The Pineneedle Collective

Friday, 3 July 2015

Mini Clothing Line Launch & Outfits of the Week!

For the past couple of months I've been working with the company Reelstyle to design and release my very own mini clothing line (that's been ethically manufactured!) and I'm SO SO SO excited to finally be able to talk about it and to show you all the results!!

It was both very interesting, and at some times frustrating, to be involved behind-the-scenes in the design process! One thing I learned - it takes a long time to go from initial concept to final realization. I started working on this project back in March! And as for the frustration, I was limited to producing only t-shirts for this collection. Furthermore, the designs on those shirts were limited in both size and colour - each colour that I added would add extra cost to its manufacturing!

Nonetheless, working under these limitations I was still able to create three pieces that I'm think accurately represent my personality and style, and that I'm proud to put my name to!

The three shirts are inspired by Japanese street style, vintage patterns and designs, and all things kitsch. This pastel pink shirt was designed to look really good with gingham, denim and red lipstick. The bow also is a sly reference to the Sailor Scouts!

I also fell in love, a little while back, with this Fiona Hewitt kitsch deer design and 1960s fawn knickknacks like these! I wanted to evoke this in my t-shirt. I was also inspired by my friend Katie, who once wore a bambi jumper with a brooch saying "hello" in a genius pairing. In a pastel peach colour, this shirt looks great with denim, black and white, and anything with orange tones in it!

For an extra pop of kitschy-ness, you might be able to see that the deer even has little eyelashes.

And finally - I love anything with a food print on it. And who doesn't want strawberry boobs? This shirt looks best paired with high-waisted jeans and pleated tennis skirts.

All the shirts can be purchased from here.

Anyway, here's the accompanying video, where you can see the shirts in motion and also hear me ramble on about them (in the latter half of the video!)

Sunday, 28 June 2015

I made a skirt - with pockets!

Hello blog! I have seriously missed you! University is finally over for the semester and I can now spend some more time sewing, making videos and taking photos *big huge sigh of relief*.

Well, as you all know, I've well-and-truly mastered the circle skirt. SO, I'm finally(!) branching out into other skirt types. My favourite types of skirts right now are below-the-knee gathered flare-y skirts with pockets, so I wanted to challenge myself to learn how to make one. And I totally succeeded.

I'm just a *little* bit excited about learning how to make pockets. Can you tell??

Another technique I've learned - belt loops! So that I can pair these pretty vintage-style skirts with some pretty vintage belts!

And yes, I will aim to make a tutorial about making pockets within the month! Bear with me - I've literally just learned how to make them and want to perfect them before trying to teach others.

Now please excuse me while I go and make a version of this skirt in EVERY SINGLE COLOUR.

Seriously though, I'm so excited to have a whole month ahead of me just to make videos and improve my sewing skills. I think that I'm going to tackle a Make Thrift Buy challenge either today or tomorrow! Are there any particular ones that you're itching for me to do?? Let me know! My "to-do" list is here.

Outfit details:

Top is thrifted

Cardigan from Dangerfield

Belt is thrifted

Skirt is handmade by me!

Necklace is from HK:ID (Hong Kong)

Shoes are Naot Kedmas

Petticoat from Ebay

Thanks for stopping by! I hope you're all having a wonderful weekend ♥

Saturday, 20 June 2015

DIY Cat Socks! Make Thrift Buy #20

Sometimes really simple DIY projects nonetheless end up being really effective. These socks probably only took about 30 minutes to make, but they have made every single one of my outfits look super cute (granted, I've only been wearing them with jeans because it's FREEZING right now, but - well, they make jeans more interesting, so that's a win!)

I shall be back to regular blogging very soon - my Uni exams are over in a week! Hooray!

Much love,

Wednesday, 10 June 2015

Q & A number #2!

Hello! So I recently hit 40K subscribers on Youtube (what!!) so I thought I'd do another Q&A video for those extra 30,000 people who are new to my channel! A couple of days ago I asked people on instagram and facebook to ask me some questions, and I got through about half of them! ~ Seriously though this is the longest video I've ever uploaded and it would have been twice the length if I'd answered every single one ~

So, here it is!

I hope that you're all having an amazing day :D

Monday, 8 June 2015

My Shirt Is Flirting With You ;) | Make, Thrift, Buy #19

Hey cuties!

I made a new make thrift buy video featuring this very flirty shirt. Yay embroidery! Embroidery is pretty much the best thing to do to relax your mind and give your hands something to fidget with (if you're a fidgety person like me), and in this video I go through two embroidery techniques which are among the most basic and necessary techniques used to embroider!

Make all your collars pretty, and enjoy! ;)

(p.s. if you're wondering where the original ep. 19 went, have a look in the video description on youtube!)

Saturday, 30 May 2015

DIY Piano Dress | Make Thrift Buy #18

Presenting: one of my favourite Make Thrift Buy's I have done thus far! I'm so soooo excited about this one, and I hope that heaps of you give it a go - because it can be done on pretty much ANY dress (or shirt, or skirt for that matter! The possibilities are endless!)

Watch the tutorial here:

Please tag your creations #diyannika on instagram if you try it (or any of my other tutorials) out!