Shirred Scarf Tutorial

shirred scarf tutorial by thisblogisnotforyou.com

 

Now that exams are over, I had a little time here and there to sew and finish some things that were lying around for months. Dress #8 of my 27 Dresses Challenge is practically finished. The weather here in London just hasn’t been good enough to take proper pictures. So check out the blog at the beginning of the week if you’re interested in seeing the ‘ugliest dress I’ve ever sewn’ :)

Until then, here’s a quick and easy tutorial for the weekend.

It’s time for upcycling some old scarfs for summer!

All you need:

Get the look: Pleated Skirt with Suspenders and Vintage Trim Tutorial – no pattern needed!

pleated skirt with suspenders and vintage trim tutorial by thisblogisnotforyou.comAs promised, here’s the tutorial for the pleated skirt and suspenders I made on the weekend.

It’s a fairly easy sewing project and you won’t need any special skills to tackle it. The trickiest part is probably inserting the invisible zip, but this post also includes a tutorial on how to do it. So no worries, your skirt will turn out to be awesome! Let’s get cracking!

thisblogisnotforyou.com

You won’t need a pattern to make this skirt.

All you need:

- fabric (about 1m/40” wide and 1,5/60” long, depending on your waist measurements and the length of the skirt you prefer)

Pleated Skirt with Vintage Trim and Detachable Suspenders

thisblogisnotforyou.comthisblogisnotforyou.com

May I present…? #7 of my 27 Dresses Challenge!

I really didn’t plan to make this fun vintage-style pleated skirt with suspenders. I was admiring Debi’s newest vintage make  last week – a beautiful blouse with the prettiest vintage trim the world has seen.
While I was still marvelling at the trim, I stumbled upon Cloth Magazine’s facebook page where they advertised their newest issue – including 2m of exactly the trim Debi had used for her blouse – the swooping swallows.

Well, you know what happened then ;)

Peachy Lace/Splash Nails for Spring – do it yourself!

Peachy Spring Splash Nails made with Lace by thisblogisnotforyou.comHello again! I had a lovely sunny start into the week and hope you did, too! As there are signs everywhere of spring finally having badly kicked winter’s ass, here’s a really quick spring nails tutorial.
Nails? Yep, I know normally I don’t ‘do beauty tutorials’ and my nails are most of the time looking rather damaged by all my pins and needles, but I found this lovely peachy nail colour the other day. I had the idea of combining it with a neon pink nail colour I never wear and I think it turned out great.

Bustier Minidress with Asymmetrical Overskirt – Hello Summer!

Minidress with asymmetrical overskirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Phew, after a whole day of sewing and unpicking (but mostly unpicking) dress #6 of my 27 Dresses Challenge is done!

Minidress with asymmetrical overskirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I have to admit, I’m proud of this one. This one was quite a challenge for many reasons. I drafted the bodice pattern using intructions from the Burdastyle Sewing Vintage Modern book. I’ve never sewn something so fitted and I’ve never used polyester boning before. But it turned out good and it fits perfectly.

Except for the bodice, I made all the other patterns myself.

Minidress with asymmetrical overskirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com Minidress with asymmetrical overskirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com Minidress with asymmetrical overskirt by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Spring is back – and so am I.

A whole month of no sewing (craaaaaazy!), no blogging but way too much non-stop studying.

Finally. Exams are over, all deadlines met and I have (at least part of) my life back. After four weeks of not having the chance to discharge all my creative energy I’m loaded with ideas. And guess what? Yes, I started sewing right away.

But not before relaxing a bit in Regent’s Park which is so damn pretty right now. Here are some impressions of the park and a sneak peek at what’s coming up:

regents park london by thisblogisnotforyou.comregents park london by thisblogisnotforyou.comregents park london by thisblogisnotforyou.comregents park london by thisblogisnotforyou.comregents park london by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Tshirt Refashion with Lace

tshirt refashion with lace insert by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Yes – I’m still there! In case you’ve wondered whether I’ve got the blogging blues – nope, I don’t. I’d love to blog more at the moment, but unfortunately I can’t. Life’s quite stressful at the moment and I’m basically studying for finals and writing on my dissertation non-stop.

