Company Style Blogger Awards 2014

The Nominations are open! I am going up for 'Best Personal Style Blog - Newcomer'. Please nominate this blog if you think it's a contender!  Click on the image above to nominate me, thank you!

Company Magazine Style Blogger Awards 2014 | Nominations Are Open!

Personal Style is a serious business in my family...

My amazing, gorgeous parents: A carpet wearing Mum and trail blazing Dad (yes that is me in the background, a face full of chocolate)

I have had FixUpLookChic up and running for just under a year. It's been such a fantastic outlet for what I have realised is a ridiculously varied amount of creative outlets. However, I have realised that all my creative interests have come from a common place: my own personal style. This blog may be a craft blog, but it comes from an obsession with Fashion visuals. My Costume designs have become inseparable from contemporary and historical Fashion Collections over the years, and it has been an honour to share them with you on the blog, as well as showing you how I made a few!

Photo Carly Wong and The Egg, Bath

Of course my time at Cloth Magazine has influence how I write and demonstrate, and there are a few Fashion Fixes up here from my Cloth Mag Archive. It's so cool to be able to share all this with such a wide readership.

It would really round things off perfectly to get a look in at these Company Mag Awards. I am going for the Best Personal Style Blog-Newcomer' Award. If you think this blog shows any signs of such a thing, then nominate me HERE

Photo Amanda Thomas

Instead of further demonstrating my Personal Style (you can look back through oodles of older posts for that) I thought I'd show you some rather more overworked moments, brought on by an overload of creative inspiration, otherwise known as not being able to say no to a job. I thought it appropriate as every creative can relate, It's almost the natural state; numerous projects on the go at once, each one feeding an idea into the other one. So here is me in all my 'glory' working behind the scenes to bring you the fashion fixes, the stylist's secrets, illustrations, events design ideas, theatre and costume work...zzzzzzzzzz

properly frazzled, covered in paint, still smiling

So, if after all this, you think Fix Up Look Chic is worthy of nomination in the Company Magazine Style Blogger Awards 2014, click HERE to nominate me in the 'Best Personal Style Blog - Newcomer Category'

Lots of love and thanks

Harriet

xxx

Fashion Fix: The easiest T shirt in the world!

Photo Amanda Thomas

It's official, I can almost count the number of stitches required to make this t shirt!

All you need is one of your favourite t shirts as a template.  This t shirt is simply two t shirt shaped pieces, sewn together. The t shirt fabric I used doesn't even need hemming as it won't fray. Just to make doubly sure, I used pinking shears for all the raw edges which just adds a lovely design detail as well as being completely practical!

You will need:

• one of your own t shirts
• sewing machine and complimentary thread
• pinking shears
• dressmaking pins
• 1 metre t shirt fabric
• fabric marker

How to do it:

1. fold your t shirt fabric in half right sides together and place your existing t shirt on top as a template. 
2. draw around it allowing 1.5 cm seam allowance along the seams. You don't need to allow for seam allowance at the sleeve, neck and bottom opening of the t shirt.
3. cut out, you will now have two identical t shirt shapes.
4. place right sides together, pin along the shoulders, and up the sides. 
5. Machine a running stitch.
6. remove the pins, trim raw edges and turn inside out.

Voila!

Inspiration in Brilliant, Talented Bristol...just as I book a trip to Seville

Seville, Wikimedia

I have recently decided to take a research trip to Seville (provided I haven't messed up my passport renewal application form) to remind myself why i got into drawing and all things creative. Coincidentally, I have noticed a handful of inspiring people and events on my doorstep in the past few days. There is a lot to be said for pausing and looking up and about you.

photo uncredited, Rosie Webb

both images from Rosie Webb

Rosie Webb is a very talented local illustrator shoe drawings are anything but. The whole country will have seen her pieces from tins of sliced carrots et al in Tescos to illustrative features in Esquire and Sunday Times Style Magazine. She is extremely humble and loves what she does, and I met her manning the tills in a lovely Bristol Independent Shop where she sells some of her work. What a lovely lady!

Inishbofin Sound, Norman Ackroyd RA2005, etching, image courtesy of the artist

Not far down the road at the Royal West of England Academy, There is a new exhibition The Power of the Sea. They've managed to open on the same day as the epic biblical blockbuster Noah.

An Mor Kernewek, Kurt Jackson RWA2003, mixed media and collage on linen, image courtesy of the artist

Seascape Study: Boat and Stormy Sky, John Constable RAc.1824–8, oil on paper laid on board, © Royal Academy of Arts, London

I know I'd rather be at the RWA sampling such model making delights as this little gem they put out on twitter earlier today...

Fashion Fix: Summer Staple Sleeveless top from scratch

Photo Amanda Thomas

I have always loved clashing a print and a colour. These days anything goes, fashion wise, but the enthusiasm for confident clashing is going to be around for a while.

