I love hand embroidery on denim because it transforms the rather plain fabric into something beautiful that you don’t see every day and many colours look bright and shiny on the dark blue background. Here I embroidered denim fabric which I then sewed into a pair of jeans.
I used very basic embroidery stitches like running stitch and lazy daisy stitch (also known as detached chain stitch). The thread I chose is a silk and rayon mix, it’s very shiny and special looking. I used five different colours and added tiny beads for extra sparkle.
Yes, you can become the maker of beautiful and unique leather sandals. My pdf eBook How To Make Unique Leather Sandals will show you everything you need to know about creating your own sandals.
Sandalmaking is a wonderful craft to pursue. I love how it combines creativity and craftsmanship with fashion and functionality.
Wearing shoes you created yourself is deeply satisfying and once you started making your own footwear you will not want to wear anything else.
It’s thrilling to craft the sandals you’ve always wanted but could never find. Once you know the basic techniques so much is possible.
One strap sandal decorated with metal stamps
What you will learn from this eBook
The eBook shows you step-by-step how you can make long-lasting sandals explaining all the tools and leather craft techniques needed to make a high-quality product.
In addition, you will learn about different ways to decorate leather so you can create sandals that are truly yours.
The book features 8 sandal making projects with detailed instructions and photography making them easy to execute.
With a bit of practice
you can craft a pair of sandals in a weekend.
And in no time at all, people will ask you if you could make them some sandals….
I love colourful winter accessories, I somehow need them to cheer me up in cold and grey weather. This winter scarf I crocheted with wool I spun on my spinning wheel. I started spinning when we moved to the UK 8 years ago. Someone sold me her spinning wheel and I’ve used it every winter since.
I always look for a bit different fabric when I want to make a pair of trousers, so I was happy to find this really beautiful, slightly shiny, denim fabric with tiny dots. Although it’s not organic, it’s oeko-tex certified meaning that the fabric was tested for harmful substances and produced in an environmentally friendly and socially acceptable way.
There are other designs available (flowers, squares, bigger dots). The pants pattern is from Sew U: The Built by Wendy Guide to Making Your Own Wardrobe, which has detailed instructions on all the steps involved in creating the trousers. The smallest size XS fits my 12-year-old daughter. I made summer linen trousers with this pattern, have a look here. The denim fabric is from Dots N Stripes.
Here I made a leather wrap bracelet decorated with the batik technique. The bracelet itself is easy to make, I used quite thick leather (2.4mm) and cut it with a strap cutter about 1cm wide. The bracelet is 62 cm long, I can wrap it around my wrist three times. It’s fastened with 2 Sam brown studs.
Making shoes is one of my favourite crafts. Twice a year when the seasons change I make new ones for my children, either winter or summer shoes. They outgrow them so fast!
These I made for my daughter in autumn colours, using brick-red, ochre mixed with cream pearl and cranberry for heel covers (see below where to find them). The edges I impressed with leather stamps to give them something extra.
The lining is thin leather, I had only bits of different colours left, as you might notice in the photo above. Looks kind of funny, but then who will notice.
Here I made a turquoise clay bead necklace with beads that resemble turquoise semi-precious stones using a technique called antiquing.
I used polymer clay to make the beads, it’s a wonderful medium – easy to work with and doesn’t need a lot of equipment. You can create so much with it, my kids and I often sit for hours shaping figures, food, and animals that we then use as charms for necklaces and bracelets.
Polymer clay is hardened by baking in the oven and once baked in can last for a long time.
Here I stencil printed a design onto fabric with an airbrush gun. Spraying with an airbrush gun is like instant screen printing, the process is so much faster and easier too. I used createx airbrush paint pearl gold and for the upper wings gold mixed with a few drops of red transparent.
If you don’t have an airbrush gun, you could use a recycled or new spray bottle with manually adjustable nozzles. Read More
At the moment I feel like reusing and recycling as much as I can. So here I made a cardboard shoulder bag which is surprisingly sturdy and cost me very little to make.
I waxed the card and varnished the paper for protection, so hopefully, I can use it for a some time.
I threaded it with paper string to stay with the theme. The lining is from my spray painting tank tops projects, I wrote about them here and here. The bag won first price in the cardboard contest on instructable.com, so exciting.