Nevertheless, I try to sew a seam here and there whenever I’ve earned me some sewing time after days of studying. Not enough though for finishing the next dress for my 27 Dresses Challenge. The fabric is all cut out and waiting for me to return to my sewing machine in a few weeks time.

weekend treats {magazine review}

sewing magazine review by thisblogisnotforyou.comAfter quite a stressful term at uni and before heading home for the Easter weekend I treated myself with three new sewing magazines I’ve never read before. I don’t buy a lot of magazines. They can be quite expensive and end up in the dustbin anyway. The only ones I keep are the Burdastyle magazines since you can reuse the patterns for as many times as you want and combine the different pattern parts of different issues to create new looks.

However, I recently bought three magazines that looked quite promising – Sewstylish, Threads and Cloth. In case you’re looking for new reads for the weekend, I summarised the pros and cons:

Blogging Series Synopsis {Now it’s your turn!}

blogging basics summary by thisblogisnotforyou.comExactly two months ago I started my Blogging Basics Series with the aim of sharing blogging tips from “newbie to newbie” – all the tips and tricks and blogging basics I learnt in the first weeks and months. All the things I found most helpful and wished I would have known from the start.

Now, there are so many things to keep in mind about blogging that I could go on forever. I won’t. Of course, there’s so much more to say and think of but the most basics things (and this was my objective) I’ve already covered.

Versatile Blogger Award

Lovely news!

Lovely Freya May who blogs over at The Dressmaking Diaries nominated me for the Versatile Blogger Award! I love her blog and can’t wait for all the great stuff she’s gonna make in the future! Check out her blog – it’s totally worth it!

One doesn’t get an award for nothing, so here are the rules:

  • Thank the person who nominated you for the award.
  • Include a link to the person who nominated your blog
  • Select 15 blogs/bloggers that you have recently discovered or frequently visit and nominate them for the award.

How to draft your own asymmetrical hem dress pattern

how to make an asymmetrical hem dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

We all love pattern hacks, don’t we? I really do like patterns, especially the Burdastyle ones, and there are so many that I’ll never be able to sew them all. Nevertheless, sometimes you just want to add your own personal touch. And when you have a certain design in mind, but you just can’t find that particular pattern you’re looking for anywhere, you probably have to.

Summer is (hopefully) coming soon and last year’s asymmetrical hem maxi dresses are in stores again (I like!). I actually didn’t buy any last summer, but I’m totally planning on sewing loads this spring. A lot of the patterns I have are from last year and older and Burdastyle didn’t have too many good asymmetrical hem dresses so far.

Jeans-mending day

mending holes in jeans by thisblogisnotforyou.comJeans-mending day – not my favorite day!

Today I finally had a few minutes to mend a pair of jeans that has been waiting for treatment quite a while. The boyfriend wore them until they almost fell apart, so I wasn’t even sure if I could save them or not. Holey moley! Way too many holes. Since it was his favourite pair I gave it a try.

I followed Suzannah’s very helpful instructions. She blogs over at Adventures in Dressmaking, which is one of my faaaaavourite blogs.

Click on the picture to get to Adventures in Dressmaking’s jeans mending tutorial!

Blogging Basics – Part 7 {make your blog legal}

Hi! Thanks for stopping by and welcome to part 7 of my  Blogging Basics series!

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…you’re an absolute Blogging Newbie
…you just started blogging and you feel like you could need some helpful tips and tricks
…you have been blogging for a while but somehow feel like you might have missed out some vital steps
…you have been blogging for years but somehow you have trouble getting people to read your blog and subscribe

Last time I told you about what I’ve learnt about growing your blog. Today I give you a rather brief overview about steps and stuff you should consider to make your blog legal.

Organising with Chalkboard Paint

chalkboard paint organising jars by thisblogisnotforyou.com

This is a very quick DIY I did on the weekend. My messy boxes full of sewing supplies had been bothering me for quite a while. Normally I use plastic organising containers or empty cookie boxes, but buying containers can be quite expensive when you need a lot of them and I never find things after I put them in cookie boxes. I just have too many of them.

