Original Digby T-shirt

Hello all! It's a long standing joke that my creations are 'Original Digby's' (term coined by Northern Tom) and so I thought it was time I followed Jack Wills in their brilliant branding and marketing concept.
I originally tried to do this with the iron on letters you find at hobby-craft but after 1 wash I was left with 5 sticky patches where the letters were previously. I'm not at all about fast fashion so it was time for take 2.

 I invested in some transfer paper on amazon, figured out which font I wanted on photoshop, printed it onto the transfer paper and printed it onto the fabric. It all went perfectly until I set it following the instructions which burned the lettering away a bit. Ahh well. It's a 'design feature'. Hopefully it won't happen again next time.
The fabric is a cotton jersey from Goldhawk Road. I think it was £5 for a metre and a bit? I had to use the back of the original t-shirt for the front of this one and I pieced the back with the scraps.
The pattern I used was the Kitschy Coo Lady Skater Dress, using the bodice pieces as a base, lengthening to a t-shirt. I went up 3 sizes for a bit of ease and I think I probably could have gone up 1 or 2 more.
I normally finished all of the hems with a zigzag because that's what you're 'supposed' to do with knits, but this time I tried a straight stitch and it works just fine. The fabric stretches okay and there aren't any popped stitches and I think it looks a tad more professional. 
I'm sure this t-shirt will be getting a lot of use over the summer for the simple reason that it goes with everything! I hope it washes better than it's predecessor. I think my next one is going to say 'I love chocolate pudding'.
Thanks for reading and to MK for taking photos! 
Lauren xx





Me Made May 2016

Hello All! This is my little round up of this years MMM. I loved participating this year because for the first time in my life I haven't had a compulsory dress code to follow. My challenge was to wear something handmade everyday and to also sew for 20 minutes everyday. I did wear something handmade every day, but the 20 minutes of me sewing didn't happen so much. But I am willing to cut myself some slack as I do sew 6 hours a day,  5 days a week now anyway. My photos have been the best they've ever been for MMM namely because of my wonderful friends  and beautiful uni campus. The days I missed were mostly weekends when I was wearing sweats.
It's really interesting to look at all the outfits together. The colours and shapes don't really form a cohesive collection at all. But I would get bored if I wore the same thing all the time. I love exploring with different shapes and colours, but I also love snuggling down in my comfies at the end of the day. Variations of my True Bias Hudson Pants get worn almost daily.
Below are a couple of my favourite outfits that just made me happy to wear.







I hope that was vaguely insightful!
Lauren xx

Lace Bodysuit

Hello all! After seeing all of Madalynne's amazing bodysuits over the last few months I got really inspired to make my own. So on my next trip to Goldhawk Road I kept my eye out for the perfect lace and nude lining, and I found them! I think 1m of each cost me around £8 in total? 

I muddled together a bodysuit pattern from a pair of my pants/undies and the Kitschy Coo Lady Skater bodice. It was all a bit rough and ready because I was very aware that my nude fabric was more of  a double knit and so didn't have a lot of lengthwise stretch, so I left a fair bit of ease in to account for that. For that reason, it isn't skin tight because then it would become uncomfortable.
For the first time in my fairly short life I'm going to parties with alcohol and dancing, and I've been wanting something to wear that makes me feel a bit sexy and more confident and just more able to embrace the dancing spirit. (I can dance to Blues Brothers stone cold sober, but today's 'music' takes a bit more effort.) I thought this bodysuit would fit the bill perfectly, with a fairly high front neckline and low back.
I probably could have made the back a bit lower, but when I made the observation and decided to remedy it I accidentally cut the front neckline lower. Low enough to show everything. So in a panic I kind of appliqued the front neckline back on and left the back neckline well alone. It looks a bit scrappy up really close, but I've been informed that it isn't very noticeable atall.
I finished the armholes and neckline with knicker elastic because it's my favourite new thing to finish knit edges with. However, I'd run out of it by the time that I'd gotten to the leg holes so I used fold over elastic instead. I applied it to each leg hole in a different way and the top finish is definitely my favourite. It's a lot sturdier and you have a lot more control.
It is a bit rough and ready. The armholes aren't even and the back straps aren't even but they are easily forgotten about when it's worn. I worry that the white isn't quite right for my skintone, but that can easily be fixed with a colourful cardi. The back is too low for a bra, but it's perfectly supportive for what's there without one.

I've worn it in various ways with a skirt and with boyfriend jeans and I love how different each outfit looks and how different each outfit feels. Add a leather jacket to the jeans and I'm a badass. My friends get tongue-in-cheek Lauren for the rest of the day. Add a skirt and cardi and it's a beautifully elegant summer outfit. My, clothing is powerful.

I spent a lot of time wondering how I was going to document this bodysuit. I wanted to show you guys all of it, not just the top half. Was it only acceptable to photograph it inside? Would the lighting be rubbish and affect the quality of the photos? My friend Amy suggested handstands as a way for you guys to see all of the bodysuit in a slightly more acceptable way. Only one problem. I am totally incapable of doing handstands. My solution was to drag 3 friends outside at lunch and get them to hold my legs up for me. You've got to admit, it makes for a fairly amusing photo. 
After that, I decided that I might as well just take my skirt off and get on with it. And I'm glad I did.
Thank you guys for reading and I hope you all had a lovely day! Thanks to my long suffering friends Amy, Alex, Zoe and Bethan for solving puzzles and for holding my legs up when I ask them too. 
Lauren xx

Pink Inari Tee Dress

Hello all! I finally have a new make to show you. I was intrigued by how good everyone's Named Inari tee dresses looked so I thought I'd try a new silhouette out. And I really really like it.


The fabric made this simple dress a lot more of a 'mare than it should have been. I found this viscose remnant on ebay and the colours and print are stunning but it's shifty as heck and frays every time you look at it.
 I added a CB seam to get it out of 1.1m of fabric. Even though I understitched the facing it kept flipping up so I stitched it down in my break.
I have come to the conclusion that without an overlocker, seam allowances need to be 1.5cm or more. There isn't a lot you can do to finish a 1cm seam allowance if you don't hong kong it. I pinked these seam allowances, but I'm not sure how well they are going to hold up!
This is very much a dress that needs wearing with shorts underneath.
It's super super comfy. One of those dresses you don't notice you're wearing. In this dress I went to uni for the day, out for dinner in London, a walk outside Buckingham Palace, a cocktail at the pub and quite a bit of dancing. There's been a little wear and tear on one of the splits but that can easily be patched up.
In other news, I got my braces off on Thursday! Arghh looking at these pics makes me so happy!

Thanks for reading and to MK for taking photos!
Lauren xx