DIY - How to sew your own hair scrunchie

Scrunchies are BACK in a big way!

You might have noticed this trend emerging last year so I can happily tell you hair accessories are even bigger for this year and here to stay so get ready to channel your inner 90's and Rachel from FRIENDS look with a DIY tutorial on how to sew a scrunchie of your own.

I have always been rather obsessed with hair accessories so am very excited to jump on board with this trend. Not only are scrunchies fashionable but they're also a brilliant way to use up your fabric offcuts and scraps. If you're new to sewing or just a beginner this is the perfect easy beginner project to get started with. If one of your goals for this year is to start sewing more and even sew your own clothes you might also enjoy reading this post here where I share some of my top tips to get started.

Another great benefit to using hair scrunchies as fashionable as they are they are also much better for your hair than using hair elastics. The reduce breakages and if you opt for a silk scrunchie there's nothing more luxurious and kind to the hair. Especially good if you have thin or thinning hair. One of my personal goals for this year is to up my self care routine - which I easily neglect in favour of deadlines and saying yes to everything - so i'm kicking of February in the right direction with this DIY sewing project. 
Goal two - Matching scrunchies to my outfits here I come!

You will need:

• Fabric scraps (I used a 53cm x 18cm rectangle)
• Elastic (This works best when it is roughly wrist width add a 1 cm overlap. I used a 6mm wide by 18cm piece)
• Fabric scissors
• Pins
• Sewing Machine
• Hand sewing needle
• Matching Thread
• Pencil or invisible marker pen
• Measuring tape
• Safety Pin

Step one

Cut your chosen fabric and elastic to the desired measurements.

Step two

With right sides together pin and sew the long sides together with a 1.5 cm seam allowance leaving a 5cm gap on either side.

Step three

Turn the fabric tube right side out. Align the short edges and sew the seam up.

Step four

Attach a safety pin to one end of the elastic length and feed through the fabric tube. 

Step five

Overlap the elastic edges by 1cm, pin and stitch together securely. I use a wide zig zag stitch or hand stitch together.

Step six
Close the open seam. Turn the open edges in towards the elastic, pin and sew the gap closed using a machine top stitch or invisible hand stitch. I prefer the later as it's neater and tend to use a machine if I have a few on the go or a really good matching thread.

*If you're an advanced sewist why not try making a matching on contrasting colour piping and sewing this along the centre seam at step 2.*

I hope you've enjoyed this quick DIY sewing project. Leave me a comment below if you'd like me to share a tutorial for a bow scrunchie next. I'm not sure about you but i'm addicted to sewing these and have a whole lot of fabric scraps i've finally found a use for. They also make great gifts for your galentines and palentines this Valentine's season. After all February is the month of love so why not share some with your favourite humans.

If you'd rather buy a scrunchie and aren't ready for a sewing project just yet see my top scrunchie pick below. I have a few of these already and love them!

For more DIY sewing and printmaking projects and lots of inspiration get your hands on a copy of my book
How to Print Fabric.

PS. This post contains affiliate links, this means I may earn a very small % of any sales that are made through the link, this doesn't add any cost to you it just helps me run my blog and pay for the monthly hosting :) 
Thank you for reading!

DIY - How to start making your own clothes

I recently shared this snap over on my instagram feed and it received an amazing response. The reason being is that I made this pink gingham dress of dreams myself. Hand stitched with love and care and it came out exactly as I had hoped. I am still incredibly smug about it. 

This is the By Hand London Eloise Dress pattern with fabric from The Fabric Godmother.

I've dabbled in dress making since I was a teen and wanted to share my top tips and insights into starting to make your own clothes and how you might go about it if you're new to the world of sewing and textiles and really want to have a go but just don't know where to start. Hopefully this guide will give you the confidence and some of the know how you need to get started. I'm sure i'll be back with a few more posts on this but will cover the basics for now.

As much as I love to shop (and if you follow me on instagram then you'll know I do) there is nothing more rewarding than sewing your own clothes and making something unique by hand that will be treasured AND that no one else will be wearing!

1. The Sewing Machine

First things first you will need a sewing machine. It is possible to make clothing by hand stitching but who has the time for that. John Lewis have some brilliant models and this very pretty pastel pink machine is under £100 and a very good basic starter machine. If you've ever been into their haberdashery department you'll also know they are always on hand with lovely friendly trained staff for advice. That's where I bought my machine about 20 years ago (OH GAWD) and it's still going strong.