This DIY was inspired by a friend who sent me a picture of a craft/sewing room at IKEA Berlin. They had thread sorted in jars by colour. I liked the idea a lot – it looks so much better than plastic containers, is see-through (which is great for finding stuff!) and inexpensive.

No, I didn’t forget about the Blogging Series

Just in case some of you wondered where the annouced part 7 of the Blogging Basics Series is – it’s on its way!

I had a pretty busy weekend and couldn’t write it up on time. I didn’t want to write it on the fly, so this time you have to wait a few days longer – sorry for that!

If you haven’t read all the other parts, here they are:

Read Part 1 {Get People to Look at you}
Read Part 2 {Layout}
Read Part 3 {Content #1}
Read Part 4 {Content #2}
Read Part 5 {Invest your time wisely}
Read Part 6 {Grow your traffic}

Trust me Johnny, I’m the superman {Burda 2/2013 #114}

Burda 2/2013 #114 by thisblogisnotforyou.comWhoop, whoop! I can’t believe it – dress #5 of my 27 Dresses Challenge is finished already, but it took longer than expected.

It’s a sleeveless “I call it summer-in-the-city” jersey dress with cascading pleats in the front and an asymmetrical hemline. Let the pictures speak (unfortunately I forget to take one from the back, because it looks quite pretty):

Burda 2/2013 #114 by thisblogisnotforyou.com

I used the #144 Burdastyle pattern of the February 2013 issue (it’s the one on the cover). I changed the pattern a little (of course!) to make it look more fun.

Burda 2/2013 #114 by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Audrey Hepburn 50′s sheath dress

Audrey Hepburn sheath dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com

Here it is (finally). – Dress #4 of my 27 Dresses Challenge. (My legs are a bit short compared to Audrey’s ;) But hey, we’re comparing dresses, right?)

It’s an Audrey-style Burda pattern. Sounds familiar? Yep, somehow the vintage designs of Burda always turn out to be 50′s Audrey Hepburn dresses (which honestly doesn’t really bother me). ;) It’s got the typical 50′s high wasp waist and three-quarter length sleeves.

Audrey Hepburn sheath dress by thisblogisnotforyou.com, Burda pattern 11/2012 #138

I used an elastic dark blue cotton fabric and the dress fits really snugly. Although I normally don’t have to make alterations with Burdastyle patterns, the back of the dress required some fitting, so the boyfriend had his debut as a fitting buddy.

Facebook page launched!

I’m very excited to finally have created a “This Blog Is Not For You” Facebook page. This makes it even easier for you guys to follow this blog and get all the news, tutorials and blogging tips! :)

Feel free to like the new page! The timeline is still a bit blank, but new posts are coming up soon!

The Facebook page is also a space for you to share your crafts and masterpieces when trying out my tutorials! I’d love to see your pictures!

You’ll find the Like-button on the right sidebar!

thisblogisnotforyou facebook

Blogging Basics – Part 6 {Grow your traffic}

Hi! Thanks for stopping by and welcome to part 6 of my  Blogging Basics series!

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…you’re an absolute Blogging Newbie
…you just started blogging and you feel like you could need some helpful tips and tricks
…you have been blogging for a while but somehow feel like you might have missed out some vital steps
…you have been blogging for years but somehow you have trouble getting people to read your blog and subscribe

Last time we talked TIME MANAGEMENT. Today is all about how to increase your blog’s traffic.

blogging basics part 6

HOW TO GROW YOUR TRAFFIC

Twenty8twelve Darcy Tie Waist Shorts rub-off

darcy waist shorts rub-off by thisblogisnotforyou.comThree things that happend in the past two weeks:

I finished garment #3 of my 27 Dresses Challenges.
I finished my first pair of shorts. (YAY!)
I drafted a pattern and fitted my first proper muslin. (big YAY!)

I did all that by sewing these fancy darcy/paperbag waist shorts. For getting the pattern I did a rub-off of the original Twenty8twelve by Sienna Miller “Darcy Shorts Tie Waist Culotte”  a friend of mine owns *lucky me*. The website which used to sell the shorts even has a table with measurements for the different sizes which helped a lot with doing the necessary changes.