Sewing: A home made dress from a 1960s (I think) pattern.

Taking a little break from cosplay before I post the rest of my MCM pictures I wanted to share some images of a dress I made a little while ago. 

I got some fabric super cheap from World of Sewing in Tunbridge wells, it was hugely reduced to £2/m, so I bought 2.5m and decided to make a swing dress. I bought this pattern from eBay to help me with the design of my Princess Daisy dress and I knew that I'd be able to used the pattern again and again as I adore that late 50s early 60s type of sleeveless dress.

  

I think by using a plain fabric it gives the dress a very different sort of feel, and I was able to add a really cute little lace collar without too much hassle. I'm not sure what the fabric is, a sort of heavy crepe I think, it gives the dress a lovely swing. The skirt is huge and had lots of pleats so I am pleased to say I will never be afraid of sewing pleats again, in fact, I'm not really sure what I was so afraid of in the first place. 

I decided to wear this dress with a long sleeve blouse underneath, since it was cold, but I can't help but feel that it gives the outfit a whole Disney Princess on her day off sort of look... But maybe that is just wishful thinking. The collar on the blouse doesn't really work with the one on the dress, but I think I just about get away with it.

Dress: Home made (~£6)

Blouse: Next via charity shop (£3)

Shoes: Topshop via eBay (£14)

Tights: Primark (£2.50)

As far as my hair goes, I was inspired by blogger Mia Moore and her Maiden Braids. I have experimented with plaits before, but never over the top of my head this way. It reminds me a little of Princess Leia - and I am perfectly fine with that!

Mia's blog is great by the way, especially if you like a bit of a mix of girly style spattered with geekery!

The last thing I want to share is my blue coat. I bought it from eBay just as spring was turning into summer so I got it for £9.99 which was an absolute steal its Monsoon too which makes it a double bargain! Its a wonderfully shaped coat, with a distinctly 1960s sort of feel with the big collar and wide sleeves.

I'm thinking of making a similar shape dress in a red, green and gold fabric to wear at christmas, what do you think?

Sewing: A Purple Dress Made With Vintage Laura Ashley Fabric and Birthday Spoils

Time to unveil another of my sewing project creations, this time it was a purple dress made from vintage Laura Ashley fabric. I used a Butterick pattern that was fairly simple despite having pockets, binding and a full skirt, I picked the variation with sleeves but I like the style so much I am probably going to make another without sleeves too in a different fabric.

I made this one in an evening and day, which I though was pretty good going! There are a few niggles with my sewing technique but in general I found it much more comfortable than the first one I made so maybe I am getting better! I wore it with a navy cardigan for a trip out although it is still freezing so I needed to wear chunky boots which somehow means that the whole thing looks a little bit 1990s:

I really really like the fit and style of this dress so I will definitely be making it in another fabric. I also think that with the addition of a simple waistband this would make a really ice full skirt - with pockets - I love pockets!

It was also my birthday this week and with my hair growing steadily more and more dishevelled I felt the need to experiment with proper hair styling. So after a little bit of research I decided to use my birthday money to buy a pair of these gorgeous GHDs in a mint green colour from the candy collection...

Of course I decided to experiment. Now I didn't take a before shot (thank goodness) but here is the after styling shot. I went for the sleek on top, curly at the bottom look. What do you think? 

Do you have any top tips for using straighteners?