The Pineneedle Collective

Sunday 11 January 2015

A Handmade Outfit - DIY Icecream Dress & Camera Bag!

For my first outfit post of 2015, I wanted to show off some things that I've made in the last week. I've been sewing just for myself (without a video camera over my shoulder!) and it's been lovely - I needed to remind myself that I can sew just for the pleasure of sewing, without being under pressure to make something successfully while being watched by thousands of people on youtube (or failing that, to at least make my stuff-ups entertaining).

So these are two things that I've made - the first is this pink icecream print dress with a full skirt and detachable halter strap. The fabric was a Christmas gift, from Spotlight if anyone is interested in buying it. For the dress, I actually used a store-bought pattern for the top part (Simplicity 1426).

Demi from Carbon Chic showed me how to use patterns when she came to visit me in Sydney the other week, demonstrating that patterns actually weren't this scary, super-complicated thing that I would never understand. And then I made a playsuit which wasn't a total failure, and, feeling like I could conquer any sewing challenge, I then used the top pattern to make this dress! For the bottom part, I used my own trusty circle skirt pattern.

The second thing that I made is this camera bag:

Okay, well... so I actually technically started making this at the end of 2013. I bought the pattern and template for this bag from Happy Sew Lucky, started it off and then... let it sit under my desk for an entire year, taunting me. Because I had to use a pattern that someone else had made, I think that I got intimidated. However, finally learning how to use patterns and making this dress then gave me the confidence to finish off this bag!

My shoes are brand new. As the more observant of you may have noticed, I've pretty much been wearing one pair of shoes for a whole year - my Naot Kedma 's, which are now looking a little worse for wear. Unfortunately I had some slight sizing issues with the only other two ethical shoe companies that I could find, and what with shoes being one of the most difficult things to DIY (without access to a whole lot of industrial equipment), I caved, and bought some shoes off Asos. I feel uneasy having no idea where and by whom the shoes were manufactured, and whether they were paid a fair wage to make them - but it's really, really hard to shop ethically 100% of the time. This past year for instance, I've had to cave on bras and underwear too when my old pairs were literally falling off me (although I have just learnt how to make the latter for myself!) So this definitely isn't me giving up on my pledge of trying to shop ethically, but it is a note about just how difficult that can sometimes be.

Dress - handmade | bag - handmade (Happy Sew Lucky) | socks - markets | shoes - Asos | ring and necklace - thrifted

Anyway, that's it from me today! I hope that you're all having a wonderful week! Much love,

Thursday 8 January 2015

DIY City Skyline Tee | Make Thrift Buy #13

This particular make thrift buy challenge reminds me of a project I made way back when in 2011, when galaxy t-shirts were all the rage. Now this isn't really something I would wear myself, but that's not the point of this video series - I aim to try out pretty much anything you send me! In fact, I just made the pinterest board where I store all the suggestions that are sent in public, so that you can vote on the ones you would most like to see me try out :)

So, did this particular one work out... or not? Have a watch!

Much love,

Wednesday 7 January 2015

DIY Cage Suspender Skirt | Make Thrift Buy #12

Hello! Last year I saw this caged suspender-style skirt EVERYWHERE on the internet. I always thought that it would be pretty easy to make, so I was super excited when not one but TWO people suggested that I try it out for a Make Thrift Buy episode!

Have a watch!

P.s. I was somehow super productive and made TWO videos today... so I'm doing a little shameless self-promotion: I'll upload the next episode when this video reaches 1000 thumbs up ;)

I hope that you're all having a beautiful day, and please keep sending me amazing suggestions!

Sunday 4 January 2015

A Post Of Outtakes #2

I got such a positive response from posting outtakes on my blog last time that I decided to do it again (because for some reason I want to ruin the carefully-crafted internet persona I've worked on for the past 4 years, or something?)

But seriously, I'm posting these photos because although I may attempt to make you believe otherwise, I don't actually live in an always-sunny picnic-world of perfect skin and flattering angles. Nobody does. But because blogs and social media allows people to present only the very best side of themselves, it can lead to other people thinking that everyone's lives are better than their own.

I've been guilty on more than one occasion of comparing myself to other people with seemingly-perfect lives, and feeling completely flat on the other side of it. Social media sucks you into this black hole of comparison with other people that you'll never win, because other people's lives simply aren't like that.

Nobody looks good 24/7. And why would you want to? That takes all the fun out of life.

So, here's some less-than-perfect outtakes.

Every. Single. Shoot. I just get this unstoppable urge to ham it up and ruin an otherwise very nice photo. I don't know why I insist on posing like this, because I know I'm not going to end up using the photos, but I just can't help myself:

However, some of the best outtakes are when I am actually trying to look good.

Here, for example:

Sexy hair flick? FAIL.

Sultry look into the camera? FAIL.

Speaking of great accidental blinking shots:

If you realise that you've blinked in a photo, you consequently overcompensate to make sure that your eyes stay OPEN. And the resulting shot is even creepier than when you blinked:

Then there's the classic "getting grumpy at the photographer" shot:

And the "I don't know what to do with my hands - so maybe my cardigan is wings...?" shot:

I was trying to be clever in this photo. Because my ring is a heart, I was trying to photographically represent "EYE heart U" - get it?!... Needless to say, I didn't look particularly clever in the end:

And just so you all know, for every good "spinning" shot that you see on blogs, there's about 10 of these:

Katie loves to do this thing whenever we take photos together where she gets an extreme close-up of my face. Thanks, mate.

