A Sneaky Peek

Here is a sneaky peek at a project I'll be sharing here in the future (hopefully next week, or the weekend if I get impatient).

I  was working on this today, and, well...

Ever stabbed yourself with a needle? Multiple times?

I managed this today. What's worse, I managed to jab myself with a very sharp needle, right under my fingernail. 

Ouch.


The pains we go through for our craft, eh? :) 

DIY Ruff

Ruffs are one of those iconic pieces that have carried through the ages - seen on nobles of the mid-sixteenth century, jesters, pierrot, clowns, and even the catwalks of today.

It’s easy enough to cobble together a quick elastic-and-fabric ruff, but if you’re looking for something that ‘stands up’, it’s necessary to take a little more time over the construction. 

 

These ruffs were all made for ‘cosplay’, therefore the designs are not mine, but having made them I can appreciate how much work went into the originals! (If you’re wondering, I reproduced costumes worn by Kozi, guitarist of Japanese band Malice Mizer).

Ever since making them, I’ve had a few people ask how to put them together! The first ruff I made (black and gold, above) was constructed based loosely on some instructions I found on the internet. Unfortunately the web site with these instructions has gone to the internet graveyard, so I’ve never been able to share links with people.

As a result, I thought I’d put together this tutorial!

I haven’t made a ruff from scratch for this, so some of the photographs are from the ruffs above. I used some off-cuts and fabric scraps to create process shots, so it should all be clear.

I’m not gonna lie. This will take you a LONG time.

So to find out how to make a ruff, read on!

It’s quite lengthy, so go and make a cup of tea first :)

 

A Sad Sight

My trusty pal Athena (that's her name, it says so on her label!) is looking a bit of a sorry sight. Her gorgeous chocolate skin has been in the sun too long, and now she's starting to peel!

I've had this tailor's dummy for a few years; she was one of my Nanny's charity shop finds and cost the grand sum of £8!

Originally I kept her in the conservatory, covered with a heavy duty plastic bin bag to keep out light and other debris (our conservatory is more of a workroom/rabbit house/storage room than a nice place to sit). Then somebody used the bag. And there was rain. And the conservatory roof leaked.

After much reorganising and upheaval, Athena has relocated to a cupboard in my room. Her slipping neck has been temporarily repaired with electrical tape and now I'm wondering how to solve the problem of her peeling skin.

Basically, she needs recovering.

And that's where I need your help.

I can't figure out how to do it! There's a drawstring at the bottom of her body, so the simple answer seems to be to make a new fabric cover for her. But the knobs and disks at the side (as seen in the picture) seem to be attached to the brown fabric. Honestly, I'm worried about trying to take it apart!

I have searched online for how to recover a tailor's dummy, but the results are either relating to recovering one for artistic purposes (a non-adjustable dummy) or recovering a dummy that adjusts by knobs in the centre, rather than at the side.

If anybody has any suggestions, please let me know!

Geisha: the Real Memoirs

Ready for more books?

To break away from my usual habit of writing solely about one author, this post focuses on one topic: geisha.

Everybody has heard about Memoirs of a Geisha, right? Whether it’s the book, the film, or both, it’s a work that had a pretty high profile!

Well, I’m not writing about that one. Instead, this post focuses on these:

Geisha of Gion – Mineko Iwasaki

This is the real memoirs of a geisha. I read Geisha of Gion some time after reading Memoirs of a Geisha and found the storylines of the two books were incredibly similar (with the latter being somewhat more dramatic). Then I found out why: Memoirs was inspired by Mineko Iwasaki’s life.

The book follows Iwasaki’s story, from the time she is taken as a young girl to be tutored as a maiko (apprentice geisha) into her life as a geiko (geisha). (Apologies if I make any mistakes in the terminology; I’m writing this based on memory of a book I read a couple of years ago!)

As with any life story, there is drama and action, but explains a lot of things slightly misinterpreted in Arthur Golden’s fictitious tale. Between the two, I prefer this one, simply because it’s autobiographical and more realistic.

Geisha – Liza Dalby

When I saw this book for the first time, I was a little cynical as to whether it could accurately portray the training, work and lifestyle of geisha. I thought it would be a typical case of Foreigner Goes To Japan And Makes Lots of Misconceptions Based On What They See.

