The Pineneedle Collective

Saturday 17 October 2015

DIY Bat Wing Hooded Shirt | Make Thrift Buy #26 - Halloween Edition!

Hello everybody, and I hope you're all having the spoopiest of Octobers! ;)

I'll let you in on a secret - occasionally, when I embark on some of these projects in the Make Thrift Buy series, I don't actually think I'll end up wearing what I create. And it was the same with this project. When I was planning to make this hoodie, I thought that there would be no way I'd actually wear it out and about.

Ha. I pretty much haven't taken it off since I completed it 2 days ago. It's SO comfy, and SO cute, and *just* weird enough that I've fallen completely in love with it, but not weird enough to make me scared to leave the house wearing it! I think I'm actually going to wear this year-round (well, in the colder months, at the very least!)

Here's the video! I hope you enjoy it :)

Love,

Saturday 10 October 2015

How To: Lace Bralettes!

I FINALLY DID IT!! ٩( ᐛ )و

I made a bralette pattern, which (I really REALLY hope) is fairly universal!
[Update: A couple of people of all different sizes have been sending in photos of their finished bralettes, saying that it fits really well and it's totally comfy, so yay!]
I have been searching and searching the internet for a decent bralette tutorial or pattern, but every single tutorial that I found just came with pre-made patterns.

One of the reasons that I don't like pre-made patterns is because every human body doesn't actually fit into 3 or 4 neat sizes. I know I could spend a lot of time altering the patterns so that they fit me, but I wanted something that would fit me *perfectly*, and also a pattern that's simple to alter when my measurements change - as my weight fluctuates extremely easily right now (thnx prednisone).

Anyway, the basic bralette that I made worked out so well that I even did some fancy extra things like adding lining, and adding extra elastic to turn it into a caged bralette.

I also forced Katie to let me make her a bralette (...she didn't exactly complain), so that I could test my pattern out on a different sized body, and increase my sample size for the pattern to 2. The only thing I did wrong here, as you can see, was that the caged elastic straps are too tight - so don't do that, if you're making your own!

Anyway, I really hope that this helps all of YOU, lovely internet people, to make your very own bralettes. Please let me know if you have some success with this pattern (or even failures!)

I've made 5 of these now and once you have a pattern drawn up (which takes around an hour), they only take about 1.5 hours to make, so it becomes a really quick and easy project. They're absolutely perfect for lounging around the house in, but supportive enough (if you've got a fairly small-sized chest like me) to wear out as well!

SO without further ado, here's the video tutorial:

I hope you're all doing well!

Monday 28 September 2015

DIY Light Up Shoes | Make Thrift Buy #25

I'm so ludicrously excited about this project. Whenever I see kids wearing light up shoes I want to steal them. But that would be evil and creepy so I don't. But I DO get very jealous and want a pair in my own size! So, that's what I'm trying to do today.

I hope you enjoy the video!

Monday 21 September 2015

Duplicate Your Dress - How To Turn One Dress Into Two!

I really, really like the style of this vintage polka dot dress that I bought from Ebay a couple of weeks ago. So I thought that I'd try to "reverse-engineer" the pattern and make myself the same dress in multiple different fabrics! It worked out pretty well!

Check out the video below, for tips and tricks on duplicating your own dresses (or tops, I guess! That would also probably work.)

p.s. The dress I’m to recreating is quite free-fitting and pretty simply made (and doesn't have separate sleeves which made my life a LOT easier, haha) - this method would be a bit harder if the dress was super fitted or had darts, so if you’re going to try this out, for the first time I suggest you try and copy a fairly loose-fitting item of clothing.

I hope that you're all having a lovely day,

Friday 18 September 2015

Nothing Can Stop Me From Dressing Up Cute | Magazine Feature!

The story behind this outfit: I felt damn cute, so pictures were had. All that I did on the day I took these pictures was to visit the doctor, so it wasn't like I was dressed up for any particular reason. But I think it's really important to do that sometimes, especially when you've been having a really tough time - well, it works for me, anyway! Dressing up in a style that's really "me" after days of oily hair, sweatpants and laying in bed watching "If You Are The One" gives me back some sense of normalcy and control.

I've realised just now that all my "tips" for dealing with a chronic illness have been to "do crafts and look cute", which now sounds a little bit silly and superficial and obviously won't work for everyone. But it all falls underneath the broader category of LOOK AFTER YO' SELF, which I think can apply to anybody struggling with ANY tough time! Prioritize the things that make you happy, if you can, first and foremost!

Outfit details:

Dress - Thrifted

Cardigan - Dangerfield

Brooch - Deer Arrow

Bag - Vintage

Socks - Kmart

Shoes - Naot (style: Kedma)

Also also also - you guys!! I did a whole one-page interview with the real-life Sew Magazine in their September issue! Now this magazine is sold in the UK, if you live there and wanna check it out (and/or send me a copy?? Hahaha).

It actually looks like I really cool magazine for craft tips and ideas - I wish I could buy it in Australia!!

I hope you've all been doing well! As for me, I'm even going to try and make a video today of something that many of you have been requesting ;) So check back soon!

Tuesday 8 September 2015

Pink Polka Dot Dress | Fashion, Meet Technology

I felt pretty cute the other day in my new ebay-bought vintage dress (seriously, sometimes late-night ebay purchases are the best). It's going to be so good for summer! I am not usually a fan of drop-waists, but in this case, it works so well - I think because it's offset by the super large sailor collar! I got it from AHKA vintage, which is a really good little ebay store - all their vintage is really lovely and also decently priced! (Not a sponsor - they just made a good impression.)

When I was going through the questions for my last Q&A video, somebody mentioned that they were missing my science posts on my blog! Me too, guys. With my health being what it's been recently (not great) and my Youtube channel taking off, plus trying to keep up at university - I just haven't had the time! But, for those of you who were missing my science posts, I have something very exciting to announce: I started writing for a science magazine! The magazine is called Lateral and it's run by an awesome group of Australian science students, scientists and science enthusiasts alike. I'm so excited to be a part of the team!

My article is all about the world of wearable technology and how it's integrating with fashion... or not.