// Recycled lace
Posted on | July 20, 2010 | 4 Comments
I made this quick fix for my vintage lace addiction from quite mundane garments: a second hand crocheted cardigan and a piece of bobbin lace which originally adorned a piece of bedlinen. The cardigan I got for 2 euros from the local charity shop — it was broken, slightly stained and the shape of it was not particularly fetching. But I liked the lightweight crochet with subtly 3d flower motif — and the fact that the years of use had given the fabric certain softness, often lacking from crocheted items. I’m happy how the two shades of white combined look like and how the front turned out — but the back is not perfect, I run about 15 cm short of the bobbin lace to finish it as I had planned. The construction idea is stolen directly from this Magda Berliner top I saw in wonderful Res Pulchrae blog — but the body is slightly longer.
It is not at its best over just a lightweight bikini top (that gives almost zero support and no flattening for my chest), but I’ll bet that it will be an useful layering piece. And I promise that I will not play with the Poladroid all the time — but the pictures were utter crap so I did what I could… (yeah, excuses… =))
Posted on | July 20, 2010 | 4 Comments
// Jewelry DIY:s
Posted on | July 14, 2010 | 7 Comments
Crocheted earring utilizing regular jewelry wire. I need more of it to make a pair. This took about 10 meters — and it is quite large, sweeping my shoulder when I’m wearing it.
A simple chainmail cuff with four to one weave. Just wanted to practice the technique with a very simple item — but I think that I ended up with quite usable piece! Closed with seven parrot locks — but I’m considering making it just a bit larger so I can just pull it to my wrist. And maybe a bit wider, too. But I need more jump rings!
Posted on | July 14, 2010 | 7 Comments
// DIY: before and after
Posted on | March 23, 2010 | 5 Comments
Today the sun kept shining — and I had excellent thrifting karma! At Fida Hämeentie I scored this white blouse for couple of euros. It’s organic cotton, super soft and looks almost unworn. The design was… …eh… …blah… …but when I saw it I instantly thought adding bit weight to that ruffle part…
The simple DIY involved two times three meters of cotton lace, in slightly different shades to give the lace cascade more depth. I sew them together first, then ruched the combination and attached it to the edge of front ruffle. Working time: just under 30 min. I think I’m actually going to use this… …the leather pants want to make friends with it… …and the golden leather shorts are second in line…
Posted on | March 23, 2010 | 5 Comments
// The magpie does what the magpie does…
Posted on | March 16, 2010 | 2 Comments
Being a Scandinavian I should be natural born minimalist. But no… …I have healthy appetite for all things bright and shiny. And that appetite is well served with this current DIY project: the shameless knockoff of Dolce & Cabbana trinket belt. Unfortunately I ran out of silk satin ribbon before the elastic of the base belt was fully covered — and embroidering the crystals to the grosgrain ribbon is really painstaking work — so it will be a while before I’m actually sporting this. Sew-on rhinestones are awfully expensive — but fortunately I remembered having two rhinestone bracelets, both with broken locks so I just dissassembled them and now I’m reusing the stones in this belt.
Oh, and on my last visit to the local thrift store I picked up something that a belly dancer might wear. Lovers knot might be the least hip technique ever… …but somehow it works for this garment. Back to that later…
Posted on | March 16, 2010 | 2 Comments
// The hazmat T
Posted on | March 13, 2010 | 10 Comments
I’ve had too little time for crafts lately, plus I’m knitting a scarf that takes ages to get finished — so I was truly in a need of instant reward type of DIY project. So I took a cheapie lightweight H&M striped T, poured some chlorine on it, went to cook something and let the stuff to do its trick meanwhile. Naturally that was hazardous for the color but it even created some tiny holes to the material… …I quite like it, it is probably not the most obvious home bleach job.
I would love to wear some stitched and padded leather on the bottom… …but unfortunately don’t have any. Now it’s just my old Lee jeans, Rützou wedges, second hand fur and leather cuffs from some cheapie accessory shop. The slightly too short sleeves of the fur leave them nicely on display.
DIY instructions
You need
chlorine; regular domestic bleach, for example Clorox
a (striped) cotton T
plastic protection for the surface
Other natural fibers might work as well — but be careful with the time and don’t be surprised of funky color changes — and note that chlorine does not bleach synthetics.
