Whose a pretty kitty?

What is the one thing every girl (and boy) needs in their wardrobe? Hanging jauntily around the neck of a quilted hanger? That's right, a pair of homemade cat ears! Don't have said jaunty ears? Wait no longer then my crafty friends, for I have the solution! A quick, easy tutorial which should you follow with the upmost care and diligence will result in an original, wear anywhere accessory. Who said cat ears were just for Halloween?

Cost:

• I bought a headband from Claire's Accessories for £2. It was a plain, shiny black plastic one. I think a plain one would be best to get a smooth finish and you want one that is quite thick to give the ears stability.
• I used fabric scraps I had leftover from a leopard print dress. If you are like me and keep every shred of fabric you come across then I'm sure you will have enough to cover the headband and make the ears. If not you won't need to buy a lot.
• I got a metre of wadding for about £1 and that, believe me, is plenty.
• I bought a pack of sequins, also from eBay for about 99p, they are optional but I feel it adds a certain pizzazz...       

You will need:

• A headband
• Fabric scraps
• A glue gun and one glue stick
• Fabric scissors
• Ordinary scissors
• Greaseproof/ Tracing paper 
• Pins
• Disposable gloves
• Wadding
• Sequins (optional)
• Sewing machine/ Hand sewing needle and thread

How to:

Firstly, turn your glue gun on. It will take a while to heat up and soften the glue. Next decide how big you want your ears. This is entirely subjective but bear in mind that they need to stay vertical when placed on the headband and the heavier they are the more likely to droop.

Draw a triangle onto a piece of greaseproof paper. I use this as it's easier to get hold of and probably cheaper than tracing paper. I used a ruler to draw it but you may prefer to freehand. When you have drawn one you are happy with then cut it out. Pin this onto another piece of greaseproof so you end up with two identical triangles. Pin these triangles onto your fabric scaps and cut out two fabric triangles.

When you have your two fabric triangles attach these to the other scraps. Pin the triangle right side up onto the fabric which is wrong side up. This just ensures you can follow the line of the triangle you have already measured and cut out so you can keep them as even as possible (not very easy for me...). 

You should end up with fours pieces of triangular fabric. Pin these together wrong sides out.

Sew them up using a sewing machine or by hand. It is quicker and more secure with a sewing machine but again this is personal choice. I used a zigzag stitch for security. When you have sewn up two of the sides cut the point off the triangles, this ensures it keeps it's shape when turned the right way out. Make sure you only sew up two sides! Turn the triangles the right way out.

Now it's time to get stuffing. Take my advice, be patient with it and only use small bits of wadding. The smaller the better to avoid bulking and no one likes bulking. When your ears are adequately stuffed sew up the bottom edge. You will be left with two plumptious triangles.

Now it's time to glue! If you only take one piece of advice from me, wear gloves. I am not normally a cautious cat but in this instance I was glad I did because that stuff gets disgustingly hot. It's not worth the blisters.... 

Carefully wrap the leftover material around your headband. I pulled it taught over the exterior part to get a rough idea of how much was needed. Work your way around starting at one end of the headband and glue the join to the other side of the headband so it is pristine on top. Put a line of glue onto the headband to anchor the fabric in place whilst you glue the underside.

A top tip is to make sure you fold the edges of the fabric onto the bottom of the headband to help cushion them behind your ears. Make sure it is glued tight and then leave to dry with your ears nearby for safe keeping.

When the headband is dry once again warm up your glue gun and then position your ears. They can lay however you like on the headband but I wouldn't recommend putting them too close together. Glue them securely to the headband and hold in place for a few seconds. Once again leave them to dry then decorate with sequins, if doing so. I put a line of them between the ears and on the front of the ears.

Et voila! You have a super special pair of kitten ears to take you from day to night. Do them justice and don't limit to ghoulish gatherings.



 

A cape to make Sherlock Holmes jealous...

So here we are, a kooky winter cover up to make those cold mornings and long winter nights more bearable. I chose to make this using green tartan suiting material but if you wanted it to take you through to darkest January you may want to hunt out a thicker wool instead. You could also line it with some contrasting fabric to make it a bit warmer. Now without further ado, lets get on with it! I have to give credit to P.S. I made this! for giving me the inspiration. My cape is slightly different but the website is marvelous for inspiration and top crafty tips.

Cost:

• I found this material for £4.40 per metre and I used a metre and a half to make the cape. You could use a metre or even half a metre if you were particularly petite or wanted a short cape. I'm 5'7" and a metre and a half comes to just below my derriere, so if you wanted a really long one I'm sure two metres would suffice.