So, this is a little bit of payback - one of the best photos I think I've ever taken of Katie. GIRL POWER:

I have a question. What exactly am I doing here with my hands?? My wrist joints look completely broken:

Ahh, okay, this explains it - I think there was a creepy insect of some sort buzzing around my head.

Graceful.

And finally, I like to call this the "grumpy watering-can gremlin" pose:

This is the stuff that nightmares are made of.

Just remember, next time you start comparing your life to seemingly-perfect blogs and instagram accounts - they don't often post the outtakes of life.

I'll leave you with this photo of me, Tilde and Katie accidentally, and without prior consultation, all pulling our very best bitchfaces:

I hope that you've all had a great week,

Saturday 3 January 2015

DIY Novelty Phone Handbag | Make Thrift Buy #11

Happy 2015! I hope that you all had a wonderful New Years and are looking forward to the year that is ahead!

Recreating this Betsey Johnson handbag was my first DIY project of 2015. I don't know why I chose something so likely to fail for my very first project for the year... but, I did, and here we are.

Have a watch, and let me know what you think! I really value your feedback because it helps me make my videos better :)

Love,

Saturday 27 December 2014

Beach Bloomers

Blouse - Thrifted | Skirt - Thrifted | Socks - Clear It | Shoes - Naot (Kedma's) | Bloomers - old

Seasons greetings and happy end of the year! This is a simple look that I wore down to the beach last week. The blouse and the skirt are recently thrifted items - the blouse being $1 from a girl who was selling all her old clothes at a market stall. I wore my favourite ever lace bloomers underneath, which are perfect for short skirts and dresses, and look particularly cute when paired with knee-high socks. Sadly, the bloomers are so loved that they're completely falling apart at the seams. I'm going to have to learn how to make some for myself very soon!

So did I mention that I'm going to Hong Kong in 19 days time, with one of my best friends?! Well, that's a thing that's happening. We booked the trip one year ago when we found $200 on-special flights and thought "well that's cheap, why not", then kinda forgot about it all year - and it's all of a sudden snuck up on us!

Like everybody else in the world, I was also gifted with a selfie stick for Christmas - while I make fun of the people I see using selfie sticks in the street, I actually think it's going to come in really useful because I'm planning on making lots of vlogs about my time in Hong Kong! One of the things I'm definitely going to be vlogging about is my fabric shopping. There's an entire fabric and DIY district in Sham Shui Po (check out that link and DROOL), and I'm planning on devoting at least a couple of days solely to looking around that area.

If you've ever been to Hong Kong, I'd love some suggestions for places to visit!

Much love!

Monday 22 December 2014

DIY Cat Pockets Dress - Make Thrift Buy #10

So I'm up to episode number 10 of Make Thrift Buy (!) and I've somehow managed to do 2 cat-themed things already. Well, this is the internet after all.

I've been on the lookout for loose-fitting black dresses in op-shops for months now so that I could try to make this Dolls Kill pinafore/dress! Retailing for a somewhat ridiculous $119, I thought that I could probably recreate it for somewhat cheaper. I reaaaally like how it turned out. Anyway, have a watch & enjoy! And please keep those amazing suggestions for new challenges coming!

p.s. for people without overlockers, I added a whole bunch of tips for sewing stretch fabrics to the video description.

Love,

Wednesday 17 December 2014

DIY Sweetheart Dress & Kumquat Trees

This is the best dress that I have ever made. I am so ludicrously proud of it! If you follow me on instagram then you might have seen the progression of this dress from bedsheet to cute vintage dress over the past week. The whole dress is made entirely (apart from the bias tape around the bust and zipper which were separately thrifted) from a bedsheet that I picked up from the thrift store the other day - even the buttons!

I made up my own pattern for this dress (and yes I am working on a tutorial for it!), and I'm very happy with how it fits! I just used a basic circle skirt pattern for the bottom half, making it a little bit longer than I usually make my circle skirts to give it more of a "vintage" feel.

The heart pockets were a brilliant suggestion by Carbon Chic - seriously, Demi has been like my sewing fairy godmother for the past year or so, because she is always inspiring me and giving me amazing ideas for my sewing! They were the perfect finishing touch that my dress required. I'm super excited because Demi is actually coming to visit me this weekend in Sydney. As well as going op-shopping together, we're aiming to join creative forces and have some kind of "sew-off" session - I'm really looking forward to what will result!

For this entire past week I have been staying at a wonderful beach house down the south coast. As I wandered down into the backyard the other day to take photos of my dress, I discovered that the house we are staying in has a giant kumquat tree! Not only is it pretty to pose with, I also LOVE kumquats. I am obsessed with all things sour - seriously, I could eat sour lollies all day long (in fact, when I was a kid I ate sour things so much that my tongue would literally bleed & I'm also someone who can easily drink a cup vinegar), so naturally, kumquats are one of my all-time favourite fruits.

(This is me stealing all the kumquats to take home with me, haha).

Dress - handmade by me | shoes - Katie's (from Estonia) | necklace - c/o Ginger Pickle

Little science fact for the day - did you know that kumquats can form hybrids with other citrus fruits? Many varieties of hybrids exist including lemonquats, limequats, and fukushu, which is a mandarin-kumquat hybrid. I wonder if Lemonquats would be even more sour than both lemon and kumquats individually are? If so, I want to eat all of them! What's the most sour food that you've ever eaten? (I'm on a bit of a quest to find the most sour foods in the world).

I'm not really sure how I progressed so quickly from dressmaking to sour foods there, but in any case, I hope you're all having a really great day!

All my love,