The Pineneedle Collective

Sunday 12 July 2015

Thrifted Transformations | Get Sewing With Me #5

Sometimes you buy a couple of things from the thrift shop and they just sit around unworn forever because they're just not really very interesting (much like in my shirt video!)

That was the case with the navy dress pictured below.

Then, I found a shirt with daisies on it on a subsequent thrift-shopping trip, and immediately knew that the two were destined to be together!

I love before-and-after shots, so here's mine:

People often say to me "My thrift shops suck! You're so lucky to have good thrift shops where you live!" But half the skill of thrifting is being able to see the potential to transform clothes from something that's otherwise fairly bland and boring. Inspired by Coolirpa's Thrifted Transformations series, I'm going to attempt to upcycle these two thrifted items into something that I would much prefer to wear!

Enjoy :)

Wednesday 8 July 2015

DIY Lace Suspender Shorts

Some cute shorts to wear with your new DIY blouses?? ;)

I'm in love with these lace ruffle suspender shorts that I made. They didn't turn out exactly like the original product, but I think that's totally okay because I really like the final result anyway. This just goes to show that mistakes can sometimes turn out really well!

Have a watch of my new video:

I hope you're all swell!

Monday 6 July 2015

5 Ways To Upcycle A Blouse | Get Sewing With Me #4

I keep buying blouses and then not wearing them, because they're too... eh. Just not interesting enough. So, I came up with 5 different ways of upcycling blouses to make them a little more exciting. Enjoy!

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,