Now if you have never used a sewing machine do not fear, it is much easier than you think often all you need is someone to show you how or a bobbin tutorial. 

If you're in London there are some great introductory courses run by brilliant independent sewing brands to name a few here;

• The New Craft House
• Sew Over it
• Tea and Crafting
• London Craft Club
• Ray Stitch
• Village Haberdashery

And if you'd rather an online course this one is fab;

• Tilly and The Buttons

There are of course thousands on Youtube you just need a cup of tea and google and some patience.

You'll also need a good pair of fabric scissors, some pins and a tape measure. (I've linked some of my recommendations at the bottom of this post). 

2. Sewing Patterns

I suggest you start with a super simple sewing pattern. I would recommend some of the newer more modern pattern brands (I've linked some below) out there rather than using a vintage pattern or something found purely because of the amazing blog sew-a-longs and step by step tutorials you'll be able to access to accompany them. It really helps when you haven't read a pattern before and have no idea what serging is for example. (It's a zig zag stitch way of finishing seams) and all of these pattern brands come with a glossary so don't worry.

Most patterns come as PDF downloads, all you need to do is print them out at home and assemble them. This can be quite time consuming but I just zone out and do mine in front of netflix. It does mean you can't ruin it as you can can always print it out again.

The online #sewist community is also amazing and you'll always be able to find a friendly person to answer any questions you might have.

Seven Indie Sewing Brands I am loving right now;

1. By Hand London fashion forward and come with an online sew along to follow.

There's also a Zeena Dress which is a great sew for a beginner and super flattering dress.

2. Named Clothing Stunning patterns set up by sister duo based in Finland.

3. Closet Case Patterns Canadian brand that has great denim patterns. These are on my sewing list.

4. Stoff and Still Danish husband and wife team who have the dreamiest fabrics as well as great patterns.

5. Tilly & The Buttons super stylish and really wearable patterns, you'll want to make each one about twenty times in all of the rainbow.

6. Alice & Co Boilersuit goals.

7. Nina Lee Patterns some great ruffles.

There are also some incredible free patterns available online too;

Peppermint Magazine has a library of free patterns that are great for beginners.

By Hand London's Polly Top pattern.

The Fold Line is an amazing resource of sewing patterns and a great place to join the sewing community.

3. Fabric 

Fabric shopping has become a bit of a guilty pleasure for me lately and you'll soon get addicted. 

I've listed my current favourites here but there really are lots of brilliant sources out there Ebay and your local charity shop can be a low cost start to your first sewing project. I've even made dresses out of old duvet covers and have an old Cath Kidston one waiting for it's turn.

If you're based in London these are my favourite stores to shop for fabric in (they have online stores too);

• Fabrics Galore 
• Sew Over it
• The New Craft House
• Liberty
• John Lewis
• Macculloch and Wallis
• Ray Stitch 
• The Cloth House

Goldhawk Road (Classic Textiles, A-One fabrics & more) is another haven for low budget fabric shopping and you're guaranteed to never find the same fabric twice but if it's for a one off and you're on a budget head there. When I was studying textiles at Chelsea School of Art our studios were a short walk away and we'd go in daily trying to grab the latest bargain or ex-designer fabric. 

I would say you're even more spoilt for choice online and here's a list of some of my current favourites here;

• Fabric Godmother (My pink gingham is from here and she really does have a great selection of ex-designer fabrics).
• Sew Me Sunshine  
• Sister Mintaka 
• Like Sew Amazing
• Guthrie & Ghani

4. Reading List

Geek up with these magazines and books. I love to flip between magazine and books. I'd highly recommend Stretch by Tilly Walness and the new Named Clothing book.

• Prima Makes
• Simply Sewing - always has a great free pattern.
• Peppermint Magazine 
• Suzy Magazine
• Mollie Makes
• Tilly and The Buttons blog + all of her books
• Breaking the Pattern - Named Clothing's new book

I really hope this post has inspired you to have a go at sewing your own clothes and do comment below if you have any questions or would like me to add anything in a new post.

