Thursday 11 August 2011

Handmade Thursday - Look what I made! Plus a Dylon Giveaway

I'm very excited about my link up to White Lily Green's Handmade Thursday - this week.  You may have seen that I recently managed to snaffle some rather cool Alexander Henry fabric at a car boot sale and I wanted to make this into a dress for Ruby.




Well, despite my sewing classes this year, I still haven't tackled anything more complicated than a cushion, so I decided to have a dry run first.

I popped into my local sewing shop and bought some pretty cotton fabric at about £5 for a metre.  I also bought a sewing pattern for the most simple shift dress I could find.

With much help from my mum - including borrowing her sewing machine; scissors; thread; cotton... etc as my stash is all in boxes in storage, here's what I managed to come up with.


Yes - of course I was tempted

Ruby is most happy with it.  I couldn't resist adding a few yo-yos and buttons to jazz it up a bit.




I have to say, I'm pretty pleased with myself.  It's not perfect. It's a bit ruckled round the arm-holes and although I followed the pattern for a 4 year old, it has come out very 'tenty' at the back.  But even so, given it's my 1st attempt at making a whole garment, cutting from a pattern and using bias binding, I think it's pretty damned good!



As regular readers will know, this week marks my blog's 1st birthday. To celebrate I'm hosting a whole week of giveaways (each one is open for a week, so you can scroll back through Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday's post and still enter those).

Sticking with the fabricky theme, I'm very pleased to have joined forces with Dylon for today's competition.  Myself and Ruby love using Dylon's products, and I've featured many of them here on the blog, including their Machine Dyes used in my crocheted doily bowl tutorial; the Image Maker used on cushion covers; and Ruby's artistic creations with  Fabric paints and  Pens.



Dylon products are available nationwide from haberdashery and craft stores, department stores and branches of Wilkinsons and Dunelms.

Dylon are giving one lucky blog reader the chance to win a bundle of their products to get crafty with. To enter, simply visit their website and leave a comment here stating which of their craft products you'd most like to try - and maybe what you'd do with it or which is your favourite dye colour and what item you'd use it for.

For and extra entry, please tweet the following and leave a separate comment here saying that you have done so: " I'm entering @missielizzieb's blog competition to win a @DyetoDye crafty prize here http://bit.ly/pscv0E"

This competition is open to UK entrants only. The winner will be chosen at random from all entries received by 8pm Thursday 18th August 2011. The prize will be fulfilled by Dylon.

Don't forget to check my posts daily this week - there is a birthday giveaway bonanza going on!

Disclosure: Many thanks to Dylon for supplying the prize.

Inspire Me Beautiful

53 comments:

  1. Hey that's so good! Love the extra touches that you added too!
    Can't wait to see the next one!!
    Please enter me in the giveaway too, I would LOVE to try the image maker!!

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  2. Have tweeted too gidders1

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  3. Well done! Can't wait to see your next one!
    I love dyeing things, in fact have a pile of towels to do soon to give them a new lease of life. I've never tried the image maker, have wanted to give it a try since your post showing the cushions you did.
    I'm a GFC follower & will tweet too
    kirsten x

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  4. Kudos to you, I wouldn't have a clue where to start but would love to make some dresses for my daughter. Your dress is super cute and I can't wait to see what you come up with for that gorgeous fabric that I'm still green with envy about! x

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  5. Oh brilliant, well don you, it looks ace. I made another dress for Flo at the weekend (the first time unsupervised) which felt good. I haven't even attempted bias binding!!

    I'm really interested in the Dylon image maker too and my fave colours are sunflower yellow, tulip red and flamingo pink!

    I will tweet too!

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  6. Simple and pretty little dress. Well done

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  7. It's great Liz! I am contemplating making a dress (for myself) but can't pluck up the courage.

    Please enter me in the draw, like my friends above I'd love to try the image maker, and as for colours, I'm liking the Burlesque Red and French Lavender. I'd like to dye a throw in Lavender to fit the scheme of my study.

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  8. I'd go for Flamingo Pink, my DD adores anything pink so would love to dye her some new curtains for her room

    @littleboo_21

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  9. i would love to try the 3D paints and try and customise some t shirts for myself, my son and daughter. My daughter would love to help me too to design T-shirt. They would be great to do at her next birthday party with cheap white tshirts.
    I love the vibrant flamingo pink dye - great for bedding!
    please add me into the draw @sbroadhurst

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  10. i have tweeted re competition too
    @sbroadhurst

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  11. very cute. i would love to have a go at making clothes

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  12. That is really lovely. So nice to have something really individual

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  13. The wash & dye sounds easy to use & it needs to be if I'm going to use it. I'd try dyeing some rather yellowy whites a bright new colour. @ericahughes

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  14. i would go for "velvet black" dye, as I have a favourite pair of black trousers that are currently grey!

