Altered Dress

I have been most remiss in terms of posts so far in July, I am sorry! There's been so much going on and with the Sun shining so brightly, July has just whizzed by so far.
There has been lots of making going on though, the most important of which has been two wedding gifts. For part of one present out came my trusted air-dry clay and letter stamps to make a pair of coasters. As you may have noticed from previous posters I just love the results achieved this technique.

I have also altered a dress, into a skirt, to wear to one of the wedding parties.
Here's a picture of the dress to start with on a hanger, I wasn't keen on how the top part looked on me but love the fabric. It also has a belt (and belt loops) but I forgot to put it on the dress to take the before picture.

The first thing I did was cut the top off from one side of the zip to the other side, without cutting the zip, about 5cm above the seam with the skirt (2cm above the belt loops). I then unpicked the stitches attaching the zip, handily it's an exposed zip which is very popular at the moment so this was very easy. (I think if it was a concealed zip I may have been less inclined to do this step, and would have just folded the top of the zip over and sewn the sides down?)

Also, before starting I had thought I would zigzag stitch the cut edge, fold it over and sew but I hadn't thought about the fact it was lined. This made it very easy- I turned down the outer fabric inwards and the lining fabric down outwards, pinning them together. I made sure the lining was a millimetre or two lower than the outer fabric so it wouldn't show. I then sewed the two together using matching thread, 5mm in from the edge.

I then had to sew the zip in with the top now in-line with the top of the skirt. As the original holes were still visible from where I unpicked, I simply used these lines as a guide, folding the tops in the same manner as it had been originally when it was a dress. I secured this with a few hand sewn stitches. (Now is the time to confess- I had cut the the top off just by eye and hadn't checked the levels on either side of the zip before sewing the seam and sewing the zip in, it resulted in the zip not lying flat. Naughty me! This meant I had to unpick one side of the zip and part of the top seam to make them even before reattaching the zip. Lesson learnt- a quick check saves time!). I left the excess of the zip attached but this could be cut off if it was bothersome.

All in all it took less than 2 hours (and that's including rectifying my stupid mistake) and means I have an item I'll wear in the wardrobe rather than something that just takes up space- yippee ;-)

Until next time craft in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x

I Like Big Buttons and I Cannot Lie!

To be honest I like all buttons- big ones, small ones, shiny ones, matt ones, shank backed, two-holed, four-holed, you name it and I'll probably like it.
Nice, oversized buttons are fab for embellishing items such as bags, knitwear and cushions. Also, all you have to do is glue a brooch finding on the back and you have yourself a super quick, delectable accessory!

Whilst shop bought buttons work wonderfully well,and I have quite a few that are now brooches, it's still not quite the same as making your own button. 
I do enjoy making my own big, feature buttons using air-dry clay, polymer clay or epoxy putty.

Below are a couple of examples of previously made ones. I like to use nail varnish and enamel paint to finish them off.
For this one I used terracotta coloured, air-dry clay with red nail varnish which I have only applied to the top surface. After I cut the basic shape and holes, I left it to dry in a shallow bowl to make it nice and curved, unfortunately that doesn't really come across well in the photograph.

These ones were made with white, air-drying clay with nail varnish and enamel paint to highlight the letters- see the link below on how to make your own.

This is an epoxy putty button, textured using lace netting and impressed with a star-shaped cutter before using various nail varnishes to highlight once set.

Below are glazed, ceramic clay but they require the use of a pottery kiln so are not so simple and unless you're super lucky enough to have a ceramic kiln at home (sadly I'm not lucky enough but, happily, I do have a local pottery club). Similar designs are achievable with the above materials though.

As you can see it can be simple to achieve a wide variety of results.
This previous post from August last year included a tutorial to make a teapot shaped magnet using air dry clay. You can use the same steps to make buttons by using your desired shape cookie-cutter, e.g. circular, and something to make two or four holes. I prefer something that actually cuts the hole instead of poking it as this displaces the clay. By cutting it, the result is much neater, i.e. using a small tube rather than something pointy- for example the barrel of a pen or lid versus a knitting needle.

Once the clay has dried/cured it can be decorated as desired. All that's left is to glue a brooch finding on the back and attach it to your favourite top/blazer/whatever and you're all set! (Although sometimes I add thread to the holes and sometimes I don't- depends on my mood I guess.)

Until next time craft in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x

Teapot Magnet

I go to a weekly pottery club called "All Fired Up in Monmouthshire", Monmouthshire being my home county. It's great we meet every Thursday during the school term-time as it's held in a local secondary school.
Due to this we have no access to the kiln during the school holidays and to get my clay fix, I use air-drying clay. Obviously it's not quite the same as real clay but it has some great advantages- you don't need access to a kiln, the results can be achieved much quicker and it's great to use with children. Once it's completely dry, it can be painted with most types of paint, for example acrylic, enamel or emulsion- those little tester pots coming in very handy again.

If like me, you have a lot of friends who positively can not live without their daily cup of tea, here's a great little present you can make for them using air-drying clay.

You need air-drying clay of whichever brand you choose, there's quite a few available, here are two examples:

A cookie cutter in the shape of a teapot
A magnet
Glue
A sharp or pointy implement
Paint
Something to roll the clay out, e.g a rolling pin (not used for food) or a chunky knitting needle
Possibly sandpaper/emery board

Mini letter stamps are great but optional
A small oval shape cutter is also very handy but not strictly necessary
Varnish if you desire a shiny finish (nail varnish or watered down PVA both work well)

Roll out a section of clay so it's evenly approximately 5mm (3/16") thick.

Use the teapot cutter to cut out as many teapots as you require.

Using your sharp tool or the oval cutter cut out a shape to create a proper handle, make sure the top and bottom aren't too thin.

Using either the letter stamps or your pointy tool write a tea related slogan into the pot.
For example "Time for a Cuppa" or "Stick the Kettle On". Alternatively if you have a steady hand to can paint this on afterwards or leave it plain even.

Left teapot's slogan done by hand, right side using stamps

Now you just have to leave it somewhere safe to dry. As it's quite thin it shouldn't take too long depending on the conditions. I tend to leave it at least 24 hours and turn it over a couple of times during that time so it dries evenly on both sides.
Once you are happy it's nice and dry if the edges are a little rough, a gentle rub with sandpaper sorts smooths it out.

Left teapot, edges are unsanded. Right teapot sanded

Then it's time to get the paints out. The colour and design can be as simple or bold as you decide but I do like to highlight the lettering. Polka dots always look great and blue and white are a classic choice. Once the paint has dried coat in varnish if required.

All that's needed now is to glue a magnet on the back (making sure it's strong enough to hold the weight of the teapot) and you're done!

If you're giving it as a gift a little personalised tag attached to the handle with a ribbon is a lovely finishing touch in my opinion.

Keep crafting in earnest, Craftin' Ernest x