Classic white shirt

Hello all! For this months Minerva project I wanted to make a classic. Something that would stand the test of time. Something that would go with every piece of clothing I own. Cue the white linen shirt.

You can read all of the gory details here.

Thanks very much to Minerva Crafts for providing the supplies for this make and to Dad for being a gem and stopping off at a stately home on the way home from uni for pictures.

Lauren xx

Ruffle Wrap Skirt

Hello all! Today I have a new skirt to share with you. It's not the quietest of skirts. In fact I'd go as far as to say that it makes quite a statement. I haven't quite decided whether I like the statement it makes or not, so please leave thoughts and opinions in the comments!

First lets talk about the fabric. This is a cotton that I crinkle dyed with flour not one but two whole summers ago. It was originally intended for a coat, but then I came to my senses and realised that there was in fact nothing less suitable to make a coat out of and so it was shelved until another million dollar idea hit. The million dollar idea didn't hit until a few months ago when I read this blog post. I loved the drama of the skirt and decided that I needed my own. A quick peruse of the stash led me to this beauty and I got cutting.

 I used a vintage wrap skirt pattern that I unfortunately can't name because I left it in London (I'm finally home for the summer, yay full fridge!) I cut the skirt with a high low hem and then added a massive gathered rectangle for the ruffle. A pro tip is to hem the gigantic rectangle before you attach it to the skirt. It turns out that the hem had quite a big circumference so the gigantic rectangle wasn't quite as gathered as I would have liked, but you've got to work with what you have.

 The skirt is simply wrapped around the body and tied at the side. I learnt on the walk to uni that there is a reason why there is a button to secure the wrap on the other side, because if it is not secured it will fall down and you will almost flash the world just when walking past the local primary school. I haven't finished the ruffle seam edge yet because I can't quite decide what I think of it. Is it beach appropriate only or can I somehow incorporate it into my summer wardrobe?

Anyway, thanks for reading as always. I hope that you are all having lovely summers/winters wherever you are. Thanks to Paul for the photos and MK for directing. We got some cracking poses in there.

Lauren xx

Black Linen Jumpsuit

Hello all! Sorry for my absence on the blog of late. I do have things to show you, it's just a matter of getting pictures! Please bear with me.mThis months Minerva Make is a linen jumpsuit. In my last term at uni I made a costume for a show that was put on in central London. Whilst the show was on, I was one of the dressers for the production. This mainly involved helping the actors get ready and helping with any costume changes that needed to be done during the show. The dress code for dressers is full blacks, and the week of the show it was boiling hot in London so I needed something to wear that covered most of my skin whilst still keeping me as cool as possible. My answer to this was a linen jumpsuit which I could easily whack a long sleeve t-shirt over the top of if I needed to. You can read all about the making process over at the Minerva blog here.

 Thanks very much for reading, to Minerva Crafts for all the supplies for this project and to Beth for taking the photos,
Lauren xx

Stripey jumpsuit and cropped blouse

Hello all! This months Minerva Make is a double whammy. A stripy jumpsuit and a white off the shoulder cropped blouse. The original plan was trousers and a white buttondown shirt, but my brain had other plans. You can read the whole story over here.

Thanks very much for reading, to Minerva Crafts for the supplies for this project and to Abby for taking the pictures!
Lauren xx

Stripey Eurovision Top

Hello all! This top was born purely because of Eurovision. For the party I was going to we were required to dress as a country and as I already had the perfect outfit for France I thought that it was a no brainer. However, the stripey top I had planned to wear was in the washing basket, with no hope of being washed or dried in time. Luckily I had some spare fabric left over, and just enough time to whip up a new top. This one is decidedly more summery than the last, and I'm in love.

I used the Noelle bra pattern as a vague vague guide for neckline and armholes, and then I just extended the armhole to a point so I basically ended up with a trapezium. I finished the front neckline first and then bound the side edges from the bottom up so that they could extend into straps. The hem is also bound and the ends extends into straps to tie at the back.

I ended up just making some pleats at the front just to get the fit a bit tighter at the waist. Sometimes when worn, there is a bit of gaping at the sides and I wonder how best it would be to fix it. Darts at the side of the bust would ruin the stripes.

It was planned as a halterneck but after a while I decided that life was too short for that amount of weight on the back of my neck so my good friend Amy tied those straps to the waist straps for me.

It makes for the perfect summer top. Elegant, cool to wear, but covers what needs to be covered.

Thanks very much for reading and to Bethan for taking these photos!
Lauren xx