Above all remember sewing is not something you can rush, enjoy it and you're doing this for the first time and you're only human. The first dress I ever made was a total D I S A S T E R but I learnt from it, fixed it and gave it to my cousin.

Happy Sewing!

Zeena X

PS. This post contains affiliate links, this means I may earn a very small % of any sales that are made through the link, this doesn't add any cost to you it just helps me run my blog :) Thank you for reading!

How to Print your own Fabric with Spoonflower

It's been a while since i've sewn anything for myself, i'm always sewing for clients or friends so there was no better excuse than the Spoonflower Spring round up. I was honoured to be asked to be a part of. I also have to admit as a screen printer and hand print addict it was my first EVER Spoonflower order (GASP!). So I was very keen to see the difference between my hand printed fabrics and their digitally printed ones.

If you've never heard of Spoonflower they are a platform from which you can create print on demand fabric, wallpaper, gift wrap, home decor and printed patterns. You simply upload a pattern of your choice or choose from one of their many and off you go. As a print designer I of course had to design my own print despite being very tempted by the incredible selection they offer. Inspired by my love of traditional mark making I went for a simple all over brush marks print i'd designed a number of years ago. 

I seem to be drawn to yellows and citrines 💛at the moment so went for that colour way right away plus it being a Spring round up it was the perfect palette. I also worked it up in navy because you just can't go wrong with navy. FACT.  

If you're wondering how to turn a drawing into a repeat pattern that you can then print on demand like this one there's a great tutorial here i'd really recommend. It's much easier than it looks too.

Spoonflower have so many lovely fabrics to choose from it can seem an impossible task to know which to go for. I'd recommend ordering a sample pack so you can check out the look and feel of their selection before you buy. The print colour density also varies acorss the different types of fabric so it you have a particular look in mind then do get the samples. I did this and went for the linen cotton canvas ultra a gorgeous natural fabric with a bit of weight and nice texture. When it arrived I found it to be really lovely when printed and it washed well too. I love the more natural fabrics personally but have to say they have a great selection of velvets and more too that i'd love to try in the future.

It took me forever to decide what to make with my fabric when it arrived (I couldn't get over how good it looked and that it hadn't turned out to be a total disaster). I've always been more drawn to interiors projects like cushion making so I decided to mix it up and go for some dressmaking instead. I have been in love with independent sewing brand In The Folds patterns for a long time now and haven't had an excuse to make one until now. Even better this pattern is FREE over on Peppermint magazine. It's an advanced beginner so perfect for my rusty sewing skills.

It was a dream to sew, super simple and straight forward instructions meant I had it done in no time at all. I will say the pattern comes up on the bigger side so you might want to size down unless you like the oversized look. It's also quite long as it's designed for someone much taller than me so I ended up being lazy and rolling up the bottoms which looks great and saved me turning up the hems (total cheat!) but if you'd rather a cleaner finish then i'd suggest shortening on the pattern. 

As I was time poor (as usual) I also skipped adding any pockets which I totally regret as I love pockets in clothing, they're so handy. I mean where do you put your phone? So i'll be doing some unpicking this weekend and adding them in. 

So here it is my finished jumpsuit with some sunshine to go with it, I hope you like it. Thank you Spoonflower for sending me this dreamy fabric, it's already had lots of lovely comments on it's first wear today. If you'd like to order some of my brush marks print for a sewing project or have a go at uploading your own design you can do here.

Happy making!

Zeena X

The dungarees you'll be wearing all year round

Hey guys, 

It's been a really really really long time since i've posted here... and when I think about it I can't quite believe how quickly time has flown by. Running your own business and juggling everyday life seem to make time fly by and writing blog posts gets pushed further and further down the to do list. Well i'm pleased to announce i've finally made time to sit down and write a new post, one of my new year's resolutions for 2018 is to write more so here goes!

I wanted to share some exciting news, if you're a fan of sewing and dress making then you will love the brand new dreamy Mila Dungarees sewing pattern from the fabulous Tilly and the Buttons. I was honoured to be asked by Tilly to model for her newest pattern and I can tell you they are as comfy as they look and much easier to sew than you would think too. If you're new to dressmaking or really want to give making your own clothes a try then check out Tilly's clothing patterns and give it a try.

Here are some snaps of the designs taken by the talented Fanni Williams Photography.

Zeena X