Blog - Page 45 of 548 - Violet LeBeaux

Maxi Dress Walk Through Tutorial

by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 31, 2014 | Clothing-Tutorials, Craft, Tutorial

Kind of a dress walkthrough rather than a full tutorial today. I made a really basic maxi dress with some of the fabric I bought from Brunswick and thought you guys might like to see the process!

This fabric is so pretty. I love that it looks like rainbow paint spots! It reminds me of watercolours.

To begin with I cut two rectangles for the skirt and a smaller rectangle for the bodice. Helper dog kept all of my fabric straight for me.

I cut the back part of the skirt in half so I could eventually install a zip there and overlocked all of the seams. I stitched the 3 skirt pieces together into a long rectangle with the back seams free to put the zip into later.

I then gathered the top of the skirt section into a ruffle using the function on my sewing machine.

Skirt ruffle!

Huzzah, basic skirt!

Next I made the top. It was a very large rectangle folded in half and overlocked around the sides so it could be turned inside out.

The skirt was lined up with the bottom of the bodice and sewn on.

Getting there but the bodice section needs to be gathered to make it fit correctly.

I ruffled the back of the bodice where the zip would eventually go and secured it with several lines of stitching.

Then I gathered a line on each side of the bodice and one in the very middle. This allowed it to become more form fitting and interesting. I also installed the zip into the back at this point and added a bottom hem to the skirt.

Lastly I sewed a couple of rectangles into tubes and made straps out of them. Considering I always wear cardigans with dresses like this the top really wasn’t a huge concern as long as it was reasonably fitted.

All done!

Floaty and fun!

This dress is so comfortable and nice to wear, the fabric is silky and beautiful. Next time I go I hope they have some more so I can make a shorter bias cut flippy dress out of it too!

Hope you enjoyed the “sew-through” an I’ll see you guys next time! What have you all been sewing lately? I need some inspiration!

Crochet Needle Case Tutorial

by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 29, 2014 | Craft, Other-Tutorials, Tutorial

For today’s tutorial let’s make a knitting/crochet needle case! I say this like it’s for your benefit… but really it’s something that I have desperately needed for like 10 years and been too lazy to do.

But look, now my needles are so neat and I won’t lose them anymore!

Unlike before where it was like this:

Not even exaggerating there which is sad.

Ok let’s do it, I’m using a 3.5mm needle and 8ply yarn. Make a foundation chain which is 5cm longer than your longest needle. Chain 2 more and then do a row of single crochet. Chain 2 and do another row of single crochet.

Now we make the netting. Chain 4 and double crochet into the second stitch. Chain 1 then double crochet into the second stitch. Continue this pattern the entire row.

When you reach the end, chain 4 and repeat the pattern again. It will form a nice grid.

Continue until you have a piece which is big enough to hold all of your needles, hooks, etc. To finish it off, do 2 rows of single crochet at the end.

Once you get in the rhythm it’s actually really easy to do.

Just make sure you are matching up the double crochet stitches or else the grid will be lopsided.

Now you just need to fit all of your needles into it!

Just weave them through the holes.

For storage, roll the fabric up until a tube and use a needle to hold it closed.

Much more organised!

Well that’s one of my long term projects finally crossed off my list! I don’t know why I even waited so long, it looks so much better! What are some projects you’ve been putting off?

Removable Crochet Collar Tutorial

by VioletLeBeaux | Oct 27, 2014 | Craft, Other-Accessory-Tutorials, Tutorial

Ages ago the lovely Miss Chrissy hand made me a detachable crochet collar and it was just about the cutest thing ever. I liked it so much that I thought I should make some different versions in different lengths to wear with different outfits.

This is the first one I made:

Here is the one that Chrissy made for me. It’s completely amazing and there are little pearls in every scallop!

Ok so let’s get started on ours! To begin with chain a foundation row which is as long as you want the inside of the collar to be. I made mine quite long because it was to fit a deep neckline.

Next do a row of single crochet.

Then a row of double crochet.

The increasing size of the stitches should allow you to shape it into a circle. Later on you can also thread ribbon through the double crochet row for a really cute look.

Next we start the lace section. Chain 9 and single crochet into every 5th stitch, repeat until the end. You will need to estimate how many stitches to leave between the single crochet depending on the length you made the collar so it works out evenly.

You should have something like this:

Now chain 11 and single crochet into the middle stitch of the scallop below. It will from a sort of lace mesh like this:

Now do one more row of the scallops with 11 chain between each single crochet as well.

There you have it! 3 layers of scalloping with a thicker base.

If you want to, you could even do a row of single crochet around the edge to make it thicker and cute. You can add a button to hold the sides together but I’m really partial to using the ribbon woven through to close it!