Protect the surface you are planning to use (if you do this on bathroom tiles it is not necessary). Place the t-shirt on top of the plastic. Pour and sprinkle some chlorine on it — you probably want some nice splatter patterns so don’t rub the substance on the material — just let it be where it goes. Let the chlorine bleach the poured areas from 20 min to about an hour. Rinse the garment well and wash it.
Posted on | March 13, 2010 | 10 Comments
// Cheapy cheap
Posted on | December 13, 2009 | 9 Comments
These gray suede boots are my bargain found from Berlin. My old pair was in such a sad condition. These are bit flashier and higher, but they are still quite decent to walk in — and easy to wear up and down, property I give great value after the old, bit too casual pair. Not actually the best boot for winter… …but who cares, I have enough actual winter boots. Wearing them with tie-dye hosiery from Doré & Doré, old H&M silk cotton dress, old linen coat and DIY bib-necklace (and of course you can make it yourself).
Sometimes the inspiration for the outfit does not come from the actual clothing, but rather the setting… …I would love to sit on top of these giant cogwheels wearing these clothes… (image from Fanpop)
The weather starts to turn cold and it is snowing today. I guess that it is time to pack this wrinkly little coat to winter storage…
Posted on | December 13, 2009 | 9 Comments
// DIY body chain
Posted on | December 9, 2009 | No Comments
I’ve been thinking about purchasing a body chain for a while… …but then again those are quite simple pieces and by doing it by myself I could control the details. So I purchased few meters of oxidised brass chain, some jump rings and few clasps — and end up with this piece. The best part of it is that it can be worn in multitude of ways. The basic setting is on the first picture, where the piece is closed from back of the neck and waist. But on the low back I have two clasps, attached to each other in the basic arrangement — so the piece can be easily worn as a big chain waterfall lariat by attaching these locks to the upper middle front. I made also one extra piece to be attached to the main piece (for example center back) or worn over it, I’m actually searching a certain type of pendant to use with this occasionally.
Sorry, I was not able to make any effort with actual outfits. At this time of year I snuggle at home wearing a pair of H&M harem cut sweatpants, couple of tanks ot Ts, cashmere knit worn over, topped with a blanket wrapped around the shoulders (I like cool temperature at home, keeps my brain clear (if that is possible)). I just dropped the two top layers to get a pic from this piece…
I like it a lot worn underneath the clothes, especially with open neckhole.
Posted on | December 9, 2009 | No Comments
// Making the fabric
Posted on | November 15, 2009 | 15 Comments
One aspect I absolutely adore in knitting is that I can actually make my own fabric, thread by thread, hole by hole. And that fabric can be sculpted to various shapes while knitting — and while sewing the pieces together.
In this tunic/dress the emphasis is fully on fabric — it is shaped only very lightly. I used beautiful industrial quality silk-cashmere yarn in quiet nudey beige shade for a garment that is made for layering. The yarn is relatively heavy (heavy DK weight, maybe even aran weight) but the construction of the dress is still very light because I used considerably larger needles than usual for yarn of this kind — and the holes of different lace patterns contribute to the lightness even more. The patterns align neatly in the sleeves and the body of the dress. It shows the layers underneath but is not too bulky to layer under other garments, either.
This first combination with the newly made dress is quite grown up and quiet, I wore my new leather pants with the zippers open on the legs, Rützou wedges, simple spaghetti strap top and old heavy brass necklace from H&M to underline the slightly barbaric feel of the loose fabric. The mix of leather, silk and cashmere is very luxurious and gives quite pleasant olfactory experience — silk has it’s recognizable nutty scent, too, for some reason it is more apparent in knits than most woven fabrics. But I have to say that I really miss those PVC panel pants here. The shiny plastic would be an awesome contrast for the rustic texture of this dress.
Mmm-hmm, I should bother to use my make up for the pics…
Posted on | November 15, 2009 | 15 Comments
// Work in progress
Posted on | November 8, 2009 | 13 Comments
It’s probably mentioned here before, that my knitting blog is on hiatus, because of my identity problems as a knitter. I’ve knitted tens (or maybe tons) of sweaters — and very few of them are on actual use. I started to knit mainly my own patterns maybe bit more than year ago — but that did not actually help instantly. I was thinking about utilizing my skills and selling patterns — but when I though what actually might sell I kind of lost the touch to what I would actually love to wear.
So it was quite natural to turn the thinking process upside down and start to explore that wearability factor from my own perspective. The first result was the Light Flyweight sweater — that actually has been in use quite a lot! From knitters point of view this might be the most boring project ever, but the oversized shape, sheerness that makes it interesting piece in layering and the extreme lightness (easy to tuck, knot, twist…) makes it a really good addition to my wardrobe.