    @buttonf1fan

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  15. Going to tweet right now. @buttonf1fan

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  16. Aw what well done hun, what a gorgeous dress!! Wish I could do something like that. Ruby looks adorable in it! x

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  17. I would love to have a go with the fabric pens.

    Tweeted as @ratties2

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  18. I might have to get some Velvet Black dye as my black jeans are beginning to fade.

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  19. I'd love to try the Black wash and dye to revive my boyfriends mountains of faded black jeans!

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  20. Gosh -where shall I start ? I'm doing a mini-makeover in the bathroom and eyeing up the possibility of dying a bunch of white towels into Bahama Blue. I've got a boring cotton crossover top with dk blue print that I'd like to experiment with, dying over the top with Tropical Green. And that's just for starters. I'm a big fan of Dylon color run remover and I'd love to try their Lingerie whitener - my daughter still hasn't got the hang of sorting whites !

    I'm pretty handy with my sewing machine too, but no expert. I've made a silk blouse, skirts, pj bottoms, school tunic. Prima magazine used to do patterns- you might find them still in charity shops or jumble sales.

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  21. btw Happy Blog Birthday ! and don't take any notice what the sewing teacher says- mine always complained that my tacking stitches were too small. Little did she know I would win prizes for my x-stitch.

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  22. I'd like to try Dylon image maker and my favourite colour is sunflower yellow. (@pandcands)

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  23. Tweeted @apn1179. I would love the fabric pens as I run a Brownie goup and we are alwasy looking fro crafty ideas

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  24. Tweeted @apn1179. I would love the fabric pens as I run a Brownie goup and we are alwasy looking fro crafty ideas

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  25. wow, you are really clever!
    The image maker looks good. Thanks for linking up!

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  26. Love the shift dress, it's really cute! :)
    I'd love to try the image maker, it would be great to transfer some images onto cushions for our nursery (baby is due in 5 weeks!), I'd also use it to make some unique Christmas presents for my friends and family - maybe t-shirts, cushions, bags... Thanks for the chance to win! :) x

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  27. Also following on twitter and tweeted @JennyEavesMSE :) x

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  28. I love that dress. Well done. I'd get ocean blue dye and dye some towels that are looking a bit dull.
    @ali991

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  29. I would pick a "velvet black" dye, to make my black jeggings black again.

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  30. The dylon 3d fabric paint is fun - my daughter had a teddy bear making party, the little bears all had T'shirts - the girls were able to design their own bear t.shirts using these markers!

    fab x

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  31. I would like to give the fabric pens a go they would add a bit of fun to my patch work
    jillwebb@blueyonder.co.uk

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  32. i would love to try the fabric pens i would use them on a 1930s dress i am making

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  33. Image maker sounds brill, be great for making T-shirts for Hen/stag nights etc

    @BBDIVA1977 (twitter)

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  34. I love the 3d paints, i would buy some plain t-shirts and let my daughter decorate her own clothes.

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  35. I have used DYLON image maker with oil paint to transfer colour photocopies of feathers to make angel wings on a painting. It's great for using bits of photographs in paintings as it blends perfectly with the painting in texture. My next project will be lower key though - i have a dress I stain removed and annoyingly it's changed colour in places although the stain is gone, Dylon will overdye it saving my £80 dress just what colour shall i choose? navy blue or emerald green? I think it'll be velvet black!
    tweeted too xx nicolafordham@yahoo.co.uk

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  36. I love Dylon dyes - I've used the Intense Violet to colour my girls vests when the white goes a bit grey! Would love to try the pink on the next lot of grey clothes :) @pipersky1

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  37. I've tweeted your giveaway :) @pipersky1

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  38. The Dylon fabric pens look really versatile and fun! I think they'd be great for getting the kids to decorate some cushion covers.

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  39. i like th look of the imae maker - i could make some t-shirts - one for me with my son's picture on saying 'missing...reward if found' and one for him saying 'this is my mummy...please return me to her'

    just in case, like.

    or...'best son' and 'best mum'

    yes :)

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  40. i've tweeted too and just noticed a typo - that should have read image maker.

    oh, and i'm @mummylion

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  41. I have a bit of a fetish with purple, so Intense Indigo and French Lavender would be my choices. Like you, I'm trying to graduate from things with only straight lines, so using all sorts of bits and pieces rather than buying posh fabric, so if any of them turn out half useable, I could just dye them purple and be happy!
    Tweet sent too (@annaojbee)

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  42. I would love to try the image maker

    Tweeted as beclee09

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  43. Just realised I was meant to have posted a seperate comment,

    tweeted as beclee09

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  44. i most want to try the GLITTER PAINT. i'm a girl and i love glitter. Enough said ;)

    @kiki_725 on twitter

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  45. tweeted

    @kiki_725 on twitter

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  46. my favourite dye colour is black as i wear a lot of black clothes.I use it to restore them to their original black

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