• I raided my Nan's trusty sewing tin for the buttons and found three rather glorious ones. If you aren't lucky enough to have your Nan's trusty button tin to hand then fear not! Ebay has some great buttons and they can be picked up in most haberdashery shops. I'd recommend large buttons both for aesthetics and ease.

You will need:  

• One and a half metres of fabric. 
• A tape measure
• Dressmakers chalk/pencil
• Pins
• Dressmaker scissors
• Ordinary scissors
• Matching thread
•  Press studs
• Hand sewing needles
• Sewing machine (Optional but much easier!)

 How to:    

 First things first, iron your fabric! The last thing you want is to cut out your cape and find a crease has caused the whole thing to become off centre. Fold your fabric in half horizontally with the wrong side showing so you have a shoulder seam at the top and, using your tape measure, find the middle point of the fabric. 

Take a hat and place it over the middle point of your fabric. This forms the neckline of the cape. Make sure that half of the hat is on the fabric. By this I mean place the hat on the fabric with it's midway point resting on the fold at the top. You can free hand this or be super anal like me and measure the hat. I will be honest and say that I could have made this cape in much less time if I could have controlled my mad, measuring fetish...

When you have the neckline measured find it's midpoint and measure a 4" wide strip down the front of the material. It is much easier to think of this in terms of squares when using checked material so for the sake of ease, if it only measures 3 and a half inches but can be measured as four small squares then I would recommend that rather than driving yourself mental trying to keep the 4" width all the way down the front of the cape. As you can (faintly...) see above my centre piece measured 6 small green squares across.

Cut out this middle strip and follow up to the neckline. Make sure you only cut through one side!

When you have cut all the fabric out you will end up with a flap at the top for the neckline. Cut this off in a straight line. 

You should end up with one complete back piece and a rough approximation of a 'Y' shape missing from the front. 

Now you need to hem all the raw edges.Pin around the edges before you start sewing. I had to do a 1" hem because I mistakenly started cutting the strip out following the wrong line. This is an occassion where dressmakers chalk may be better because it is easier to rub off the material. A half inch hem would be wide enough, it is down to you how wide you want your hems to be.

The only complaint I have about this material is that it continues to fray. If you can, do a double turn on the edges which have the worst fraying. If not it will continue to fray down to the seam which isn't the end of the world but if you want a neat finish it may get on your nerves. This is also a good time to give you a top tip which has made my life much easier. When you are measuring hems use the edge of a straight surface, such as the table you are cutting on. This helps you to keep that final edge level because you may find that the rough edge you have turned is not level all the way across, ignore this it is a result of a less than steady hand. The only edge to worry about is the one which will show on the right side of the fabric. This tip doesn't take the place of a tape measure and patience but it will make the process easier!

Once you have the hem pinned in place you can start sewing. I used my trusty sewing machine for the job but if you had the time and patience you could do it by hand. I would recommend sewing around the front first and sewing the neckline in one piece before moving onto the sides.

When you are happy with your seams turn the cape the right way out and try it on then decide where you would like the buttons. You could just put one at the top to hold it in place or do what I did and have three equally spaced down the front. Due to the volume of material it can get a bit flappy in the wind so I would advise having at least a couple on there.  To avoid having to make buttonholes I sewed press studs onto the inside and buttons on the outside for decoration.

Et voila! You have a one of a kind, truly scrumptious cape! 






 

The journey begins...

So I am a sewing virgin. There I said it. The cat is out of the bag. Although I did the obligatory textile study at school it was something I put aside to concentrate on 'serious things'. I remained a dedicated follower of fashion throughout this studious period and had friends who engaged in various crafty type pursuits but I never felt capable of such wondrous feats. Then I thought 'what the chuff!' Why not indeed, what is the worst thing that could happen? I could sew my fingers together? That is what unpickers are for. I could embarrass myself by emerging in some wonky, uneven ensemble? Asymmetric, my dear friend. So I decided it was time for a change, I would teach myself to sew and in the process fulfill my ever present need for individuality as well as proving to myself that I am capable of doing something which is practical, nay, useful.... Well here goes nothing, I have purchased the sewing machine and delved into the murky depth of my local fabric shop. I've reserved almost every sewing related book in my local library and I've kitted my sewing box out with the various bits and bobs needed and now I just need to start. Yes, the trepidation is palpable. Will my previous limited experience be enough to fashion a simple skirt? Will I manage to measure myself well enough to make something that fits? How hard is it to make a shift dress? So many unanswered questions with only one option. Start sewing! Let's see how this thing plays out....