DIY Co-ord!

If you follow me on Instagram you will have seen that I was making myself a DIY co-ord, as well as a cute matching hairband. Co-ords have been a massive hit this summer with a lot of them ranging around the £30 price range or more for the set. I have even seen individual sellers on instagram who make them to order for £35 at a pop. HUGE mark up!! The entire cost of making this set me back a mere £7 (BARGAIN), apart from the time that goes into it why would you buy one when you can make it yourself with the material of your choice and for a massive fraction of the price! A lot of people were interested to see how I made it and wanted to give it a go themselves so here are my step by step instructions as to how to make a DIY co-ord according to the one above. The shorts are a standard design really but there are soo many different styles out there that you can make for the top which i might feature in some other posts if anyone is interested. If you want to have a go at making a hair scrunchie also (a lot easier) then i posted about that last year which you can read here.

What you will need: 
A sewing machine (i used a Janome machine* from HobbyCraft)

Thread

Material of your choice (i bought 2m)

Elastic

Paper (for a template) or a ready made pattern

Scissors
Pins

How to make the shorts:

1. Either use a ready made shorts pattern in your size, pinterest have loads of free patterns to download (here) or they can be purchased in a sewing shop or you can even make a pattern from your favourite pair of shorts, which is what i did.
2. Lay out your fabric on a large flat surface and arrange your pattern/template going with the grain of the fabric. Then pin your pattern to the fabric and cut out. Tip - To save having to neaten the raw edges on the machine cut the fabric using pinking shears(see picture above).
3. Begin by threading the machine, i found this machine in particular very easy to thread. 
4. With right sides together sew both the side seams first, followed by the crotch seam.You will now see the shorts taking shape.
5. At the waist of the shorts make a casing to fit your chosen size of elastic (i used 2cm wide elastic). Sew the casing in place leaving a small gap for you to thread the elastic in later. At the top edge do a small line of stitching right along the top which will help to hold the elastic in and make it look neater. There is no need to leave a gap.
6. Measure elastic to fit your waist measurements,attach a large safety pin to the end of the elastic and thread through the casing carefully. Sew the ends of the elastic together tightly by hand and neaten the gap you left either by machine or hand.
7. Hem the bottoms of the shorts for a neat finish and press the finished item!

How to make the top:

1. As above find a pattern for your desired taste. I used a pattern that i already had at home but made it a lot shorter, i always find crop tops look the best with co-ord shorts.
2. Lay out your fabric on a large flat surface and arrange your pattern/template going with the grain of the fabric. Then pin your pattern to the fabric and cut out.
3. Begin by threading the machine, i found this machine in particular very easy to thread.
4. This particular pattern had bust darts on either side and this was the first thing that i did.
5. With right sides together sew the front to the back. This pattern had a facing so also sew the side seams of this one in the same way. At this stage i had a top but the shoulders weren't joined together and also had a smaller facing of the same shape.
6. Then with right sides together sew the arm holes together and the neck together all the way around.
7. Turn everything the right way out and press - you should have a top with a neat edge but not joined at the shoulders yet.
8. Top stitch the complete neck and each arm hole.
9. Join the shoulders together as neatly as possible and top stitch to match.
10. Neatly finish the bottom hem by hand or machine and press the finished top!

There you have it your instructions to a DIY co-ord. I understand that it might seem quite complicated, but you will always find more help online or from youtube videos if you don't understand some of the names or techniques, or likewise drop me a tweet or email and i will be happy to help you. If you've never used a machine before i fully recommend the Janome sewing machine* from Hobby Craft as its a such a lightweight model, which came with an instruction book which was so easy to follow, i prefer it so much more to my other more heavy weight machine. This machine is so light that i can see i will be using it a lot more in the future. The machine costs £49 which is a brilliant price for such a detailed and compact machine. You can also view similar items from their vast range here. I am also thinking of doing future blog posts on how to use a sewing machine for a beginner, do let me know below if you would be interested in this! Thanks for reading, below are some more pictures of the finished co-ord!

Sandals - Topshop / Necklace - River Island / Sunglasses* - IceWatch

I took these photos in Santorini,Greece whilst on holiday, it really is a picture postcard place and the white backdrops everywhere are just perfect for outfit pictures.

Congrats if you made it to the end, it was long one! I hope you enjoyed reading my DIY post do let me know if you want to see more posts like this? What do you think of the co-ord? Would you have a go at making one? Do let me know if you have any questions about this or need anymore help!

*Products marked with an asterix (*) have been sent to me for review. However, all opinions in this post are 100% my own

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Holiday Lookbook: #1 When in Rome

Two piece* - Missi clothing

Sandals - Topshop

Necklace - River Island

Bag - H&M

A cruise usually entails at least 4 outfit changes a day so of course i have managed to collate lots of different looks whilst i was away for 2 weeks which will all be featuring in my holiday lookbook! This is the first look which is what i wore on my first day in Rome. Missiclothing sent me this two piece over beforehand and if you've not heard of the brand before they are a British manufacturer & wholesaler who supply to high street,independent stores and boutiques all around the world. This two piece was the perfect chic look for sightseeing in Rome, i had lots of admiring looks in it. The monochrome colours win me over every time and the flared skirt is so comfy and both items can easily be mismatched with other items making it the perfect staple outfit for a holiday. In true Roman style i had to get some pictures against the vast array of vespas which line the streets of beautiful Italy, there really were so many perfect locations for  photos in the many side streets for outfit pictures! I had also been after a long pendant for a while as they finish off any outfit, this one is from River Island and its a St Christopher pendant which by myth is meant to keep you safe whilst travelling, well it seemed to work as i'm back home safe and sound now!

