inspiration: Leather

DIY FRINGED KNIT

2nd April 2013

With a litany of summer festivals around the corner, Coachella being just the first of many, it’s time to start planning our festival ensembles. I’m super happy to be provisionally booked in for Glastonbury again this year (although a freelancer can never plan too far ahead) and I’m going to be making the most of the opportunity to wear my silliest kit – fringe, frills and capes included. I recently had a crack at upgrading a simple knitted sweater to a festival essential – the fringed knit. Perfect for throwing over the top of a pair of denim cut offs when the sun goes down. This technique for fringing can also be used on a number of other items too – you could add it to the bottom of a skirt or around the neckline of a dress – winner!

You need:

A loose weave knit
Scissors
Leather/rope or wool (I used leather)

How to:

1. Start by cutting the leather (or other material you are using) into pieces around 1 meter/yard long. I cut about 50 pieces.

diy fringed knit 023

2. To start your fringing, fold a piece of your chosen fringe material in half.

3. Loop it through the wool at the top middle near the neckline. Pull tight to secure.

4. Continue with this down the side of the sweater in a triangle shape – mine was great because it had the triangle in the pattern already – if yours doesn’t you can always use chalk to mark it. This is the point at which you may need some good (or bad) tv to watch as doing the fringe can take some time, but it’s definitely worth it!

5. Finish by doing the other side, making sure to mirror the pattern and angle. Voila!

I recently worked with one of my favourite brands to bring you a super cool festival inspired DIY (*cough sequins cough*) which I’ll be showing you in the next month so stay tuned.

In My DIY Inspiration Embellished, Festival, Fringe, Leather, Tassels, Techniques

DIY TRANSPARENT ANKLE STRAP PUMPS

19th March 2013

You’ll know by now that I love anything transparent (exhibit a), with transparent ankle cuff pumps being up there with the best of the best for me. If you’ve been keeping an eye out you’ll also be aware that more than just an obsession for me, it appears the fashion world has followed suit this season (see here, here and just about everywhere else), doling out transparent pieces like they’re going out of style (which hopefully they won’t). I pondered on the question of transparent ankle cuffs for a while, wondering how I could add them to some pumps without making an irreversible modification. It turned out to be pretty simple using a little bit of super sticky duct tape – not what I would usually do but perfect for a quick update. For those of you who want a more permanent style, you can punch a hole in the back edge of your shoe and attach the suede part of the anklets with another stud, but my Tony Bianco pumps were way too pretty to permanently maim!

You need:

A pair of black heels (my Tony Bianco ones are perfection)
Scissors
PCV sheeting cut into rectangles to go around your ankle.
Four gold button studs
Four gold cone studs
Two small strips of leather or suede
A multi hole punch tool
Super sticky duct tape or sports tape (I had some left over from this project)

How to:

1. Place the transparent cuff around your ankle and trim to the right size, making sure to leave some overlap where it will button shut. Then punch two holes into the plastic in line with where the leather attachment piece will sit at the back of your foot.

2. Punch holes in the leather in line with those in the plastic, and then attach by screwing the studs on.

3. Put the ankle cuff around your ankle and measure where the plastic will overlap, marking with a pen. Make two holes in the other end of the plastic where you marked with a pen.

4. And then punch more holes where you have marked the overlap, adding the button studs.

5. Create the other anklet ensuring you mirror the design so they both face outwards when worn.

6. To wear, as I mentioned above you can either punch more holes and use a stud to attach the cuffs to the back of the shoe, or do what I did and add a strip of duct tape to the ends of the suede.

7. And press well onto the inside of the shoe.

And voila! You’re done. In case you’re wondering, I partied all night long in these without the anklets coming free!

Ps. Ivania made a version of the clear ankle straps a while ago that are super easy too – no longer up at her site but you can see them here!

In My DIY Inspiration Leather, Studs, Techniques, Tools

DIY STUDDED CAPE

22nd February 2013

For those of you who were in the ‘this is ridiculous’ camp on the subject of wearing your jacket as a cape, today I bring you… cape as cape! And for that matter, DIYed. For those lovely people out there who bought my book, you’ll recognise this as a different take on the DIY Blanket Cape within its pages. When I was designing the projects to go into my book I wanted to make sure they were endlessly versatile and adaptable so you could update your wardrobe with DIY when the seasons or trends change – the cape project is the perfect example. Use any colour or type of material (heavier in winter and lighter in the warmer months) and embellish with trims, studs or lace for an instant update to a classic. Company Magazine in the UK recently asked me to make this for them as part of a DIY feature in this month’s magazine, so if you happen per chance to live upon that fair isle, get thee to a newsagent to see said tutorial in printed form!

You need:

a fleece blanket
A leather buckle enclosure
40 round prong studs
Scissors
Strong glue

1. Fold the blanket twice into a square. Away from the folded edges, cut a semi circle of fabric to create the rounded edge of the cape.

2. Open the circle up and cut a rounded neck hole.

3. For the top layer, cut from the middle of the neck hole out to the outer edge. Then (and this is optional) cut foot long armholes in the front of the cape with your scissors.