Thankfully, I was wrong.

Geisha is the product of the author’s study into the Geisha lifestyle--a study so deep that she travelled to Japan to train as a geisha herself. The book covers the history of geisha and looks at how they have changed over time.

Whilst a little academic in places (it was written for a thesis, if I recall correctly!) it presents the facts in an interesting and respectful manner.

For me, the respect towards this part of Japanese culture was as equally important as the information presented.

If you only read one of these books, read: Both books have their merits. If you’re interested in the history of geisha and like factual books, check out Liza Dalby’s book. If you prefer your facts to be in the form of autobiography, try Mineko Iwasaki.

Circuit Board & USB 'Dog Tag' Necklace

What do you do with a broken computer mouse? Or anything else that plugs into the computer, for that matter?

Throw it away? Toss it into a cupboard and forget about it?

Hold your horses!

Don’t just toss it, cannibalise it!

Unscrew screws, cut wires, take stuff out that you can use (and drop off any leftover metals at your nearest recycling point!). Just be careful if you’re playing with anything that might hold an electrical charge, and watch for sharp edges.

Amongst a heap of broken computer stuff I was given for crafting with, was a broken card reader (I think that’s what it was anyway!) Basically a bit of plastic with a bit of circuit board inside, attached to a USB plug.

I wanted to make something with a more masculine edge to share with you here, so this is what I came up with:

My inspiration was dog tags. The circuit board especially reminded me of a tag.

As I happened to have a necklace with multiple strands of ball chain, I took a strand off to use for this craft :)

Of course I have a tutorial for you too. So if you’re looking for a little inspiration or what to know how to make one of these USB and circuit board necklaces.

Hot Stuff

It's time for a 100% NOT sponsored post :) 

To be honest, it's kind of lame that I feel the need to write this on posts where I want to talk about a product I enjoyed. But I want you guys to know I'm not being paid to glorify any products here!

Whilst on a shopping trip to Bluewater, Mum picked up this chocolate for me.

 Mitzi Blue ‘Hot Stuff’ by Zotter

(dark chocolate with chilli and strawberry chocolate)

Isn’t the packaging cute?

The inside of the carton states that the packaging comprises a CO2-neutral carton and 100% biodegradable organic plastic. Great, right?

As for the chocolate itself, it is delicious!

The strawberry flavour reaches your taste buds first. Then your mouth is assaulted by the heat of the chilli as you swallow! Add that the chocolate is organic and fair trade and you have a big mouthful of yum.

The chocolate bar is round and there’s a mini circular chocolate - called a ‘Mini Mitzi’, apparently - in the centre. I would have taken a picture, but my bar was smashed to pieces! Boo!

Zotter seems like a pretty awesome company.  Right now for every ‘Yummy! Meals for Schools’ chocolate bar sold, they will ensure a Burmese refugee child will receive a school meal.

Chocolate loaded with good karma? Yes please!

Looking at their web site, there are some utterly mad sounding chocolate bars. Pineapple with Celeriac? Sweet Wine and Cheese? Bacon Bits?

I’ll be keeping an eye out for more of this chocolate as we all need a little indulgent treat sometimes. If I ever get my hands on a bar of Bacon Bits chocolate, you can bet I’ll be writing about it here! (Next up, however, is Wasabi chocolate...)

This is NOT a sponsored post, just me rambling about something that made my taste buds happy!

DIY Shoe Fringe

Whilst leafing through ELLE’s September edition, I saw some great loafers by Marni. They were leather, brown and white, but with a long black fringe at the front to cover (I assume) the lacing, which tied up on top of the fringe. The colours aren’t completely my style, but I did love the design!

Sadly, I don’t have money for designer shoes (or designer anything!)

So I dug out my old mid-heel brogues (from Primark, kingdom of cheapness!) and some scraps of faux leather left over from a fancy dress costume, and got to work...

Granted, Marni’s version had a double layer of fringe, but in all honesty I was feeling too lazy to set up the sewing machine. Plus I think one layer looks just fine on these shoes (Marni’s are a lot chunkier).

This is a great, non-permanent way to get a different look from a pair of shoes!

Drawing a pattern for the fringe is a little fiddly, though it’s harder to explain it than it is to do it.

Hopefully this tutorial explains clearly. However if you have any questions please comment to ask! :)