You can also follow Missi clothing on:

Twitter: @missiclothinguk

Instagram: missiclothinguk

What do you think of this look? What would you wear for a day of sightseeing? Do you like reading holiday lookbooks?

*Products marked with an asterix (*) have been sent to me for review. However, all opinions in this post are 100% my own

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Giveaway: Win an AngelEye dress - CLOSED

Hello everyone! I hope you have all had a good two weeks, as you've probably guessed i'm back from my cruise now! It was such an amazing holiday and there will be lots of related posts coming up in due course. Today's post is all about a very exciting giveaway collaboration with AngelEye and also Sleek-chic's first ever giveaway! If you remember a few weeks ago i first introduced you to the brand with one of their gorgeous floral co-ords which you can read here and of course as promised i would bring you this exciting giveaway to win an AngelEye dress of your own!

Dress* - AngelEye

Shoes* - Peacocks

Clutch - Biba

I was kindly sent a dress for myself to style and to show you and also another one to give away to all of my lovely readers, which will be in a size S/M! The dress got its first wear on my cruise of course and the colour and the fit is just perfect. I absolutely love the pale salmon pink colour of it which makes it really feminine and looks gorgeous against my tan, which definitely wont last long haha. The pleated skirt is beautiful and contrasts beautifully with the delicate lace bodice which gives a beautiful fit. I love the flare that the skirt gives to the dress and it was the perfect smart dress to wear to one of the dinners on the cruise. This dress is the perfect summer accompaniment to weddings,holidays,formal occasions or for nights out! AngelEye also have many other gorgeous pieces which you can check out here.

If you fancy winning the dress just enter via the rafflecopter widget below and make sure that you are following Angel Eye on twitter and facebook,the other entries are optional so you don't even need a blog to enter, good luck! Open to UK residents only.
a Rafflecopter giveaway

*Products marked with an asterix (*) have been sent to me for review. However, all opinions in this post are 100% my own

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Summer bucket list

Over the last few weeks i have seen a few bloggers post about their own summer bucket lists and which i have really enjoyed to read. Every summer i say that its going to be the best one yet and before I've even remembered half of the stuff i wanted to do its fast approaching Christmas! Its been a challenging year for me and now that university is over and i'm on the lookout for a job i want to really enjoy the time i do have and to live for the moment, and when i do get a job i want to make the most out of every weekend instead of just lazing about,it is really easy to get into a rut at the weekends when you're working. Without further ado I've complied a list of 20 things that i want to achieve this summer and i am really determined to make them all happen this year,enjoy!

Source

1. Land myself a dream job - so this is definitely top on my list to achieve this summer, until then i fully plan to get lots of blogging done!

2. Say YES more - sometimes when i get asked to do things i just say no because im tired,nervous about doing something new or just plain tired, i plan to say yes more as i generally end up having the best time and experience new things when i do. Zoella did an amazing video called 'just say yes' which you can watch here.

3. Rediscover Plymouth and surrounding areas

4. Have a proper outdoor picnic in a park

5. Worry less and live for the moment - this is something i always strive to do, but life really is too short to worry about pointless things that we cant change, but we can change our future and live for the now!

6. Catch up with old school friends

7. Go strawberry picking 

8. Eat out in different places and try new cuisines/foods

9. Buy a new car for lots of summer road trips - since I've been home from uni I've been searching for a new car so it wont be long until i can drive wherever the day takes me!

10. Be more spontaneous - i definitely plan too much which is in no ways a bad thing, but it would be great to get up one day and just say lets go to so and so today, spontaneity is apparently the key to happiness!

11. Movie and sleepover night 

12. Go camping or camp in my garden - can you believe i'm 21 and have never been camping, admittedly it isnt quite my style but i need to say i've done it at least once!

13. Roast marshmallows

14. Go to a festival - still something i have never done but always wanted to do, even if its a day festival i would love to go!

15. Host a come dine with me night - i've spent pretty much the last 3 years at univeristy watching this and dinner date so i think its about time i gave it a go myself and its a bit of fun!

16. Plan something different for every weekend,however small - James and i are back to being in a long distance relationship for the time being, the only good thing about it is that it makes the time together more special and it makes us want to try and do different things each weekend.

17. Go surfing again

18. Make a homemade afternoon tea

19. Do some more DIY clothes 

20. Attend a quiz night

So, that's my summer bucket list! Whatever you do this summer as long as you're happy and healthy in my eyes that is all that matters! I have a real mix of things that i want to achieve this summer but i really hope and plan to do them all! I hope you enjoyed reading them, i would love to know all of yours too! Just a reminder i'm still on holiday so all tweets/emails and comments will be replied to once i'm home :)

What do you think of my bucket list? Have you made a bucket list? Are any of these on yours? Whats the top thing you want to achieve this summer? Do link me up if youve done a similar one, i love reading them!

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