DIY [SASS & BIDE] DRAPED FABRIC DRESS

New Years Eve is fast approaching and I have nothing to wear. Well, not nothing per se, but most girls know what I mean when I say that. I was wondering what I could do about my outfit since my plans are still not yet decided and Sydney isn't seeming so desirable this New Years with drinking bans in certain areas and loads of pubs closing early. I was browsing the internet when I came across a dress on the Sass and Bide website that I saw a few months ago that got my DIY juices pumping and decided that it would be my next project and my NYE outfit.

I love the simplicity of this dress from the Sass & Bide 'Seekerstate' collection. I love its sweeping, ethereal and modern look and the way the dress has been styled in the second picture with the fabric bunched closely together and I think that is how I will end up styling my piece.

At the fabric store I wanted to find a nice, sheer, sweeping neon material like the kind used on the dress. I couldn't find anything neon but would you believe what I found instead? A pink and purple ombre chiffon fabric on special for $11.50 per metre? In case you haven't been following my ombre endeavours of late I recently did a how-to on ombre denim here and a few days ago I did a balayage/ombre experiment on my hair, which you can find here. Clearly ombre is a theme for me at the moment, and I had a little chuckle when I saw the fabric at the store while thinking 'what are the odds?'. So in keeping with my ombre obsession I thought it might be a nice interpretation of the Sass and Bide dress, which any of you can easily throw together as well. Follow me...

You'll need:
- 2 metres sheer draping fabric - mine is polyester but silk would also be nice
- Pins
- Sewing machine/needle and thread
- Scissors
- A white dress with a higher neckline would work better than low-cuts

How to:
1. Hem both selvedges (edge of a fabric that is woven tightly so that it will not fray) of your fabric by folding it once, ironing and folding again, ironing and stitching with your needle and thread or sewing machine.

2. Pin both sewn selvedges to the top of the collar line and do your gathering from this section so you can see how much needs to be gathered as you're doing it.

Run a needle and knotted thread across from one side to the other, doing stitches about 2-3cm apart. When you reach the end rehang your dress on a hanger and gather by pulling the end of the thread through. When you think the fabric has been gathered enough tie a knot in the thread and then unpin fabric.

Needle and thread through from one side to the other; gather by pulling.

3. Lay the dress flat on a table (normal side out) and then lay your fabric with the wrong side facing up and place it upside down with the gathers at the bottom (like picture). Lay the corners of the gathered fabric around the neckline and pin it down. Make sure that if you have used a thread that is visible that you pin ABOVE it so that when you flip the fabric after stitching it down it won't be seen. Flip the fabric and check it to see how it looks (picture 3). Stitch as close to the hem of the collar so that the fabric looks like it is sewn from the very top.

Step 3

4. Flip your fabric over and make sure to sew up any loose little sections that may be hanging out and to also cut any visible extra fabric from the part underneath.
5. Finally hem the bottom of the fabric either by hand or sewing machine.

Done! You'll need to fiddle around with how it sits when you place a belt on. So that's my NYE outfit sorted now. Word for the wise: anyone who is wanting to try this I feel it's necessary to say that this project took a few hours as it was fiddly. But the end result was worth it. I'll be doing a proper outfit post of my look tomorrow.

DIY OMBRE DENIM

I've seen this DIY on a few different blog websites, most notably Honestly... WTF. Ombre - dip dying for the layman - is hot and an instant refreshing look to your old denim. Although a nice, hot summer seems like a dream for Australian's at the moment these would make a cool outfit for all the upcoming summer festivals.

Over at Honestly... WTF they have interpreted the RIT dying instructions the US way, using gallons. I've tried my best to comprehend those measurememnts for us Aussies, or for anyone else that doesn't know the difference between a gallon, pint, yard, oz or litre.

You'll need:
- Old denim shorts
- RIT fabric dye powder in Fuschia, Violet or Purple
- Measuring cup
- Rubber gloves

How to do it:
1. At Honestly... WTF they used liquid Rit. I chose powder Rit because it was cheaper and only involves one extra step. Boil two cups of water. Mix the powder dye with the two cups of boiled water into a small container or jug and stir. Also, my shorts are custom Levi cutoff's with the pockets hanging out the bottom. I wanted my pockets to still be white so I pinned them up the top.

2. I decided to use the kitchen sink to dye my shorts. The instructions are to use three gallons of very hot water per yard. For this project I used 2 gallons which is about 7.5 litres. Fill your sink or bucket with the hot water.

A mixing bowl normally has measurements on it, which I used to fill my sink

3. Wet the shorts in the sink of water.
4. Put one third of the dye mixture (about 165mL) into the sink and stir. The way that you get the ombre is by starting the dye lightly and adding a third at a time, so the last part of the dying process has the most dye.
5. Put the shorts in the mixture, about one third of the way. Leave the first section for 10 minutes.

Wet shorts, add 1/3 dye, submerge shorts, add 1/3 dye, submerge again.

6. Add the next third of the dye into the sink and then submerge the shorts a little bit further. Leave them for another 5 minutes.
7. Add the final third of the dye mixture to the sink and submerge the shorts again. I submerged my shorts up to the front pockets. (When I pulled my shorts out after this there seemed to be quite a definitive line, so I held them in the TINIEST bit extra for another 2 minutes, which gave the perfect blended look).
8. Wash the shorts out until the water runs clear.

Hang them out to dry. Voila! Ombre dyed shorts.