Tights – H&M, Beads – Ebay Seller K2 Accessories Cloud photogaphy by Gary Morgret

Head over to Twenty Thirty Forty to see the entire DIY guideline on how to dye your tights and break your back applying 300 beads… I mean, attach cutesy round stuff to your tights. Personally I ended up loving the dyed tights effect so I’m planning a similar fate to all my other coloured opaque tights, they shall suffer an acid shower and reincarnate as a superior species. Do get lost in the Twenty Thirty Forty shop after, there are treasures in the seemingly coy collection of clothes and accessories, pieces that surprise you with their versatility and quality. Also check out their Cover Story editorial, the photography makes winter almost enjoyable to the point of wishing it around for longer than intended.

In another note, I did a bit of tidying up in the blog nooks and crannies like the FAQ or Features pages. Also added a new page called Partnerships & Gifts just to thank those again that sent those beautiful gifts my way and to acknowledge partners of the blog. If I missed any gifts, please do feel free to attach a little virus file to your email letting me know that I’ve missed yours, it’s all deserved.

Huge thanks to Vogue Girl Korea who featured my Rodarte-wannabe knitted shawl DIY in the 6-blogger ‘DIY or Die’ editorial of the October edition. The five other bloggers include Cocorosa, Anywho, 4th and Bleeker, Kingdom of Style and Love Maegan – all of whom contributed amazing DIYs that represented the essence of their blogs and styles.

(On receiving copies of the magazine, I carefully undressed it of the Korean envelope (so precious) and dug in straight away. The editorial was so kindly tabbed with a small post-it by HyeMin the editor so it was easy to locate, but then to my frustration I couldn’t find my page anywhere near the bulk of the other bloggers. After flipping over a good few pages of laminated advertisements I found, nestled cosily between pink bra advertisements, that familiar face. AHA. So this is probably why the others didn’t know I was on the same boat.)

————-

You’ll need: A selection of yarn (Mohair 50%+) with colours and density of own choice, Needle size 15mm, 10mm, 6mm; Tape ruler, knitter’s needle.

Using the darkest yarn, cast on 60 stitches with the 6mm needle. Knit in stocking stitch 8 rows.

Occasionally change colours while alternating between 10mm and 15mm needles between rows to create an uneven knit look.

Keep knitting until it reaches a length you desire the shawl to be.

Bind off work.

Repeat from beginning for the other side.

Stitch two together with black yarn.

Tips and caring advices:

• If you’re an experienced knitter, it’d be best if you could do a tension swatch for the yarn before casting on.
• For beginners check out this youtube channel for great tutorials. Great place to start learning actually.
• Alternate between colours but also thickness of yarns. I just stuck to mohair but you could always bring in different types of yarns like acrylic or other wool blends to create texture.
• Hand wash only, dry flat.

Prepare: Victim top, 10mm knitting needles, kid mohair (50%+) yarn in any colour (Rowan has great yarn range called Kidsilk Haze perfect for soemthing like this albeit slightly pricey. Another option is to ebay for mohair) , thread matching yarn colour, needle, measuring tape.

Measure from the collarbone area to shoulderblade with a measuring tape. (marked blue) This is the size of the ‘wing’ that will sit on your shoulders.

The knitting:
Cast on 44sts. (If you’re an experienced knitter, you could always do a tension swatch and calculate how long you need it to be)

1st row: Knit (K) entire row
2nd row: Purl (P) entire row
3rd row: K2tog, K to end, k2tog last 2 sts.
4th row: P2tog, P to end, p2tog last 2 sts.
5-last row: repeat 3-4 until work finishes in a triangle.

Repeat again for 2 triangles

Stretch & straighten work near first few rows and adjust to make a perfect triangle.

Pin and secure knitting onto top of choice and using a needle & thread sew. (Sew into or close to neckline, where the fabric is slightly thicker)

Optional finishing touches: Attach additional decoration – studs, chains, sequins…anything!

Top – FCUK, Jeans – H&M, Necklace – Polish antique market

Sorry for disappearing like that for 6 days, I’ve relocated to London and so far the only recordworthy thoughts are: I would rather live in a cave or a treehouse than this craphole and That’s not a kitchen, it’s a cupboard. I’ve been househunting for the past few days, and who knew London seriously lacks quality studio/1-bedrooms? Although, I think I’ve found a great one in Chiswick, fingers crossed.

Back onto the DIY – I’m sorry this is for those with knitting experience – but I think this could be a good opportunity to learn, what with winter coming up and all, don’t you think? This project requires absolutely no extra knitting skills, just the basic knits & purls. Refer to this Youtube channel to learn the basics & other tips. (Also, Ravelry is a great knitting community where you can get all kinds of help and share your knitting projects.)

Hope that stirs your ideatank for more shoulder decoration DIY ;)

Sweater Polo, Pants Gmarket, Skirt DIY, Shirt I Don’t Like Mondays

The yarns were bought in December 2008 and hauled back and forth 5-6 times - to Warsaw, to  London – before I’d even done an arm’s length. To tell the truth, I stopped because I had no clue how to make the neckline and didn’t feel like finding out. Then that genius hit me as always…yeah…I found out that I’d knitted one side 1.5x larger in width. What an idiot. So I ended up knitting it longer in length to joining the two sides to make a shawl. Introducing, the new “circle scarf”, its versatility surprises me greatly.

I’ll upload the tutorial (not much of one btw) in mid September once the magazine I sent the DIY to is out.