I still knit when I have time (which is not much) — and somehow exploring the loose gauge knits feels really interesting right now. Can’t deny the Rodarte influence here, but I don’t want to make copies of their beautiful pieces.
My love for layering was the starting point for this work in progress. The result will be a large gauge fitted dress with simple lace patterns. Yarn is delicious nude silk-cashmere mix, looks bit boring and wiry here, but that’s because it is lightly oiled for machine knitting (I do only handknits but industrial yarns have their advantages). The oil is washed away when the piece is finished — and the yarn will bloom beautifully. The front and back pieces are finished, started the long, fitted sleeve yesterday. I really wait to see the finished product and try it on! That’s promising…
Oh, there has been some shopping happening… …I really had to get a pair of slimlined black pants to replace my skinny black jeans — and the unfortunate PVC pants. The idea was to wait for the Jimmy Choo for H&M stuff to arrive and snatch a pair of those leather leggings. But judging from the images they indeed were quite legging-like — and in this case more pant-like solution would serve my purposes better. So I wandered through few clothes stores and checked the pant selection — and came by to these.
A single pair of slimlined stretch leather pants in my size was waiting for me in Selected Femme. The price was very reasonable (less than H&M option), fit was good and I liked the details: zippered front pockets on the hip, zippers on the leg and nice vertical seam on the middle back leg. I hope that these will be a long time companion for me!
Posted on | November 8, 2009 | 13 Comments
// Harnessed in Ann Demeulemeester way
Posted on | October 25, 2009 | 16 Comments
Let me present you probably the best DIY project ever! I was inspired by Outi who did her version of Ann Demeulemeester zipper fringe scarf faster than I even understood that something interesting indeed happened in the Paris catwalks.
This piece is slightly different to Outi’s. I decided to rip the AD piece with tapes on the bottom of fringes, too. The tapes can be tied in multitude of ways, in addition to the possibility to wear it as a scarf I got a very versatile piece of body jewelry. I also opted for simple, nicely structured cotton tape instead of bias tape (bias tape, especially cotton one, gives me some bad kitchen decoration vibes for some reason) — and I preferred the matte look for tapes anyway.
I did not utilize the zipper canvas when sewing the zipper teeth on but cutted the whole fabric part away before sewing. I sew around the zipper, so the teeth kind of keep those fringes in place. This gives slightly less bulk to the tape ends, but even better thing was that I was able to use my rotary cutter for cutting the zipper canvas away. It bite like a beast, about 2 seconds per zipper. I probably could multiply the time by thirty if I had cut them with scissors.
So here I’m wearing it in three different ways. This is slightly different post to my usual ones because these are not actual outfits worn outside home. I apologise the image quality, I really need some additional light here…
Hanging freely: James Anthony winge print tunic, old waxed cotton pants, Rützou wedges, Tiger of Sweden silk-cotton vest, Filippa-K tunic, H&M scarf. Hmm, I probably will wear something like this next week.
Tied on waist: Zara printed silk dress (in need of ironing, but hey I was not going anywhere with these, anyway), DIY leggings over black sheer tights, leather MC jacket from Ellos, Rützou wedges. Could well go to the bar in an outfit like this. This one looks considerably better in real life. In the picture the chest area looks like a mess — but actually the splatterish print and zipper fringes discussed in very interesting way. And from this angle the dress looks like a sack (especially with my hand up for camera) but actually the tapes gather the looseness nicely and they kind of continue the black tape theme of the dress neck opening. Guess that the iron, better image quality and better angle when photographing would help…
Crossed around the body: Filippa-K sundress, DIY silk chiffon skirt, Divided mesh leggings, Vagabond thigh boots. Festive, but definitely looks like me. Like how the fringe scarf camouflages the slightly too open neckhole (for my taste). Boots contribute to this much more than you can see from the image, the chiffon layer is actually very see through.
Posted on | October 25, 2009 | 16 Comments
About
Location: Helsinki, Finland
Contact: kamicha (a) gmail dot com
I'm especially interested in young designers creations, non-established labels and indie fashion. So if you have something interesting to show, feel free to contact!
You can find Finnish design from both specific and some outfit posts - but both are tagged.
You might be also interested in DIY posts, How-to posts, DIY ideas - or my adventures in Etsy =).
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