Fashion Fix: 'Terry de Havilland for Liberty' inspired print covered wedges

photo from aurelia skincare

How many of you have been watching the fly-on-the-wall doc, Liberty of London?

I've got to say, when the first series cam out, I was dubious about seeing a warts and all reveal of one of my favourite escapist spots. However, I didn't need to fear this series, when the wonderful shoe designer and maker Terry de Havilland was featured in a collaboration with the store and their 49,000 prints!

It was a thrill to get a tweet favourited by the legendary store in the meantime!

Terry's trademark wedge sandal was given a Liberty makeover and here are some of my favourites, available now in store.

Purple Totem Elephant Print Wedge Sandals. The colours are perfect for Autumn Winter and would work perfectly with heavy denier black tights and the season's favourite fabrics; leather and velvet.

Red is my favourite colour at the moment and the Red Daisy Mitsi Peep Toe Sandals are one to purchase now and wear them long into next year.

The beautiful, bold teal and turquoise of this pair perfectly sum up the collaboration of 70's trend king de Havilland and the eccentric, timeless beauty all Liberty prints embody, regardless of the year of their birth. Teal Totem Marky Wedge Sandals

But this would not be Fixuplookchic without an alternative suggestion whilst you are waiting, saving up to be able to afford such luxuries. A year back, I took my own favourite Liberty Print fabric and adorned a pair of navy suede heeled boots. You can do the same with my tutorial below.

I've been looking forward to getting my toes into these autumn stunners. The embellished heel was all over the place last year but there weren't too many autumnal day alternatives. That is all about to change.

You will need: 

• A pair of shoes with block heels 
• Lightweight fabric, enough to cover each heel. We used Silk. 
• Pattern paper 
• Fabric scissors 
• Paper scissors 
• All purpose glue 

How to do it: 

1. Make a pattern for your heel using pattern paper, allow for a small seam allowance to be folded under. 
2. Trace around the pattern onto your fabric and cut out. Make one for each heel 
3. Dab allpurpose glue onto a small section of the heel (starting at the base and working upwards) and glue the fabric in place, turning under any raw edges, and tugging it taut so there are no crinkles.   

TOP TIP- You will find this works best on block heels.

Shoes from: New Look
Fabric from sewbox

Perfect Presents Fashion Fix Christmas: Liberty Print Charm Bracelet

Photo Amanda Thomas

This is your last fashion fix christmas present idea, JUST in time for Christmas with a day or two to go for making.

Charm bracelets have long been traditional favourites among god parents to god children, adding a charm each year. They can be extremely valuable heirlooms after years of additional charms, OR they can be fun embellished and affordable piece sod jewellery for anyone. The lovely symbolism of the charms you choose can create a wonderfully personalised present, and with this present, the potentially pricey bracelet chain is replaced by a gorgeous strip of Liberty Print cotton. I got mine from Sewbox.

You will need:

• 1/4 metre liberty print cotton
• 20 cm chain
• assorted charms
• jewellery loops
• jewellery pliers
• needle and thread
• iron
• tape measure
• dressmaking scissors

How to do it:

1. measure your desired length for the fabric strip. (I made mine wrap twice round the wrist with enough left to tie a bow.)  Cut a 5cm width rectangle and your desired length.
2. press the strip in half length ways, open out and then fold in either long edge into the middle crease. press together so your raw edges are hidden inside the folded rectangle.
3. fold in the raw edges et each end and press. Slip stitch along the three edges to seal the rectangle into a strip. press.
4. in the middle of the strip, loop your chain around a few times and sew in place so it has a bit of a swag (see photos), secure in place with a few stitches.
5. With your pliers and jewellery loops, fix the charms onto the chain.

Photo Amanda Thomas

How to tame Frizzy Hair Fashion Fix: Silk Pillow Case

Photo Amanda Thomas

As you will have come to notice over the year's blogposts, I am not blessed with silky smooth locks. Even when making a special effort on photoshoot days, any drop of moisture in the air has thwarted any efforts to get my hair up to scratch with the fashion fixes on offer.

So you can imagine my joy when Harper's Bazaar tweeted this series of tips on Taming Frizzy Hair.

All was pretty much the run of the mill tips, but number 5 caught my eye:

5.    Essential Bedtime Accessory 
"Wrapping hair up in a silk scarf was a beauty ritual followed by the likes of Bette Davis and Marilyn Monroe to keep tresses soft and glossy. It helps prevent friction and static, and therefore prevent frizz. If you don’t have time before bed, swapping your pillowcase for a silk version will help too."


SILK PILLOW CASE YOU SAY?? I think I can run up one of those without much bother, and so can you!

This is a brilliant little christmas present which I think a fair few of our female (and some male) friends would be extremely grateful for, after getting over the awkwardness that you're suggesting their hair needs some help!

Instead of shelling out for a metre and a half of silk, I made this pillow case with an existing pillow case and just turning one side into silk.

How about using silk scarves, pieced together like a patchwork quilt, find out here how to quilt simply and effectively.


You will need:

• A plain pillow case
• Enough silk to cover one side
• sewing machine
• dressmaking scissors
• dressmaking pins
• tailor's chalk

How to do it:

1. Place your pillowcase right sides together on top of the silk and use as a template. Draw around on the silk using tailor's chalk, leaving 1.5cm seam allowance. Cut out.
2. unpick or cut out one side of the pillow case. (retain the rectangle that has the folded over inner piece that keeps the pillow in place)
3. place the pillow rectangle and the silk rectangle right sides together and pin around 3 sides leaving the opening unpinned.
4. Machine sew a running stitch all around the pinned sides.
5. trim the edges and corners, turn inside out and press.

Photo Amanda Thomas

I patched together 3 pieces of my favourite Liberty Print silk from Sewbox and was thrilled with the results, let's just hope that next time you see me, the effects of the silk pillowcase will have worked their magic!

Fashion Fix: How to add Liberty Print Lining to a trench coat collar

 

 

The Trench Coat has been a home land staple for many, many years. It's success has been down to it's brilliant design and resilience, taking our soldiers through the wars and now adorning the likes of Moss and co. What better way to update a classic than with another stalwart of British design and manufacturing, Liberty.  The lovely people at www.sewbox.co.uk provided me with some luscious liberty print silk to line the underside of my collar.

You will need:

• coat with a collar
• 1/2 metre silk
• pattern paper
• dressmaking pins
• iron
• sewing machine

How to do it:

1. Iron the collar of your coat and lay the coat out on a flat surface. Find the centre point of the coat collar and trace of one half of the collar onto the calico.  This can be slightly fiddly but pin the calico onto the collar and trim the calico down to size until it matches the shape of the collar.
2. Once you have calico pattern piece for the collar, fold your silk in half (right sides facing). Pin and trace the calico collar onto the silk leaving a 2.5cm seam allowance all the way round. Cut out.
3. Working from the centre of the collar out, pin the silk collar to the underside of the coat collar. Fold the seam allowance in on itself so that it’s tucked neatly in-between the silk and coat collar.
4. Machine a running stitch 2mm from the edge of the collar all the way around in a cotton thread that matched the coat fabric.

Liberty Print Silk from www.sewbox.co.uk/‎