection!

day 5 I killed bambi shirt and an eye infection

Day 6, halloween lilou dress and you guessed it an eye infection! 

day 7 [today!] blue velvet circle skirt and new glasses! eye infection seems to be pretty much gone!!! Yay!

Yes this is my new face, apparently 10 years of wearing contacts has caused some damage to the surface of my eye and I need to take a break for it to heal. Which means glasses all the time. Which led to me having a sulk in the car on the way home. Yes at 23 years old I was having a sulk because I had to have new glasses and I wasn't allowed contacts. 

And heres why;

When I first got glasses it wasn't a problem I only needed them for reading what was on the board, then for watching tv, then for having a conversation with someone more an three feet away.... you get the drift. Truth be told I've got pretty poor eye sight for someone my age, something I'm blaming entirely on genetics [yeah parents its all your fault] 

Now things wern't to bad for lil spectacled frankie until she went to high school at which point I discovered that people , especially teenagers are quite frankly awful. In my 9 years of schooling I have been called everything from a whore to a nerd, to ugly to thick to fat and everything inbetween [I went to an all girls school which you think would help but it didn't, boys fight, girls bitch]

Anyway the one that used to irk me the most was being called speccy, or four eyes, or anything that insinuated that my glasses were a commanding feature of myself as a person. And so due to my hate of glasses I asked my Mum and Dad for contacts and because at the time they were doing everything they could to convince me that going to school was a good idea and not to let the mean girls get to me they let me have them.

Now I don't hate glasses, my best friend wears glasses and looks beautiful, in fact when she doesnt wear then I'm like this isnt your face , put your face back.

But now I think I like glasses on me, I think these fit my face and who I am now, and as rikki quite rightly pointed out during my sulk in the car I'm a grownup now, it's highly unlikely someone in tesco is going to call me speccy at the till. In fact if they do converse with me it'll be to ask me for one of those little dividers that seperate the shopping on the till [what did we do before those? was their really such and epidemic of people paying for other peoples shopping? "thats funny I don't remember picking up a bottle of gin and a cucumber?" said the Nun! STOP LAUGHING MAYBE SHE WANTED TO MAKE A SALAD!]

Anyway I feel like this is going to a weird, heres a hundred ways I was picked on at school, sort of place, and nobody needs to relive my teenage angst of not wanting to go to school because GOD FORBID I had a little meat on my bones and why don't any boys like me!!!

But I just wanted to say this is my new face it has glasses, Its different but I think Im getting used to it.

In other news my sister and brother in law popped around today for some family fun time.

This is my sister learning how to use a walking foot, shes a very neat sewer and has more patience than I do!

And we played musical instruments and they took me and lil man out for dinner, and I ate FAR too much food! But omg the burger was to die for and the ice cream was pretty awesome too! Heads up if your ever cheshire way on the bleeding wolf is the place for food! 

Much Love

Frankie

and her new glasses 

xxx

Reviewing what I've made the good the bad and the ugly.....

Looking back at what I've made I think I'm a lot more comfortable in my sewing skin now and I know what I like and what suits me.

So here's the low down on what's ended up in the bin! (In this post I've just covered what been binned I have a few items that I've never really worn but to be honest I've never really had an occasion to wear them.)

WARNING: picture heavy post .

I thought this turned out pretty cute but it turned out the fabric was really warm and sweaty so it got ditched.

There were so many flaws with this I just had to let it go!

It was short it was elasticated it was a bust! I'm not sure why I have such a proud look on my face in this picture I should have been ashamed! 

I loved this dress , but it had a nasty argument with a bottle of bleach, RIP comfy dress.

I loved this aswell! But countless washing and small hands playing with the buttons meant it retired last week! RIP Eiffel tower, Big A , rocket ship jumper.

The fit on these wasn't awful but the fabric choice was!

This is currently in the refashion pile! [note to self, I am not a catholic schoolgirl]

this print would have been better suited to pjs , I am not a pale flower kind of girl.

Bad fit, which is a shame because I really loved the bodice fabric. Although some of the left over scraps of this are in my hexy quilt and I think there's some in my god daughters quilt too.

Again this is in the refashion pile, I'm thinking I might pull off the sleeves and add a gathered skirt?

As I said when I made it I felt like a potato, and I just couldn't get that idea out of my head.

But Its not all doom and gloom! Here's some of things that have been a roaring success! Literally they are washed and back on my body within days!

Love having a pop of colour in my wardrobe!

Its just SOOOOOO flattering! and it goes with pretty much everything! Although I do worry that it might not work for summer because of the fabric.

This is just the best summer dress in the whole world! And now it has happy memories because I wore it too my best friends baby shower! 

I wear the skirt all the time but I've only worn the jacket like once? Still a success though! 

Wearing this today, Its still cute and I still love the Anne Marie Horner print! 

Its a big black cardigan what's not to love! 

Due to gaining a lil bit of weight this actually fits better now! Every cloud eh? 

So yeah I always think its worth taking a look back at what you've made in the past so you make the right decisions in the future! And so you can get a better idea of what styles really suit you!

Much Love

Frankie 

xxx