Lolita Tie tutorial

This kind of tie doesn't seem to be very popular at the moment. The big bow kind seems to be rather more in vogue. However as I've finally got round to making a less scruffy version of my tie pattern I thought I would put it up here with a bit of a tutorial. They are still very cute.





Here's what you need to do.

First you'll need the pattern. Click on image of the pattern on the left and it should open up nice and big. Right click and 'save image as' to your computer. It should print out on A4 or letter size paper just fine. Make sure it doesn't 'crop' or 'scale' when its printing out.

• You'll also need some scraps of fabric - large enough to cut 2x piece A and 1x piece B. If you fabric is very lightweight you might need a bit of interfacing.
• Some ribbon - enough that it can easily tie around your neck in a bow.
• Some bits of lace, ribbon, buttons etc for decoration.

Pattern info:
As you can see the pattern pieces overlap - so its probably best to trace piece B onto another bit of paper before cutting out A.
The dotted lines on piece A are for if you want to make a thinner tie.

Getting started:

1. Cut two 'A' pieces and one 'B' piece from your fabric.

2. Sew any decorations you like onto the front of one A piece, sewing your lace facing inwards as shown. (sounds a bit weird, but it all gets turned inside out at the end.)

3. Take the second A piece and pin it on top of the first one - front sides together. Sew nearly all the way around the edge leaving a gap along the side of the thin bit at the top. There's not a lot of seam allowance - only about 5-10mm.

4. You should have a tie shape with the lace etc on the inside. Turn it inside out. Now you can see why we sewed the lace pointing inwards - its pointing outwards now! Use a slip stitch to close the gap and maybe give it a quick iron.

5. Now we need to attach the 'knot' and ribbon. Fold over
the thin top part of the tie backwards and put in a couple of stitches to hold it in place.

6. Thread your ribbon through the gap. (You could also use a band of fabric with a button or velcro, but I'm using ribbon here to show the basic idea.) Sew the long edges of piece B together. Turn the tube inside out and iron it flat with the seam in the middle. You shouldn't be able to see the seam from the front now.

7. Next wrap this around the where you have stitched down the top part of the tie. Sew the back edges of the 'knot' together keeping the seam on the inside.

8. Done. Use the ribbon to tie it around the collar of your blouse.

Lolita Christmas Card - attempt 1

I felt like doing some crafts yesterday so I made a start on a Christmas card. I say 'a' card because this one took ages so I only got one done!

In case anyone is interested...
I made the coat hanger out of fuse wire (the thicker kind) and the dress and bow are just made out of scraps of fabric and ribbon. I did sew down the sides of the dress so they looked neater but I suppose glue would work just as well.

I might make a few more bits and then photograph them for my cards - that way there would be more chance of them getting done before the last posting day.

Lolita finds

I've seen a couple of nice things this week. Firstly this jacket from Warehouse. Although its not cheap at £75, it has a lovely shape. Its quite Edwardian and elegant looking. I think it could work well with a more aristocrat style - or maybe for work.

At the other end of the scale I found a great tartan jacket in the sale at Primark. Its more in the style of a biker jacket than a blazer. It was really difficult to photograph so you can't see the details that well, but it has another zip pocket under what looks like the right lapel. Anyway it was only £5! Bargain.

Also at Primark this week they have a tiara headband for £3 which is quite pretty.

Last but not least, I got one of the much talked about H&M mini top hats. Here is a less than brilliant picture of it perched a top of my loaf. Its a bit bigger and not quite as funky as the Accessorize headband hat, but well worth its £4.99 price tag.

Thinking about Christmas Lolita things

Its getting towards that time again when decorations start appearing and Starbucks have their 'festive' red cups out. So I've just started to let myself get a little bit excited about Christmas. I'm hoping that I'll have time to make a dress from the snowflake/doily fabric I got ages ago. I think it could work with a white fake fur trim? Maybe a little bit 50s? Needs a little thought first.

Its also getting near the time when I (should) start making my Christmas cards! I'd really like to do a lolita-esque card this year, but we'll see how that goes, my drawing skills are not great.

And finally I've started looking for presents for people and making a list for santa. I think list ideas is a really good site for this where you can add things from anywhere, on or offline.

Halloween 2 and false eyelashes

Okay, as promised here is a picture of the dress I reworked for my halloween outfit. I think its much nicer this way.
(Plus here's a picture of me modeling it - bet you wondered what I looked like huh? well there you go, all big hair and teeth.)
I wore it with the black blouse/socks to the gig we went to and with the white blouse/socks for my living/dead (whats more scary?) doll look.
I did my hair really big and curly with a black bow and for my make-up I did dark eyes with red liner and wore false eyelashes.
I'd never used them before and they were fantastic! Actually thats why I ended up just being a doll not a broken one, I didn't want to hide them or squish one side with my eye patch. I really recommend trying them if you never have!