This top was a project that came around because of the tragic demise of one of my favourite tops: A green and white striped Whistles number that went with EVERYTHING! so, what to do?? We all know that when we go out shopping with an annoyingly specific item in mind it will NEVER turn up (this has turned into a regular occurrence in the life of a costume designer and stylist.)

Therefore, if you can't replace then you must replenish. Use that worn out unwearable item as a pattern for your new garment.

You will need:

• calico to make pattern pieces
• iron
• dressmaking pins
• dressmaking scissors
• paper scissors
• fabric (check you old garment's label for fabric info and then take it with you to the shop to work out how much you need.)
• bias binding for edges
• fastenings (I needed a zip, but decided to make a feature of it so got a gold chunky one).
• thread 
• fabric marker
• zip foot.

I got all of these things from Fabricland

How to do it:

1.  Take a deep breath and cut your old garment along each seam to have individual pattern pieces.
2. iron each piece flat
3. pin each piece onto calico and cut out leaving a 1.5cm seam allowance. 
4. label each piece so you remember where they go!
5. pin to your new fabric and cut out the new pieces. You will now have a collection of fabric pieces complete with seam allowances.

This is the point where our paths part. Each garment is going to be made in its own way, so I can only tell you how I went about reconstructing my garment. I am pretty sure this will be useful reading however if you are making any kind go flat fronted top.

My top consisted of four panels, two front and two back. 

1. Whilst always referring back to the original garment (admittedly now cut up, but my memory of it served me well) pin the two front panels right sides together down the centre front of the top. Machine a running stitch, remove pins and press seams open.
2. repeat with the back two panels leaving space at the top for the zip. If your fabric has a pattern try your best to match up the design so it looks continuous. (see photo...can you see the front seam?! hopefully not)
3. now match up the side seams, pin right sides together and machine a running stitch. remove pins, press seams open.
4. for the sleeves, you could either...carefully snip a 0.5cm cut at 1cm intervals all around the sleeve edge. Press right sides into the sleeve hole. Machine a running stitch around the edge. 
5. Or you could bind the sleeve edges, either with a contrasting colour or you could  make your own bias binding: see below.
6. Before folding the binding over the curve, snip small triangles from the raw edge of the binding. This will     help ease it round the curve.  Pin in place on the right (outer side) of the sleeve hole and pin in place. Machine a running stitch in the fold of the bias binding. Fold the binding in and hand sew in place.
7. To insert the zip in the back,you will need a zip foot for your machine.  They are narrow in size and have a notch on the left for the needle and a notch on the right. 
8. sew up the seam at the back of the top that will hold the zip with a long stitch length (basting stitch).
9. Then, turn to the ‘wrong’ side and press the seam open.
10.  Wherever it is, place the end where it needs to begin and place your zipper face down.  Then line up the center of the zip teeth along the center of that open seam.  Pin in place.
11. Then flip the fabric over and place a pin right above where the bottom of the zip is.  This will just show you where the end is.
12. start at the bottom of the zipper and work my way towards the top. Position your needle all the way over to the left (so you don’t break your needle) and now you’re ready to begin sewing along the right side of the seam.  Slide your fabric (right side up) underneath the presser foot and find the pin you used to mark the bottom of the zip.  Machine a running stitch up the side.
13. Keep sewing all the way down the zip until you are about 2 inches from the end., then raise your foot and zip up the zip so it has zipped past the foot. Continue sewing to the end.
14. once at the end of the zip length, keep your needle in the fabric, raise the foot and pivot the fabric round until the foot is facing across the bottom of the zip. machine a running stitch across the bottom of the zip. 
15. once at the end of the zip width, keep your needle in the fabric, raise the foot and pivot the fabric round until the foot is facing up the side of the zip. machine a running stitch up to the top of the zip.
16. unpick the basting stitch. 
17. for the neckline, repeat the bias binding step 6.
18. to hem the bottom edge of the top fold the raw edge once and pres, and then once again and press again. Sew either with an invisible hand sewn hem or with a running stitch on the machine to make a feature of it.

 Make your own Bias binding.

a. Mark out strips of cotton 5cm wide, at 45’ angles across your piece of cotton. Cut

b. Sew each strip to the next to make one long length. 

c. Slowly push the cotton strip through a mouse binder and press with an iron as you go. 

Fashion Fix: Sleeveless shirt

This is a wonderfully simple fashion fix but can revive any unloved wintery tops and put them back in pole position for Summer. What could be simpler than removing sleeves?

Photo Amanda Thomas

1. Start by cutting the sleeves off your shirt
2. Sew bias binding along the colour, arm holes and pocket top. If your shirt has a pocket, you may want to unpick the top of the pocket and re-sew in place once the binding is on.
3. Change the shirt buttons to random colours which will compliment the colours in the binding.

If you want to make your own bias binding, follow my easy steps here

Shakespeare Unplugged

Photo Nick Spratling

Here is a wonderful collage of photos from the Production Photographer Nick Spratling, taken over the course of the Shakespeare Unplugged Festival at The Egg Theatre, Bath. I designed 'The Winter's Tale' for the festival, production shots to follow.